What do rabbits have to do with Easter (Sharjah pet sellers dyeing rabbits for Easter a 'cruel gimmick' say vets, February 25)? Whose bright idea is this anyway? I assume that the authorities are aware of this. This is animal abuse and they ought to look into this issue. I am sure these pet sellers are all licenced too. What will happen to all these poor little bunnies after Easter? Please close down the animal markets.
Jean Francoise Ng Lewis, Dubai
I don’t think these animals would be appealing to Christians, who actually mark Easter. So who is buying these poor animals in the name of Easter?
Lisa Justice, Dubai
It’s a shame. Just imagine what these dyes do to the animals’ eyes. They do this with chicks too. It’s so cruel.
Chrissie Pretorius, Abu Dhabi
No animal should be dyed and rabbits should not be sold as pets.
Rachida Djebel, Dubai
Plenty of things in the UAE to be happy about
Regarding your editorial How happy are you? (February 25), this country has plenty of things to make people happy. In many parts of the world, people need to travel long distances to entertain themselves. Here we are fortunate to have in one place most of the things that we look for.
In many European countries you will see beggars and a lot of crime. We have none of those problems here. I think most people look for just this kind of place to live.
Jussi Myllymaa, Dubai
Insurance firms need to be alert
The revelations in the report Billions lost in health care fraud and waste (February 24) are shocking, with estimates that the overprescription of high-cost branded drugs contributes significantly to the waste of over $1 billion (Dh3.7bn) in healthcare.
Surely, the health insurers who pay these absurdly large bills need to wake up. They are obviously being ripped off on a daily basis and so are their clients who pay the grotesquely high health insurance premiums. The insurers need to specify which drugs they will pay for and which they will not. They need to specify the quantity of drugs they consider reasonable and cap their use. If the patient then wishes to use his own money to pay for ludicrous quantities of expensive branded drugs that are patently unnecessary, that’s his own decision.
Dolores Wilkins, Abu Dhabi
Reduce waiting time at airport
The opening of the concourse is good news (Concourse D opens at Dubai International Airport boosting capacity to 90 million, February 25), but what about flying into Dubai? Can we cut the waiting time at passport control? It's a real downer when you've had a great holiday and just want to get home. Also it creates a bad first impression for visitors.
Tracey Warrington, Dubai
A great move by Saudi Arabia
I support the Saudi government's move over Lebanon aid (Saudi Arabia cancels $4bn aid package for Lebanon's security forces, February 20). Using soft power often tends to yield better results than the use of hard power. Cancelling $4bn (Dh14.7bn) not in aid but in security development costs is a great move by the Saudis.
Lebanon will definitely feel the consequence of factions there leaning towards Iran after this move.
The Levant states need to know where to seek assistance in times of crisis. Certainly they can’t rely on Iran. As Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said in his speech at the UN, Iran’s historic record does not qualify it to speak about peace. Countries that seek peace must seek it from those who are seeking stability.
Ebrahim Al Harbi, Abu Dhabi
