As protests against the use of wild animals by the Austrian Circus Belly Wien/Renz currently touring the country grow stronger by the day, its increasingly beleaguered spokesperson has taken to claiming in media interviews that its animals are happy, because several camels have given birth since arriving here.

The appearance of a sheep and her new-born lambs on The Late Late Show last week generated much controversy . Sadly, as is usually the case when farm animal abuse is discussed, much of the coverage on mainstream and social media has turned into the facile ‘urban versus rural’ debate.