subject: Mens Wellies Press Their Case [print this page] Mens Wellies Press Their Case Mens Wellies Press Their Case
Pressure Groups and lobbyists have been a fact of life for many generations. People representing a particular interest or sector of society recognise the need for access to the decision makers and as a result either have formed groups to try to influence policy or recruited lobbyists to represent their viewpoint in the corridors of power.
Some groups are fairly informal while others far more structured and registered. There are many categories within the registered groups, including the professions, for example the Law Society, animal life, for example the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, business, the Confederation of British Industry, the environment, Friends of the Earth, political, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, or human rights, Amnesty International.
All these groups aim to persuade public opinion and legislators of the importance and relevance of their viewpoints.
Rural pressure groups abound and lobbyists reinforce the strength of rural opinion. Direct action has occurred at times with protests against policy seen as misguided or just plain wrong. Protesters have voiced their concerns over a number of issues with perhaps fox hunting the most widely publicised in recent times, Dressed in mens wellies, huge crowds have marched against the ban on fox hunting.
The protesters cite the employment numbers involved, but also the control of what they regard as vermin. Legislators point to the perceived cruelty involved in the sport. There is little meeting of minds and the debate will rage for years.
Fox Hunting is just one subject of the Pressure Group, the League Against Cruel Sports who realise the debate continues. Founded nearly a century ago, the League campaigns against all blood sports, taking the view that any actions to inflict suffering on animals should be banned.
Their response to the argument that jobs would be lost in the countryside is to counter by saying that an inanimate object could be used as the prey and people would get the same enjoyment from the riding and exercise.
There are other campaigns that the League is involved in, ranging from bull fighting, seeking a complete ban, to improved legislation for greyhound racing, limits on hunting of wild animals with the gun.
However, other animal welfare groups concentrate on the domestic side as well. The squire in his mens wellies is likely to have a keen interest in animal welfare and it is claimed that the UK is an animal loving nation, dogs, cats, a whole variety of pets, often as companions. The R.S.P.C.A.'s remit covers all domestic pets at intervenes at times when reports come in about cruelty to animals in the home. Often well intentioned individuals simply cannot cope with maintaining healthy conditions for their pets and action is deemed necessary to protect those pets from cruelty.
Other pressure groups look at the wider world picture where there are a series of endangered species, some absolutely synonymous with the country itself, an example being the tiger in India. The World Wide Fund for Nature is one such group.
