Don’t let Michael Gove hugging a puppy distract you – while focusing on animal rights, the Tories are neglecting our human rights

A few years ago I came across some animal rights activists who said they were encouraging people to vote Ukip in the upcoming general election. Their reason, to them, seemed like a no-brainer: “It’s the best party for animals,” one woman told me.

They clearly hadn’t heard of the Animal Welfare Party, but that’s beside the point. Whether Ukip was, or wasn’t, the best party for animal welfare at the time is also beside the point. In the run up to the 2015 general election, then leader Nigel Farage had said that women were paid less because they were “worth less”, defended the use of the racial slur “ch**ky” and suggested people with HIV shouldn’t be allowed to migrate to Britain. These are just a few examples – the list goes on.

And yet these activists were advocating for Ukip. I wondered why on earth they would do this – and then I realised that Farage’s words (and actions) wouldn’t affect them, because they didn’t belong to any of the groups he was discriminating against.

Voting for any party – mainstream or minor – based on their animal rights record over their human rights record is a privilege only afforded to those who don’t have to worry about their basic human rights being violated. Or those who aren’t aware of the true scale of how anti-human rights a party actually is. It also doesn’t make any sense – there are plenty of parties like Labour and the Greens who support both animal and human rights – why not vote for them?

Thankfully, Ukip won very few seats in the 2015 election and has since almost fizzled out. But there are other parties around today advocating animal rights who have an absolutely appalling record on human rights. I’m throwing shade, of course, at the Conservative Party, who are today proposing changes in the pet trade, particularly when it comes to the selling of puppies.

What seems on the surface like a much needed policy is actually completely ridiculous when you think about all the things the Conservatives could – and should – be legislating on instead. Our NHS is on the brink of collapse (a threat to healthcare and life), hate crime is on the rise (a threat to safety), the number of rough sleepers in England is rising (a threat to our right to shelter, and the safety of those who are homeless), and the Tories have been accused of “economic murder” for killing 120,000 people due to austerity. But instead of coming up with any real solutions to any of this, champion of do-gooders Michael Gove has decided to focus on the puppies.

Now before I get attacked for being an animal-hating, unsympathetic, person-who-throws-cats-in-wheelie-bins type, I’d just like to make clear that I believe wholeheartedly in animal rights. I think we should treat all creatures with a little more respect, and I don’t believe in harming or killing any species for any reason – which is one of many reasons why I’m vegan. I met aforementioned animal rights activists because I spent years of my teens campaigning against fox hunting and animals being used in sport. I think how humans treat other animals in general is appalling – and needs to change. And I really, really hate the pet trade.

However, contrary to the beliefs of some animal rights activists (who would call this next sentence “speciesist” – a ridiculous and, quite frankly, offensive term), I can’t pretend I don’t believe there’s a hierarchy when it comes to human rights and the rights of other living creatures.

Non-vegans have a habit of asking vegans annoying questions about completely fabricated and very unlikely scenarios. For example, if I was on a desert island and an evil villain gave me the choice between saving the life of a human child or a baby hippopotamus, who would I choose? (It always starts with being on a desert island). I would choose to save the human, of course.

But here’s a less hypothetical question for everyone to answer: If you were stuck on an actual small island (i.e. Britain) and you could choose between improving the lives of puppies or helping your own grandma live a longer, healthier life (i.e. saving the NHS) which would you choose?

Human rights must always come before animal rights, whether that’s on a desert island or when we’re deciding which party to vote for in the next election.