Pets on parade

Lucy Kenningham | Issue 5 | Culture & Travel, Magazine, Politics

From the Archive

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 12: Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses outside Methodist Hall polling station as he cast his vote with dog Dilyn, on December 12, 2019 in London, England. The current Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the first UK winter election for nearly a century in an attempt to gain a working majority to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. The election results from across the country are being counted overnight and an overall result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

There’s nothing quite like the description “animal lover” to engender good will towards politicians

There’s nothing quite like the description “animal lover” to engender good will towards politicians. When Sir David Amess MP was tragically murdered last October, of the many just causes he championed one was singled out above all others as evidence of his good character: his animal welfare activism. Amess was one of very few lifelong parliamentary campaigners for animal rights. He was not so unusual in being an MP who owned a pet. However not all are such genuine devotees. Politicians have long used a variety of species to curry good will and to create a general air of kindliness. One blatant example was David Cameron’s staged hugs with Arctic-dwelling huskies whilst on a mission in 2006 to shed his party’s unfortunate “nasty” label. The Obama family’s Portuguese water dogs gained international adoration, bolstering belief in the President’s regular family values and his relatability. So many American politicians pick up pups that commentators invented the term “puppaganda”. Donald ...

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