Dear Ann: Recently I was shopping downtown in 20-below-zero weather. A stranger walked up to me and said, “I wonder how many beautiful rabbits died so you could have that coat?” I noticed she was wearing a down coat, so I asked if the geese they got the down from to make her coat were still alive. She looked surprised. Obviously she had never given it a thought.

If people are so upset about cruelty to animals, why don’t they go after the folks who refuse to spend the money to have their pets neutered and spayed? Thousands of dogs are put to death every year because the animal pounds can’t feed and house them. Talk about cruelty to animals—that’s the best example there is.

Most of the following selections were taken from letters-to-the-editor columns of news papers and magazines. Identify any fallacies that may be committed, giving a brief explanation for your answer. Then, if a fallacy is identified, discuss the possible factors that led the arguer to commit the fallacy.