I WONDER what Barry Mead thinks his "grandson and other young people" are going to learn from gawping at animals imprisoned in an unnatural environment.

He asks "what on earth is wrong" with plans to keep a group of elephants in a 12-acre plot at Noah's Ark Farm?

Well for a start, the fact that in the wild, elephants are social animals who live in large groups and spend 16 to 20 hours every day walking and eating, and may walk 30 to 50 miles to forage.

People are far more likely to increase their understanding of other species by watching TV documentaries than by visiting such tourist attractions, where they are more likely to be seeking entertainment than learning.

I too remember Wendy the elephant, who arrived at Bristol Zoo in 1961, endlessly padding round the tiny 'elephant house'. Our ignorance then was some excuse for her impoverished existence, since then, thinking has moved on.

The only justification for keeping wild animals such as elephants and tigers is the conservation of endangered species: this is not an easy endeavour, and is one in which Noah's Ark has no shining track record.

Gill Rowley Yatton