Interviewed by the always incisive Stephen Sackur on the BBC’s HARDtalk, the PETA president was magnificent. She was, as ever, calm, assured, and totally unflappable. She gave her answers politely but was never mealy-mouthed. Quietly forceful, never strident.
“Animals are not like us,” she said, “they are us.” Her interviewer provocatively suggested that animals do not have consciousness. “Of course they have consciouness … they think ahead, they can plan,” it is just, she said, that the failing is ours, we don’t understand how they communicate. They have their own cultures.
She confirmed that PETA has never espoused or used violence – the violence is that inflicted on animals by us. Millions of experiements are carried out each year with, as we know, no useful result. And there are alternatives. The number of medical experiments are far outweighed by the psychological, some of the worst and most cruel.
No fewer than two-thirds of the British public are opposed to them.
On pets – before you decide to take on a pet (from a rescue, of course, not a breeder), be sure that you have not only the time, but the money. And get two animals, not one, so that they have each other’s company.
I replied to PETA’s philanthropic specialist Lily Baker recently, who had reached out to me as a longstanding Vanguard member. She has replaced Lydia Brothwell whom I liked enormously. “I was sorry to realise that Lydia had moved on – we met up for lunch a couple of times and she helped out one morning at an animal rescue where I used to volunteer – I do that at a different one now, once a week, HART Wildlife Rescue in Hampshire.
As ever, I have been hugely impressed with PETA’s pioneering work, campaigns and triumphs. Recently I particularly liked the appeal to the pope and the picture of Christ in the bull ring. I also love it when you go for the language we carelessly use as with Farrow & Ball [their paint names which include ‘dead salmon’]. Rather like a similar questioning of the use of phrases like ‘flogging a dead horse’ – if nothing else, it gets people talking and thinking.” Lily has kindly subscribed to this blog.
On the subject of the strange way in which we pet and cherish certain animals but skin, torture, kill and eat others, I was reminded of the extraordinary dichotomy at Trindledown Farm, the rescue where I used to volunteer. For one open day, before my time there, I am told they advertised a hog roast, despite including two pigs amongst the rescued animals. Long after that, during my time, there were complaints about posting pictures of sizzling bacon from the café menu on the website, which perhaps in part due to my comments on the subject, were quickly dropped.
A vegan I met recently and I were chatting about such things (it was Nick Acheson of Norfolk wildlife fame, of whom more anon) and I conceded that whilst I owned quite a few leather jackets, I would not buy one now and that it had been a long time since I had worn one, which I now suspect would feel strange and morally uncomfortable. As Nick said, there is no point beating up our former selves, we all have our awakenings.
A habitué of my local pub has consecutively taken on two rescue Beagles. I was not present, but when the current one barked at another dog, I am informed that he savagely beat him with his lead. A friend of mine jumped up and remonstrated in what were very much no uncertain terms. When he told me about it he thought that I would be appalled by the threatening language he used, but of course I was delighted. I said to him that if I had witnessed it myself, I would have used my contacts in animal rescue and welfare to ensure that an RSPCA inspector would appear on his doorstep. One good solution would be not to bring dogs to the pub in the first place. Much as I love them, it doesn’t suit them nor for that matter me.
I do question the motives for dog ‘ownership’ in many people, especially men, for some of whom it is all about domination, which they display at every opportunity. Others want not a companion but a slavishly loyal, adoring animal so that they can feel worshipped. Or a child substitute. I was told recently of a dog which had been so badly bitten by a badger that a leg had to be amputated. Obviously the badger did not emerge from the sett in daylight and launch a random attack, the dog had entered his or her home and was a threat. My question would be why on earth was the dog not on a lead? The poor creature has been seen since, now a tripod, still off-lead in public. It is a lovely notion to allow dogs to run freely wherever they want, but ultimately it is not fair to them, wildlife or other dogs. They have by law to be on leads on public highways of course – unless they are foxhounds who are bizarrely exempt.
The RSPCA is in trouble again though because of its farm labelling scheme which patron Chris Packham (and indeed I on this blog recently) have written about. Now Brian May has written an open letter of resignation as vice-president because of it, in both sadness and anger. It can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4ZSCi7UeSwYBYoWK/?mibextid=WC7FNe
The friend from our badger group who sent it to me added: “Sadly it’s not just Brian May who is unhappy with the RSPCA. Many celebrities including Bryan Adams, Moby, Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes and Sadie Frost all signed an open letter urging the RSPCA to drop its misleading Assured scheme. Animal Rising along with 60 animal protection organisations such as Animal Aid, PETA and the Animal Justice Project also signed the open letter calling on the RSPCA to return to its core mission of protecting animals. The RSPCA has announced an internal investigation into the Assured scheme. This comes in response to an investigation into 45 farms along with exposés from Animal Equality, the Animal Justice Project and Joey Carbstrong, all of which uncovered heartbreaking cruelty and suffering.”
How lovely it was at the end of my wildlife trip to Norfolk which I will post about soon, to be staying with a friend whose nervous rescue beagle not only remembered me after at least a year (there was much preliminary sniffing), pretty much hugged me and later in the evening fell asleep on top of me as she had done on my last visit.
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