Many who work in the media industry regularly go shooting
There is a concept very much in fashion in Westminster, where I occasionally work as a journalist, known as the “dead cat strategy”.
It works something like this: let’s suppose you’re at a dinner party, debating a topic in which the facts are almost entirely against you. Logic dictates that the longer this conversation continues, the more certain you are to lose the argument. So instead of continuing to talk, you decide to suddenly plonk a dead cat on to the dining table.
Now all anyone is saying is: “Crikey, that’s a dead cat!”
In other words, people have stopped thinking about the subject that was giving you so much grief and are instead obsessed with something new: a dead cat. They might very well be alarmed, disgusted and even traumatised at this development, but you have successfully ended a debate that you were otherwise bound to lose.
Dead cat strategies are simple, but can be highly effective. Perhaps the most famous, in recent years, involved the red bus that Boris Johnson unveiled during the 2016 Brexit referendum. It claimed that the UK sends £350million a week to the EU that could otherwise be spent on the NHS. The actual amount was nearer £180million. By using an inflated figure — which was guaranteed to be disputed — he created a distraction from other niggly debates. The nation instead spent weeks arguing about which gargantuan sum was actually sent to Brussels. For Boris, that worked out rather well.
Now opponents of shooting have also, in recent years, become very good at using dead cats — in some cases quite literally.
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside