Jim Barrington: You don’t have to be vegan to improve animal welfare

Veganism, the refusal to eat any animal products, may seem like a fairly new trend, but in fact this diet, or something very like it, has been in existence for literally thousands of years in various parts of the world, often as part of religious or philosophical beliefs. 

The UK has come relatively late to veganism, but is our version ‘totally animal free’ as some would claim?  Unless you are growing your own fruit and vegetables without the use of any pesticides, that claim starts to look a little doubtful. Virtually all crop growers will use such chemicals of one kind or another and probably employ methods that involve lethal control of wildlife to protect those crops. 

Some vegans accept these facts and sensibly say they are nevertheless doing what they feel is right, which is fair enough. Others, however, prefer to ignore reality, as they so often do in other ways, and not only deny what is patently obvious but seek to censor other voices. 

The Vegan Market Company runs vegan events all over the country and one might have thought that the inclusion of a wider range of organisations and views would be welcomed, but not for some. The Derby branch of the hunt saboteurs were denied a stand at one of their recent events because they had no public liability insurance (something they could have purchased very cheaply on a temporary basis if they’d bothered to look) and that may have played a role in their next step. 

Always quick to attack anyone who doesn’t see things exactly their way, these saboteurs began leafletting the market, calling on the public to boycott stalls of two well-known conservation organisations, stating, “It came to our attention that the Derby Vegan Market had two questionable stall holders at a supposedly 'vegan' event. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded in 1961 by a group of wealthy trophy hunters. They still endorse the killing of wild animals. The RSPB employs bloodsports enthusiasts to kill wildlife. In one year they killed 598 foxes.”

Hunt saboteurs tend to revert to nasty tactics, publishing the home address of Lewis Beresford, the founder of the Vegan Market Company, presumably to intimidate him and his family. This was bad enough, but his previous address was used and so the current owners have to live with the possibility of some extreme lunatic taking ‘direct action’. The intolerance of hunt saboteurs is to be expected, though their actions highlight the fact that conservation societies understand the need for wildlife management, something extreme animal rights groups so often deny. 

Odd, then, that bodies like the RSPB like to cosy up to groups who hold unrealistic views. Of course, not every vegan is an extremist, but conservation organisations do appear to have a reluctance to explain some of the countryside realities to the public and their memberships. The conservation work undertaken by the WWF (its proper title is the World Wide Fund for Nature by the way, not as described by the saboteurs) and the RSPB and the avoidance of facing some of the uncomfortable facts of rural life suits the hunt saboteurs very well, whether in the media, political campaigns or, as in this case, a public event. 

So often, the conservation organisations and animal rights groups are perceived in the media as being one and the same. It’s as if their aims and objectives are basically identical, with the hunting and shooting world naturally being the ‘opposition’. Clearly this is not true and the intolerance shown by these hunt saboteurs is a small example of why both field sports and the conservation organisation should be seen in the same light, leaving those who support extreme animal rights as the outsiders.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian or vegan to improve animal welfare, but you do have to accept that life is not as simple as saying ‘Don’t kill anything’.

This article was first published in Countryman's Weekly.