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Ah, so they’re fucking idiots then, eh?

The SWEP reacted with fury at the letter, saying it would never support the breeding of animals for profit.

So that’s the people trying to take care of the Dartmoor ponies entirely ruling out all forms of animal husbandry then.

Twats.

21 thoughts on “Ah, so they’re fucking idiots then, eh?”

  1. ‘The charity’s welfare officer Becky Treeby said: “It would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months time could be in someone’s burger.”‘

    Well that’s what matters isn’t it. The death of a breed is of no consequence compared with a girl called Becky (not Rebecca) being “upset”.

  2. The charity’s welfare officer Becky Treeby said: “It would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months time could be in someone’s burger.”‘

    We’ll all get recycled in the end, Becky love. I’m expecting to become fertiliser in the not too distant future.

  3. If a species has to disappear to protect our lofty principles, so be it. It’s a sacrifice I am willing for them to make.

  4. JuliaM,

    I’d imagine you’d have to marinade him for a couple of days, otherwise
    he’d be as tough as old boots and the taste of sanctimony would be overwhelming.

  5. JuliaM said: “I’m probably not best placed to comment, seeing as I watch David Attenborough shows with a ‘wonder what that tastes like?’ attitude…”

    Professor Richard Fortey’s ‘Survivors’ book and tv series sees him find that out for some of the things he covers.

  6. ‘The charity’s welfare officer Becky Treeby said: “It would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months time could be in someone’s burger.” implicit in that quote

    …… so we want the tax payer to fund the survival of the species.

  7. JuliaM,

    I’m guessing (based on veal and lamb) that Dartmoor hill ponies are probably a more tender horse. I’ve not tried horse (not out of squeamishness, but lack of opportunity).

  8. I worked at a coal mine on Sardinia for short periods nearly 20 years ago. Horse meat was often on the menu at the mine canteen. I remember it being pale in colour, like pork, lean and quite tasty but nothing to write home about. It was not a problem for me to eat it, I eat cows, pigs, lambs, chickens, a variety of game, why not horses?

  9. The charity’s welfare officer Becky Treeby said: “It would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months time could be in someone’s burger.”‘

    Lambs are cuter than foals, albeit probably not by the time they get made into lamb chops. The woman is a cretin.

  10. I live on a windswept corner of Dartmoor and have ponies in the yard. Fortunately for the nags, my neighbours produce outstanding beef, lamb, pork and poultry – the local diet being supplemented by venison, partridge, pheasant and rabbit. I just can’t see pony-burgers catching on.

  11. DocBud – “It was not a problem for me to eat it, I eat cows, pigs, lambs, chickens, a variety of game, why not horses?”

    Presumably we have all eaten horse if we have ever eaten a sausage in the UK. God knows where the meat is coming from.

    The point is surely we have to cull the ponies on Dartmoor. They can rot or someone can eat them. Or more accurately someone or someone else’s dog can eat them. Why shouldn’t we? Up to the point of slaughter, they have had a good, open air, life. They have not been kept in small pens or pumped full of chemicals or otherwise lived any other way besides that Evolution intended them to live. It is about as humane meat as we can eat.

  12. The point of the article, Bernie G, is that if they cannot develop a profitable industry around the ponies, be it burgers or some other product, it will be far from fortunate for the nags.

  13. So Much for Subtlety

    DocBud – “The point of the article, Bernie G, is that if they cannot develop a profitable industry around the ponies, be it burgers or some other product, it will be far from fortunate for the nags.”

    There is an obvious alternative industry – hunting. I imagine that hunting ponies with dogs could be quite invigorating. And certainly stalking would be possible.

    But would Becky go along with it? Someone with a name like that might not. But perhaps it is an age thing? Any Becky under 35 might well be appalled. A Rebecca over 45 is likely to be sensible.

    I love their preferred solution:

    SWEP favours birth control methods to keep the number of foals down.

    Sure, it is a much better idea to pay some poor sod to tramp around the Moor making sure every little pony has her Depo-Vera shot than allowing any human to squeeze any drop of profit or enjoyment from a cheaper alternative.

    Just in passing, can I say what a national treasure Princess Anne is? She might be a deeply unappealing, and rather dim, old boot with vile taste in men and a penchant for a bit of the rough, but she contributes more to the national debate every now and then than all of Tony’s “Babes” put together.

  14. So Much for Subtlety

    Bernie G. – “I live on a windswept corner of Dartmoor and have ponies in the yard. Fortunately for the nags, my neighbours produce outstanding beef, lamb, pork and poultry – the local diet being supplemented by venison, partridge, pheasant and rabbit. I just can’t see pony-burgers catching on.”

    A better way to control the ponies’ numbers has just occurred to me. America’s Isle Royale is about the minimum size a wolf pack needs to sustain itself. Which is a little over 200 square miles. Even then, they need to replenish their numbers from the mainland every now and then, but it is almost big enough.

    Dartmoor is 368 square miles. It ought to be able to support a wolf pack or two. Perhaps 20 wolves. Almost a proper sized population. You would need, maybe, 3000 ponies or so. But it used to support 25,000 of them. More than enough.

    No doubt George Monbiot would be happy to sign up to this little piece of re-wilding. What Green could resist? I dimly remember that Paul van Vlissingen was trying to keep a wolf pack in Scotland. There were some at the Highland Wildlife Park. So it would be just a matter of trucking them down.

    So, sorry Bernie. You may need a better fence. And to stop any children wandering around at night. But a small price to pay I think. Britain needs its wolves back:

    http://www.wolvesandhumans.org/wolves/wolf_reintroduction_to_scotland.htm

    I am sure Becky would agree.

  15. “Just in passing, can I say what a national treasure Princess Anne is? She might be a deeply unappealing, and rather dim, old boot with vile taste in men”

    The Lord Giveth and The Lord Taketh Away.

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