Labour & UKIPs Animal Welfare Betrayal

Although they  made a huge and  costly mistake by unlawfully  banning live animal exports from the Port of Ramsgate (see my previous post Thanet Labour Councillors cost your £5million?), that shouldn’t make it OK for  Thanet Labour Councillors  to abandon the struggle for animal welfare at the Port  of Ramsgate. Nor should Thanet’s ruling  UKIP councillors  use the High Court case, which has so far forced Thanet Council to pay out almost £5million in damages  to the animal exporters, as a convenient  excuse  for sitting back and doing nothing about the cruel and barbaric trade taking place from the council owned port.

But to their shame  that’s what they’ve done.  When faced with a public petition at the last meeting of Thanet Council on 25 February asking for TDC to support the following extremely modest proposals  

·       Reaffirm their opposition to the live export of animals for slaughter.

·       Lobby Parliament and Thanet MP’s to introduce an amendment to the 1847 Piers and Harbour Clauses Act so that Ports can legally refuse live export trade.

·       Designate a TDC Cabinet Member to be a permanent point of contact between the Council and Thanet Against Live Animal Exports.”

Labour and UKIP said no! Despite Labour’s General Election Manifesto boast that  “No other major political party has such a proven track record of decisive action for animal welfare” and UKIPs General Election Manifesto promise to “ban the export of live animals for slaughter”, both parties shamefully sat on their hands rather than supporting the petition. Why?

Because the massive damages payments which have recently  been made to the exporters have led Labour and UKIP to see this issue as being unpopular with some people. And instead of admitting that Labour councillors made some serious mistakes and instead of  trying to explain the truth about this awful trade and what the council could do to combat this blight on Ramsgate, Thanet’s political class took the easy way out and cynically disregard their election manifesto promises on animal welfare. Proving yet again that most politicians and political parties are lying fuckers who quite happily  cheat  deceive and mislead to get elected.

 To cover up their hypocritical ways, Labour and UKIP have tried to hide  behind the fictitious quack-legal pretence that to campaign or lobby  against EU and UK laws which permit the medievally cruel live exports  trade from Ramsgate would leave TDC open to  more legal action or greater compensation claims from the criminally convicted cruel exporters.   What utter bollox these pathetic excuses for politicians offer for their shameless lack of action and their deceitful jettisoning of their principles and promises.

As the 2013 High Court  judgment against Thanet Council clearly demonstrates, to be found of guilty of breaching EU  free trade laws and to be liable to pay damages  you must actually break the laws and stop the trade – as the fools  from the Labour Party did in 2012 when they choose to  ignore legal and Government advice and proceeded  to ban live  exports (see my previous post Thanet Labour Councillors cost your £5million?).  Simply saying you are opposed to a cruel trade or actively lobbying the UK of EU Parliament to change the laws to end the trade does not breach the law and does not leave TDC open to  legal action. This is precisely what Dover District Council did more than a year ago and I’m unaware of any impending legal  action being taken against the council  for its  admirable stance against live exports from Dover Port.

However, to cover up your cowardly retreat from your election promises and covering your arse by using unfounded  so-called legal advice, or by failing  to challenge such advice when its presented to you,  is the act of spineless wankers who have contempt for the public and who  are not fit to hold public office. And sadly  that’s my assessment of Labour and UKIP in Thanet who together have totally betrayed animal welfare at the port of Ramsgate.

You might have noticed that I haven’t mentioned the Tories. Simple because this is party which has no concept of animal welfare and which shortly after winning the 2015 General Election tried to re-introduce hunting with hounds. Clearly they have no concerns about cruelty to animals. But there again it looks as though Thanet Labour and UKIP don’t either.