THE horsemeat scandal is just the tip of the iceberg, most supermarket meat gives little or no information about the welfare of animals, especially if they have been 'factory farmed'. Pigs could have been forced to live in barren cages on slippery slatted flooring with no straw bedding. The average chicken could be one of the 27 per cent that the governments own DEFRA claims go lame before being sent for slaughter - that's two hundred million birds in pain.

Too many racehorses are bred in an attempt to produce a 'winner' and those that don't measure up finish up as horsemeat.

So whether it's pork, beef, lamb or horse being eaten, there is so much suffering caused to animals and labelling needs to be compulsory throughout. We want to know how and where the animals were bred.

JANET WHITEHEAD Cirencester