Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

After browsing through a few news articles, it seemed only fitting to go with what was becoming quite a dominant subject: animals and ladybirds. On the animal front, there are apparently wild hamsters that live around Strasbourg, and the French government are failing to look after them. I must admit that I never even knew there were hamsters in the wild, although they’re certainly rare: these ones are the only wild hamsters in Europe. Rather wonderfully, they are called The Great Hamster of Alsace, and they appear to live up to their name, often growing up to 10 inches long. As well as being bigger than their cousins, they are also considered much prettier – but not pretty enough, it seems. The French government are being fined quite heftily, in a move that the European Commission “hope” will convince them to take better care of the creatures in the future.

I can’t help but find the wording of the article amusing. The government are described as being “like a seven-year-old child”, facing punishment after mistreating a pet. But the fine is £14.5 million – which is more than just a slap on the wrist. To “hope” it will be enough to encourage them in the future just doesn’t seem appropriate. I know if I suddenly got charged £15 million for not looking after a hamster or two, I’d be inclined to act – and act quite quickly. Hoping simply wouldn’t come into it.

Contrasting this is a story where the government is looking to kill, rather than preserve. Kill ladybirds, to be precise. Apparently one particular breed is a danger to 1,000 species, so in order to counteract the problem scientists have decided to make them infertile. As a way of getting rid of things, I can’t imagine a much more horrible way than infertility. If giant scientists came along and decided to do that to us, things would not be peachy. It would be a slow, haunting death for any race.

I just thought the contrast was quite interesting…