The Last Word

I would like Susan Olenick to know that at least one other reader shared her views upon seeing the now-infamous “Best Shot” of the painted elephant (Letters, July 17). While painting ceremonial elephants certainly does not rank with their atrocious treatment in zoos and circuses, it strips them of their dignity and enforces the view that animals are at our disposal. It is somewhat chilling to note how many readers felt they must defend the questionable practices of other cultures, and attack a reader guilty only of a humane bent!

STEPHANIE FERNEYHOUGH

San Diego