the Sad Cow affair has simply gob-smacked me.
I am not a fan of the live export trade, and I think it's appropriate that when/if we send our cows off to distant lands, we send our inconsistent and fanciful notions of animal welfare along with them...
but
The response of the govt to a nasty video, accompanied by a flood of despairing emails (was that you, PETA? just asking...) was enough to trash a substantial rural/export industry and spit in the face of our most important regional neighbour.
It is the most incompetent act of governance I can remember: we have moved beyond "Yes Minister" to the far side of "Fawlty Towers", heading to the macabre land of "Catch 22".
I suppose it's comfort to some to believe the coalition are made of better stuff: good luck with that, but I don't think so.