THE RISE OF SLACTIVISM

Phew! Well, last month’s article (and Dog World Blog post) certainly provoked a reaction from both sides of the brachycephalic debate. Obviously a very vociferous element of the veterinary profession didn’t react too well to the criticism aimed at them which was understandable and expected however what wasn’t expected was the level to which some of that reaction (from such esteemed professionals) stooped.

One vet, Dr Judy Puddifoot (what a charming surname, almost Beatrix Potteresque) in reference to my article put this up on Facebook on 17^th March.

‘We all took an oath to protect animal welfare. People yelled, ‘why aren’t vets speaking up for the brachycephalics?’ And yet when we do we get lambasted for it by unqualified lay people who think they know better! #DogWorldD*ckhead’

A CRITICAL FRIEND

What would we do without vets? I know, it’s something most of us prefer not to think about. Of course we all have the odd grumble about the profession (and as a bird keeper/breeder I’ve had more than my fair share of negative experiences with vets who clearly hadn’t got a clue in this admittedly specialist field of expertise) but on the whole, in our hour of need, it’s certainly reassuring to have a good vet nearby.

However, I am increasingly alarmed by the rise of a certain degree of militancy within the veterinarian field. For some reason this thinking is more prevalent among the younger vets in our towns and cities although I certainly haven’t encountered it in our excellent local rural practice, which, contradicting what I have just written, is solely staffed by young vets!

THE KC GROWS SOME KAHUNES

Something that has got a lot of you talking (if my inbox is anything to go by) was Jemima Harrison’s recent threat to sabotage Crufts in all manner of inventive ways, from people dressed as French Bulldogs handing out leaflets, a projection of 40ft French Bulldog nostrils onto the NEC and even a plane flying over the building trailing her CRUFFA (Campaign for the Responsible Use of Flat Faced Animals) message.

Many were quite understandably worried about these shenanigans (especially the threat to disrupt the BIS with “an extra special surprise”) but worry not as Ms Harrison recently announced on her Facebook group that these announcements (in the manner of the infamous Bobby Ewin shower scene which was meant to delete a whole previous series from everyone’s mind) were…well, not quite a dream exactly…but simply all an elaborate “late night joke”.

INTERNET POST GETS A HAMMERING

Dog lovers were outraged to see a Facebook post by Alan Tobin, an Irish politician, about his delight that breed specific legislation had been brought in, affecting owners in his constituency. This was in Dog World on 25 May 2016.

As many of you who read this column regularly know, I’m not the biggest fan of the internet age and social media. Obviously it has brought us huge benefits, not least being able to track down the girl that played Nancy in your junior school production of Oliver.

But along with these dubious benefits of ‘connectivity’ comes some serious negatives. There’s the time many of us waste maintaining the numerous casual relationships fostered on social media sometimes at the neglect of our most important and meaningful relationships here in the ‘real’ world. And, of course, we have the growing incidences of cyberbullying, witch-hunts and the wildfire-like spread of malicious gossip that we all too commonly see in various forums. All very nasty and something I’ve actively tried to avoid.