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| The Independent: no pushover |
The British newspaper
The Independent began a petition to end the use of wild animals in circuses and collected more than 32,000 signatures from Britons who are famously protective of animals. But the campaign ran into a roadblock when David Cameron's conservative government balked at supporting the wild animal ban in the House of Commons. Perseverance in the face of commercial opposition paid off as members of all parties voted to protect wild animals from exhibitionism, Thursday. Campaigners hailed the vote as a "historic victory for animal welfare and protection" and it came amidst
"beastly" efforts to bully Tory backbenchers into voting against the measure. One sponsoring MP,
Mr. Mark Pritchard, revealed he was even offered a "trivial" government job to cajole him into withdrawing the motion. The strong arm tactics backfired and the PM suffered a humiliating defeat in a free vote. Prime Minister Cameron is a keen hunter and shooter according to
the Independent. Democracy works when people in power have some backbone to do the right thing. As Mr. Pritchard put it, "I may be just a council house lad...but that background gave me a backbone and thick skin." If Cameron's ministers follow the dictates of the House, it means an end to the 39 wild animal circuses that operate in the UK today.