OVER SUPPORT FOR ‘PSYCHOPATHIC’ FOX HUNTING AND BADGER CULL
MIRROR
14 May 2015 by Mikey Smith
The Queen guitarist and animal rights campaigner gave the Prime Minister both barrels, calling him ‘the worst kind of Tory’ and saying he has no compassion for animals. Dr May says the only reason for fox hunting is to get ‘sadistic pleasure’ from the suffering of animals. Brian May has launched a passionate attack on David Cameron, who he says has “no compassion for animals whatsoever.”
The Queen guitar legend and animal rights campaigner condemned the Prime Minister’s support for the badger cull and the legalisation of fox hunting.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, he said: “It looks like nothing can stand in Cameron’s way. Now he’s got a majority he can plough through with the things he was hesitating on, like fox hunting. I think Cameron is a special kind of Tory. The worst kind of Tory. The kind that has no compassion for animals whatsoever.” He said: “The most appalling thing is that they fought this election on the economy, and now the first thing that comes up is fox hunting.”
Dr May has been vocal on animal rights issues since 2005. He runs animal rights organisation Save Me, with whom he’s campaigned against blood sports and the badger cull.
He says that of the dozen or so reasons people give for why fox hunting is necessary, all but one fall down on close inspection.
“The only thing you can honestly say about fox hunting is that people enjoy it,” he said. “People have a sadistic pleasure in seeing an animal ripped apart. It’s sadism. To be honest, it’s psychopathic behaviour to enjoy the suffering of another creature. People who have no compassion for animals tend not to have compassion for humans either.”
The Mirror contacted Downing Street for a response to Dr May’s comments, but they had not responded at the time of publication.
He said the one glimmer of hope was that when the bill to repeal the Hunting Act is introduced to the Commons, it will be a free vote.
“I think all votes should be free votes,” he said. “It’s by no means certain he’ll have the full support of his party.” He said a new petition would be set up in the coming days on the government’s website against the repeal.
Should Britain bring back fox hunting? (VOTE HERE)
YES – 24%
NO – 76%
Dr May was a key campaigner against the badger cull, which was piloted by former environment secretary Owen Paterson, and looks set to continue under his successor Liz Truss.
The 2013 pilot badger culls in Gloucester and Somerset were described as “ineffective” at stemming the spread of bovine TB and failed the test for humaneness, according to an independent panel of experts put together by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). And yesterday it was revealed that at a time when the government is planning £12bn in cuts to welfare, they are content to spend more than £5,000 per badger killed in the heavily criticised plan.
In February, Liz Truss told the annual conference of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) she would press on with the cull in spite of the criticism. She said: “We will not let up, whatever complaints we get from protesters groups. We are in it for the long haul and we will not walk away.”
Dr May said: “She speaks from the same hymn book as Paterson – which is the same hymn book as Cameron, who it seems has some kind of behind closed doors agreement with the NFU to continue the cull regardless of the evidence.”
NFU Director General Andy Robertson said: “The NFU has always been clear about the need for a badger cull as part of a comprehensive strategy to address the scourge of TB. However, we have not met the Prime Minister and Brian May’s claim of a behind the scenes deal therefore makes him look ridiculous.”
In the run up to the election, Dr May launched Common Decency, a project intended to encourage people to vote for people who would act with decency in the House of Commons. He admits he’s disappointed in the outcome of the election. He says he has no plans to abandon the project, but will be changing his methods. “
A lot of the old methods don’t work,” he said. “Even getting a vote in the House of Commons and winning that vote is no guarantee you’ll influence the Government.”
But the Queen guitarist played down reports of a rift between him and Prince Charles.
In one of the Prince’s recently revealed “black spider” letters, the Prince describes the anti-badger cull lobby as “intellectually dishonest”.
But the letter was sent a decade ago, before Dr May was vocal on animal rights issues – and crucially, before the independent report declared the badger cull pilot ineffective.
Dr May said: “I imagine Prince Charles’ views could have changed. Somebody should ask him.”
Brian May is a panelist on tonight’s Question Time tonight on BBC One at 10.45pm.
Also on the panel are Ukip leader Nigel Farage, and Jeremy Hunt, who confirmed last week that a bill to repeal the Hunting Act would be on the Government’s agenda for this Parliament.