Categories: uncategorized
Date: 08 September 2006 17:45:29
While visiting the in-laws this week we spent time with FW's aunty. She told us of something that happened over the last few weeks.
They live in an area that, if it were in Wales, would be beautiful but is the REAL countryside, not some townies idea of what it should be. As such many of the people there are lifelong country dwellers with a true understanding of what countrylife means and the responsibilities that you have.
FW's aunty has various items of birdfeed hanging in the garden for the use of her feathered friends. You see many varieties of birdlife that you may not otherwise see. Earlier this year I saw my first wild woodpecker there.
The food also attracts the attentions of other members of the animal kingdom, some of whom are not as welcome. This includes Grey Squirrels. These are the animal kingdom version of illegal immigrants. Its probably where racists get their attitude of immigrants from. They have a tendancy to drive out the native Red Squirrel and carry a disease to which they are immune but which decimates the native species.
So Mr Grey comes across Aunty's garden and begins stealing the bird food. Aunty takes umbridge, picks up her trusty air rifle and wings said vermin. I must point out that though the Red Squirrel is a protected specie, Greys are vermin and you are allowed too shoot them. Unfortunately said squirrel is winged and moves off. Aunty, being a caring country person, decides that she has to make sure to avoid unnecessary suffering to said animal.
She follows and sends Mr Grey to his maker. Unfortunately he falls into next door's garden. She calls around to advise the neighbour of what had happened and to explain. Little Old Lady (LOL) says that Mr Grey has been put back over the fence and accepts Aunty's reasoning.
Fast forward 10 days and LOL calls round. Pleasantries are exchanged and all is well. Then LOL thrusts something into Aunty's hand. She then regales her with complainmts that she'd actually killed a Red Squirrel and that they are endangered species etc etc. Aunty points out that she can tell the difference between the 2 and that LOL is mistaken. LOL then begins to get angrier and insists that she knows the difference between the 2 squirrels. Aunty points out that similar but that the nearest Red ones are on an island in the middle of Poole harbour and not in their area.
LOL is an animal lover too but is mistaken in her assumptions. If there were Red Squirrels in the neighbourhood then the gangs of Greys wouldhave killed them by now with plague or gangs of chain wielding, motorcycle riding Hell's Grey Squirrels.
Now Ruby Wax:
She was interviewed on some awful offshoot of Room 101. The premise is roughly the same except that you discard mistakes that you made in your life.
Ruby told the story of her time at Berkley College in California as a pot smoking, substance abusing student - her description not mine. During this time she became an animal activist. Her chosen animal for liberation was the restaurant lobster. Yes, you read that correctly.
Her and friends would raid the tanks in restaurants and free the captive lobsters. They'd take them outside and release them back to the wild. Bearing in mind that these are substance abusing students the effects were not those intended.
Picture the scene:
Ruby runs from restaurant clutching a lobster. She releases it onto the ground outside. "Run my pretty, you are free!" Said lobster strolls forward and is run over by a passing truck.
Both stories illustrate that well meaning works sometimes have unintentionally unfortunate ramifications - see said lobster - or are well natured but misplaced in their execution - see both stories.
Work towards animal welfare certainly. We are supposed to look after, as well as consume, God's creation. Just make sure that you know what you're doing.