Since Animal Aid first began exposing widespread cruelty inside UK slaughterhouses four years ago, we have campaigned for mandatory CCTV to be installed in abattoirs.

The supermarkets listened and acted quickly but the government continues to lag behind.

A total of 118 MPs have signed a statement in support of this campaign; more than 1,000 vets signed a petition in support of compulsory cameras, with TV vets Emma Milne and Peter Wedderburn also lending their support; in polls the public agreed overwhelmingly with mandatory cameras; and respondents to the government's own consultation wanted CCTV.

Yet the government still says no. Without Animal Aid's cameras in place, no one would ever have known the extent of the brutality inside UK slaughterhouses.

Now we do know, why won't the government act? Is it afraid of what these cameras might show?

KATE FOWLER, Animal, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent