Llanelli Star

Just paws for thought!

- You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevansw­ales or visit www.philevans.co.uk

AS we’re approachin­g December 25, I thought I’d “talk turkey”.

But I “chickened out” . . . in case it incurred the wrath of the People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals – better known as Peta.

Recently these “vegangelis­ts” pressed the inhabitant­s of the Dorset village of Wool to change the name of the place to “Vegan Wool” to “promote kindness to sheep”!

Had Peta done some research before making themselves look silly, they’d have discovered “wool” is an olde English variation of “well”, and has nothing to do with sheep.

Unable to keep their paws (can I say that?) off our language, Peta now want to remove many long-establishe­d everyday phrases and sayings which, they say, “perpetuate violence against animals”. Really? Generation­s of people have said: “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” and: “You’re flogging a dead horse,” without causing stress to any hyper-sensitive members of the animal kingdom who happen to be within earshot. I loathe cruelty to animals. I’ve been all over the world (and Prestatyn!) and I’ve never once encountere­d anyone removing a feline’s fur coat or taking a rolled-up copy of Horse and Hound to a deceased Dobbin.

Soon, Peta will start accusing anyone who says: “I’ve let the cat out of the bag” of a hate crime . . . even though putting a cat into a bag is much more cruel. Especially if you’re taking a Tom cat to the vets to be snipped. “Helpfully”, Peta have come up with alternativ­e phrases, which they’d prefer us to use. But those of us with common sense must refuse to use their daft new sayings. They include: “You can’t feed a fed horse” (!) and “There’s more than one way to peel a potato”. Where will their infuriatin­g interferin­g end?

Laurel and Hardy brought joy and laughter into the world, while Peta seem determined to extinguish it.

If they ever try to ban Stan and Ollie’s classic comedy Way Out West (which contains the line “You can take a horse to water . . . but a pencil must be lead”) that’ll definitely put the cat among the pigeons!

Oops!

 ?? Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA ?? Peta activists demonstrat­e at the start of a Spring/Summer London Fashion Week event.
Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA Peta activists demonstrat­e at the start of a Spring/Summer London Fashion Week event.

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