Knowing first hand some of my very best mates who are now fighting their own personal battles, without doubt, we must consider ourselves truly the lucky country to have the very best of these dedicated doctors and referrals at our call.

While we can only offer appreciation in this regard, there is one possible improvement within the health system that could be investigated by the appropriate authority, and that is from the time the prescription medications are dispensed by the various chemists, some prescriptions while identified on the box label correctly can be very much a duplicate look alike to other medications, which are a completely different diagnosis, in both size, shape and colour.

This can be even more confusing for the elderly, many thousands of whom are taking multiple medications, when the prescriptions also require that some tablets be split in two to be taken twice a day. While there are those who do take multiple medications on a daily basis who already have precautions in place (pill box, etc) there is possibly a multitudinous who don't, and when you are very sick accidental mix-ups and confusion you are at your most vulnerable. No matter what care is taken there is still a necessity to have a system in place, at the very end of procedure, as close to full-proof as can possibly be achieved, any mistakes and the unknown frequency of this situation occurring could be dangerous or even fatal. There is no room for error.

THE rufous wallaby photo/article (The Examiner, June 27) shows it's time the faint-hearted realised a cull like this is possibly the cleanest and humane way to reduce imprisoned game (due to highways, fences and suburbia) in an area.

The numbers shot by shooters is an ordinary shoot, I have experience of shooting for pelts and eating quarters each winter over one region in the midlands for years, and it held the population in good condition for decades.

Mr Westcott's call for protection of native animals is important if the species is made scary as occurred with wombats, however even these need fire and culling as do brush tail possums. The number mentioned would provide a ratio of one out of four was killed which in anyone's book is great for the species.1080 poison would be more like 95 per cent kill plus many other species.

Maria Island culls are held, it seems, triennially where government rangers kill off about 1800 native species and bury them back on Tasmania, at least these Tamar-vested shooters will have the option to eat or give to us oldies the chance for roo patties not out of supermarkets from shot roo on mainland Australia.

THOSE supporting Voluntary Assisted Dying respect and support the right of the individual to make an intensely personal decision about her/his end of life.

Those against VAD seek to impose their position on everyone, which disrespects and denies the individual's right to make that personal decision.