Country life
Codes of conduct
Leanda de Lisle
Ididn't know that the RSPCA had an animal rights agenda until I read that the Charity Commissioners had suggested they drop it. Their 20-year-old Declaration on Animal Rights condemned 'the curtailment of their behavioural and other needs save where this is necessary for their own bene- fit', and declared, 'We do not accept that a difference in species alone (any more than a difference in race) can justify wanton oppression in the name of science or sport, or for use as food, for commercial profit, or other human gain.' That sounded to me as though we were being asked to give up our pets and put away our insect repellent quite barmy. But, it seems, British charities may not pursue policies that could have a detrimental effect on humankind and the Declaration was no more. 'It's a pity they had it in the first place,' was my thought. Not for people, but for animals.
`If people in the RSPCA hadn't spent the last two decades planning world domina- tion they might have done more to help the animals on their doorstep,' I muttered to myself. Foxes, for example. If they had worked to abolish the use of terriers and digging up foxes that have gone to earth, instead of supporting a complete ban on hunting with hounds, they would probably have achieved their aims by now. I resolved to ring the RSPCA to find out what its his- tory was and how far it had moved away from its original objectives. Find out by brochure, that is. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me get away with that. The woman in the RSPCA press office got all excited when I mentioned their animal rights declaration. Apparently, it was dropped two years ago and she was anxious that I should understand that they weren't about to lose their charitable status. I didn't think they were. The RSPCA is like the monarchy, but richer. It's part of the fabric of the nation. The nice woman at the press office asked if I wanted to talk to anyone. Not really, was the answer. This isn't that type of column.
However, to my horror, I was offered a series of appointments to talk to the RSPCA's director-general. `Ah,' said his assistant when I rang to put off the first interview, 'you wanted to talk about hunt- ing people infiltrating the RSPCA.' Not in the slightest. 'I think I might write some- thing about the possible clash between ani- mal rights and animal welfare,' I burbled vaguely. 'But I don't want Mr Davies to make some brilliant riposte, because then I'll have nothing to write about.' Minutes later a fax arrived with a statement from Mr Davies. 'It is perfectly legitimate, in my view, to have a utopian idea of the stan- dards which should apply to (homes, fields, farms), but I believe that the Society, cor- rectly, has always taken a pragmatic and practical path in relieving and preventing animal suffering in the present, and it is for that performance that we receive our tremendous support from the public . Well, that's true, I thought.
However, a phrase sprung to mind. Something about revolutions moving left- ward. The RSPCA was created to ensure people looked after their animals properly — that is, kindly and intelligently. It was a radical idea in the first half of the 19th cen- tury. But animal rights activists now argue that owning animals is itself wrong. I see their point. If people didn't own animals there would be a great deal less animal suf- fering: no dogs bred with breathing prob- lems, fewer unwanted kittens, no racehorses at the knacker's yard. It's still an unpopular view, as the senior people in the RSPCA must know very well. That doesn't mean it wouldn't find any sympathy there.
I did, finally, get to speak to Mr Davies. He was as charming as the woman in the press office. He declared himself a `wel- farist' and said people who want to ban pet owning are extremists. I asked whether he would want to ban shooting and fishing. He told me that for the moment they would content themselves with codes of conduct. Eventually people would be educated into seeing the errors of their ways. I expect the antis with their staves will hurry that day along. The older I get the harder it is to dislike anyone who promotes kindness of any sort. But I think we must all work to keep the RSPCA on the welfare track. Freedom foods, yes. Veganism, no. Fishing, yes. Barbed hooks, no.
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