Iguanas

Al Martinez (“Night of the Iguana Tamale,” June 19) was right to take Angelenos to task for callously discarding that which is no longer in vogue--in this case the “pet” iguana. Sadly, his suggestion that a rich assortment of recipes exists to solve the problems of now-disillusioned “owners” makes a joke out of a painful reality. Los Angeles does not need another animal on its supper plate. Instead of elaborately prepared “iguana tamales,” why doesn’t Martinez suggest that we make it trendy to care compassionately for an animal for its lifetime?

More than 50,000 stray dogs and cats are euthanized each year in Los Angeles alone. Many are the victims of people who simply tire of them, or who were unprepared for the serious responsibility of caring for an animal, including the spaying or neutering of that animal. Such is the case for the many iguanas who were once beloved companions only to become homeless throwaways.

MARY KRASN

Ark Trust

Encino

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Martinez should have cited Jonathan Swift’s classic essay, “A Modest Proposal.” It was a satiric solution of the Irish poverty problem--babies would be fattened, then eaten by Britishers as their Sunday dinner roasts.

WALLACE HUNT

Redondo Beach