I offer Claude Camilleri (Mistra Bay) my sincere condolences for the loss of Krug (“Murder”, TMIS, 4 November).

I too am a lover of cats (and all animals for that matter) and I condemn the brutal killing of a harmless and lovable kitten. I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if the person/s responsible were hung, drawn and quartered but then our laws are far too soft on these despicable crimes.

I am also a collector, researcher and shooter of firearms. I have never shot at cats or other animals and will not do so (self-defence being an exception). This is a personal choice. I am not against controlled and sustainable hunting.

I therefore fail to see any logic in Mr Camilleri’s outburst against legal gun ownership. I can understand his momentary feeling of irrational and emotional rage following the senseless killing of an innocent creature. However, he overdid it when he wilfully and publicly pointed a finger at law-abiding enthusiasts.

Sadly, this is the way that uninformed persons (journalists not excluded) typically react whenever they are confronted by a crime involving firearms; they have a bash at all gun owners, no matter how law abiding they may be. They focus their hate on an inanimate object and call for a total ban, which, in their simplistic reasoning, will immediately put an end to violence and crime. They advocate a knee-jerk reaction that can ruin fellow citizens while sick minds continue to roam free.

The human being in general attacks what he fears, and most of the time he fears what he does not understand.

Stephen A. Petroni