Petitions Review, and Sir David's 'Extinction'

 I am sorry for the lack of a blog for so long, I hope to do better! As a key worker, it has been a very very hectic time trying to keep up with the continued changes to COVID restrictions….

There has been a flurry of activity on the petition front lately, with many petitions now doing the rounds. Here is a synopsis of some, my apologies if I have missed any important ones!

Ban Puppy Imports

This one smashed through the 100k target pretty quickly. Created by Lucy Parkinson, and following the tragic death of a puppy imported from Russia in just 6 days. By allowing the importation of puppies, this circumvents the need to inspect a puppies mother at the time of purchase, something which we know is the right thing to do, but is also the Government’s own guidance. By allowing puppies to be imported,  it sends out a very wrong message about the moral and ethical duty we all have to ensure we know the conditions the puppy has been bred and reared in.

Signatures currently at 125052, open until 27^th December 2020, available at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/326261

 

Bitch Brockering

Now another petition related to puppy breeding, is the petition to “Close loophole allowing licensed dog breeders to broker pregnant bitches”.

Due to a legal loophole, licensed breeders can rotate their breeding bitches so that they can stay within their license but always have pregnant bitches. The claim is that a breeder can produce 5 times as many puppies as their license permits.

This currently waiting for a Government response, having received over 10k signatures. To be fair, the changes needed could be easily achieved by an amendment to the Licensing Regulations, rather than a full on piece of legislation.

You can sign it at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/330704 It currently has 14675 signatures and is running until 3^rd February 2021. The petition originator is Wendy Embisu Mulela.

 

Sol’s Law

This is a more unusual petition as it relates to an incident where a horse was stabbed multiple times. The attacker was prosecuted for criminal damage and the judge explained they were limited to a maximum custodial sentence of two months. The petition seeks a new offence of attacking an animal which would treat animals as something other than property.

Now I agree animals should not be regarded as property. However we already have an offence of causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act. It is unclear why this was not prosecuted as such, unless they perhaps thought that the sentence could be higher if prosecuted as criminal damage, since animals are property under the law. The sentencing in this case also appears strange. The Sentencing Guidelines are that for damage under £5000 the maximum is 6 months custodial sentence, and for damage exceeding £5000, the maximum is ten years. Where the two month’s maximum came from is unclear.

Of course, prosecutions under the AWA would be a maximum of 6 months, currently, which is why Finn’s Law Part 2 is so important, as this will raise the sentence to 5 years. The Animal Welfare Party seeks to increase sentences to ten years, and I proudly support this as their membership manager.

The petition ran until 4^th September 2020 and attracted almost 2000 signatures. You can see the results here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300015

 

Ban the Import of Dogs with Cropped Ears

Ear cropping of dogs has been illegal in the UK for a substantial period of time, but just recently there has been an increase in the number of dogs being brought in to the country with cropped ears. There is no functional purpose for this activity, and it is questionable whether there ever has been. The motivation now appears to be the look of the dog, i.e. fashion. This is a repugnant and completely unacceptable trend. Started by Jordan Shelley, this petition has been going from strength to strength and has received some high profile support.

The petition currently has 15096 signatures and can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333456 I urge you to sign it.

There is a worrying trend in Parliament, particularly with the incumbent government, to hold the opinion that things should not be ‘banned’ with comments such as ‘Parliament is not in the habit of banning things’ (in relation to fur imports). Of course we have to remember that Government is not there to restrict behaviour necessarily. As we are our own leaders, legislators and rulers, in accordance with our democracy, if we don’t want a certain behaviour, there is a simple way to achieve it – just don’t import dogs with cropped ears. Or whatever else we are petitioning for. It should not be necessary for a written law detailing it. But the reality doesn’t reflect this. Time and again, Parliament has to legislate against certain behaviour, particularly to protect the vulnerable. When those vulnerable to negative behaviours are animals, Parliament’s response is not so protective as it is with humans. This is speciesism, and it has to end. Nevertheless, where we can’t achieve laws to prevent certain behaviour, it isn’t the end. We simply have to remember that to eradicate the behaviour, you have to stop the people doing it another way. For this, it has to be education, and removing animals from the category of possessions that leads to ‘fashionable’ practices.

 

The Fireworks Petition

We have a new Fireworks petition, and this time the approach is a little different (and I think for the better). This time it includes focus on humans (although it is sad that animal welfare isn’t enough in itself – speciesism at its best) and doesn’t demand a complete ban on fireworks, but a restriction on their use to licensed displays only. The Government has responded already, saying no, as expected.

The petition can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/319891, and currently has 38881 signatures. It has been started by Julie Doorne.

The major issue with petitions concerning fireworks is that what we are asking for is the balancing of the rights of animals, and some humans who worry for those animals, and the rights of humans who want to use fireworks. Many would argue that they have the right to have fun and use fireworks if they so wish. Of course, as a child I loved them. Some can be impressive. But I can weigh the fun of them against the suffering of an animal and make the right decision. Some do not agree though, and they are entitled to those opinions and to exercise their right to have fireworks whilst the law permits them. Therefore one thing that is important is to educate the public about the effects of fireworks. Certainly in Bournemouth, the amount of fireworks being used at both Bonfire Night and New Year has steadily dropped for the last two years, as it becomes very anti-social to use fireworks. Even if you don’t have pets, and therefore don’t care about their welfare, you almost certainly do have neighbours with pets, who do care. It gets to the stage, I think, when people would weigh the bad feeling of neighbours against their right to have fireworks, and decide against fireworks, even if when weighing the rights of animals against their rights to have fireworks they decided the balance tipped in their favour. When things affect us directly, like the bad feeling of neighbours, we are more likely to make changes. I would like to see warnings on firework packages that the use of fireworks severely affects animals, maybe with a picture, like on cigarette packages. Then for those who feel that you should not impose bans on activities, you aren’t banning people from doing things, but are appealing to their better judgment. I am, though, not saying that this is the best outcome.

 

Now a few comments from elsewhere in the world of animal welfare ethics.

David Attenborough’s Extinction

If you didn’t watch this documentary, then please do so. It was heartbreaking and very worrying. Carrie Symonds response was one of alarm and emotion. One has to wonder how persuasive she is with the PM.

A lot of people will have been naturally concerned by the content of the documentary, but might not really know what they can do to change it all. This is the tragedy of the commons. If everyone else isn’t working to change the world for the better, why should anyone? If you do something good, does it not get swamped by all the bad from others? Can any of us really make a difference? Generally people conclude no, and so fall into the same bad practices, and so the tragedy of the commons is perpetuated. But remember: Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. (Excuse the patriarchal language, it is a direct quote from Edmund Burke). So for those who don’t know where to start, I am compiling a new book, possibly in the format of a diary, where each day will give you inspiration for doing something little to make a small change. Remember small changes add up. I would love to have ideas for these little things, so do send them to me. I will acknowledge those contributors whose ideas are used in the book!

Going to have my work cut out as that is now another title to work on alongside the others. Not entirely sure how I am going to find the time for these and all the other projects… but I must put my money where my mouth is – do lots of little things and the changes add up.

Plant-based Diet

I am journeying through all the plant based products that are springing up all over the place. Some are not so great, some are brilliant. I thought I would share my findings with you. There really is no excuse to not try these things if they are nice, if two food items are equally tasty but one involves the abuse of an animal and one does not, why is this not a no-brainer?!

Products this week are:

This is not bacon – They are right. It tastes like fish. Texture is good, not mushy like a lot of vegan bacon, but still not nearly hitting the bacon mark. I know that bacon is missed by a lot of people, so we really do need to continue working on this one.

This is not chicken – This is good! A definite success for the two boys who created this one. It looks like chicken, has the texture of chicken (slightly mushy, but not like Quorn or similar products) and tastes like chicken. Slightly expensive, but compared to chicken, it isn’t really.

Richmond Sausages – the best plant based sausages I have found so far, and I know a lot of people are in agreement. The skin behaves like meat sausages, the taste is pretty close (as long as you don’t over cook them) and they look fundamentally like sausages. Brilliant.

Squeaky Bean Spanish Omelette – made with aqua faber, this works very well. I’ve only had it cold, as that is how I like a shop bought Spanish Omelette, so can’t comment on how it tastes hot, and I know that Omelette has a different taste cold and hot, but cold, it is a good equivalent. Reasonably priced. Will be adding this to my regular lunch from now on, it’s a firm favourite.

Well done to Sainsbury’s for its massive increase in plant based food in the last couple of weeks, I would say at least three times as many products introduced overnight in the chilled food section. I hear ASDA is dedicating a whole aisle, and Tesco are doing well, but I haven’t surveyed them as yet.

 

Final Words

Can I please encourage you to visit www.animalwelfareparty.org – a UK political party focusing on animal welfare issues. You can sign up for free as a supporter, or subscribe for very low cost options as a member. If you are already a member of a political party, you can still sign up as an associate member.