Bill Cole <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>As you know professionally, legislation often is not adopted easily. I
>explained that splendid new WA state law that whizzed into enactment
>because everyone in the state was angry. That doesn't often happen.
I know that laws are often not adopted easily. The UK Commons sat round
the clock today on some Northern Ireland legislation and my heart goes
out to the poorly paid civil servants who had to sit through the whole
debate to support the Government with briefing etc (I have been there in
Parliament through to gone 4am so I know what it is like!)
>
>History might play a role. I don't know when you date the establishment
>of England, but I'll bet you that there weren't animal cruelty laws in
>1066, or William's knights would all have been arrested.
Of course we still have hunting of foxes and other animals with dogs and
the bizarre dangerous dogs act.
>
>We have traditions of local governance so things take a LONG time for
>EVERY jurisdiction to catch up. That's not justification, but it is an
>explanation.
It wasn't really the ideas of animals welfare I was shocked by. It was
the need to put financial value on gerbils so that they had value in
other people's minds. Legislation is not likely to change that!
--
Julian
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* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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