CAN I please add another voice to that of Heather Anderson when she asks for the farming community to make sure that they cast their votes in any upcoming election (Yes activist calls on farmers to vote SNP in European elections, April 18)?

As one who farmed sheep on them there hills for more years than I care to remember, and in fact still do on a very small scale, I know only too well how vital the support from the European Union has been for the industry.

Having fed many thousands of Scottish lambs into the food chain over the years, I have to admit I never hit the dizzy heights of income mentioned in your article, but still managed to rear a family and keep going; it was, mind you, a close-run thing at the time of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, when our complete year’s lamb crop was taken away by the government for incineration at a flat rate of ten pounds each.

The subsidies coming from Europe are often wrongly viewed by many as being some sort of handout to farmers and landowners, but the fact remains that for the survival of tenant farmers and crofters in particular they are vital. Admittedly the case of some of the large landowners may be somewhat different, but whichever way it happens the income feeds down through all the various local shops and businesses and thereby keeps the country communities thriving.

So yes, farmers all, please find just that little time needed to cast your votes when the time comes.

George M Mitchell
Dunblane

HAVING recently marked its 273rd anniversary, it is good to see momentum growing for the site of the Battle of Culloden to be awarded Unesco world heritage status.

As many will no doubt be aware, the surrounding zone has been subject to encroachment by development in recent years, giving increasing concern to the charity that cares for the battlefield, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

NTS recently launched Culloden 300, an initiative to engage with the public for views on how to protect the battlefield for future generations.

The site meets Unesco requirements as having universal value and it is only right that it should be awarded world heritage status. Current designations have proved not enough to protect the area and while the granting of this status is not an absolute straitjacket and has no legal force, it would put a strong marker down, giving great moral force for the preservation of the battlefield.

When it comes to potential development at Culloden this would carry extra weight when such a matter is being considered.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

IN relation to your article “Concerns raised as sport and culture cuts laid bare” (April 17). Had the local MSP, Angela Constance, ever approached council officers for an explanation, they would have been happy to provide her with the facts. Sadly she has never asked the council for those details but chooses to issue misleading information to the press.

For an SNP MSP who recently served as a minister to attack the council for lack of funding is disgraceful given that councils across Scotland are at a cliff edge as a result of budget cuts handed down by the Scottish Government which Ms Constance voted for!

Lawrence Fitzpatrick
Leader of West Lothian Council

MAYBE it’s just me, but I have difficulty understanding Roddy Maclean’s problem (Letters, April 18) with my combining the two words “racist” and “Islamophobic”.

Jeremy Hunt apparently did not enlarge on the reasons for his discomfort about Shamima Begum’s legal aid, but since she is being deprived of British citizenship without having been found guilty of any crime, the only conclusion to be drawn from the “uncomfortable” feeling he expresses must be to do either with her race or her association with Islam, hence my use of the image of a racist and Islamophobic elephant in the room.

There’s a temptation also to use another metaphor from the animal world: “dog-whistle”.

I am open to correction if Mr Maclean has more information than I have.

Derek Ball
Bearsden

AS a “made Scot”, reports of sectarian and racial abuse at Scottish football grounds causes me great concern. I had thought that this behaviour had been confined to the rubbish tip of forgotten history, but it appears not.

The Scottish Football Association should make it clear that bigots and racists are not welcome in grounds and anyone proven guilty, regardless the penalty in law, will be permanently excluded from matches and clubs who do not enforce these bans will be heavily fined. Sectarian behaviour will mean the club that these so-called fans support will suffer from their behaviour. Let’s hear it loud: no racism allowed.

Name and address supplied