Nanny is a strange old lady; although she can come across as being cold and uptight, there are occasions when she can show real feeling and compassion.Her chums in Hastings Borough Council certainly seem to have a soft and compassionate side to their nature, at least when it comes to maggots.
Rob Reeves, a heart patient, had planned to sit in a bath of maggots to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Unfortunately, Nanny's chums in Hastings Borough were going to have none of that; they have banned the event, as they deem that it would be cruel to the creatures.
Nanny has said that the stunt would contravene the local authority's animal welfare charter, if a maggot was injured or caused unnecessary distress.
Over £400 had been pledged in sponsorship money, this now looks to be lost.
Ron Reeves said:
"They told me that if I injure, squash or upset a maggot I can be prosecuted.
There are not many people who would have the guts to sit in a bath of maggots.
You have to do something unusual to attract the sponsors, everybody does a sponsored walk."
Hastings Borough Council spokesman, Kevin Boorman, said:
"The council recognises that all animals are sentient creatures, capable of enjoying a state of well-being and equally capable of suffering.
The council will fully enforce the statutory powers."
Brett McLean, who helped Ron organise the event, said:
"We were originally told that we needed £10M of public liability insurance
in case a maggot escaped the bath and someone was to slip on it.
It was only when I phoned the council to check on the detail that we were told we couldn't use the maggots at all."
The irony is that the council are currently promoting a children's fishing scheme, where live bait is used.
Nanny is an unthinking hypocrite.
No doubt Hastings Borough Council have a pest control department one of whose tasks would be.....to, err, destroy maggot infestations. First I knew that a maggot was sentient - they don't have a brain as such. In fact just like those council officials.
ReplyDeleteRight, so next time I zap a fly that has had its eyes on my lunch with a well placed squirt of fly killer am I to expect a group of black clad blokes to smash through my window, stick an MP5 in my ear and scream "Drop the 'Raid' and get down on the floor you murdering bastard!" ?
ReplyDeletePersonally if this chap is sitting in a bath of maggots and squashes a few I'll breathe a sigh of relief as it means a few less of the buzzy wee so and so's landing on my sandwiches when they grow up.