Elisa’s woolly thinking is pure lunacy
THEY don’t come much more animal-friendly than I am and I have supported many Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaigns. But what lunacy prompted its director, Elisa Allen, to suggest the village of Wool should change its name to Vegan Wool?
At first I thought Ms Allen was having a laugh but it appears she really does think that wool is a “product of supreme cruelty”.
Eh? I myself have sheared, admittedly with great clumsiness, a sheep.
It did look a bit affronted but it would probably have looked even more so if, instead of pinching its wool, I had decided to turn it into lamb chops. Wool grows naturally and humans have been spinning it as long as they have been breeding sheep.
Wherein lies the cruelty? And is there not much more cruelty Peta could focus on?
This month we have been remembering not only the enormous human sacrifice of the First World War but also the sufferings of animals such as the equine hero in War Horse.
To this day animals are being used in warfare and that worries me rather more than the shearing of sheep, which then carry on grazing in England’s green and pleasant fields.
Note to Ms Allen – pick your battles, dear.
ERG is a real French farce...
ELSEWHERE on this page I criticise Theresa May for the abject surrender which parades itself under the guise of a deal with the EU. But the most disappointing event last week was when the Brexiteers held a press conference to explain why no deal is not such a bad option.
All Britain is asking how no deal could possibly work so it was a glorious opportunity to set out their stall.
Unfortunately instead of keeping the ground clear for that, the leaders of the ERG conflated it with talk of 48 letters demanding a vote of no confidence in the PM. Inevitably press and media homed in on the latter and ignored any analysis of a no-deal scenario.
If that is an example of their tactics, then the Dad’s Army analogy is simply too complimentary. Comparisons with Inspector Clouseau would be nearer the mark.