Dear Editor,

One can only assume that Trevor French [Case of missing goats is now closed, June 20, Langley Advance] was caught completely off guard when, a year after he "adopted" the animals, anyone would bother to follow up and report on the well-being of goats that were, to him, unimportant and disposable.

Kudos to Jeff Lee of the Vancouver Sun for his investigation into Mr. French's claims and actions, and to the Langley Advance for covering the story as it unfolded.

It is unfortunate that, despite the finding that French's conduct "was calculated, harsh, reprehensible and malicious," he was only required to donate $1,000 to the SPCA instead of the amount of money he made from selling the animals, and that his "unequivocal apology" was not made publicly.

Mr. French may have profited from selling the goats at auction, and perhaps was able to maintain his farm status another year, resulting in him paying much lower property taxes.

Lesley Owen, Aldergrove