Tamsin Joiner Morgan has been a lifelong animal lover and her dream is to open her own animal sanctuary one day. But for now, she is happy as PA to Douglas Batchelor, the chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports.
She joined the organisation two years ago, wanting to make a difference to animal welfare. It seems likely, although not definite, that that ambition will be realised, with the league lobbying for the Hunting Bill to be heard next month or October, fulfilling a pledge by Tony Blair that it would go through in this next session of Parliament. If it succeeds, then hunting wild animals with dogs will be illegal.
Tamsin, a vegetarian, knows there are arguments about a whole way of country life disappearing but says: “People can simply switch to drag hunting, where there is no live quarry, and preserve everything they now have.”
She took a degree in business and media and then worked as practice manager for a large veterinary group. Subsequently she went back to university to take a four-year degree in veterinary nursing.
She graduated in her second degree with first class honours in 2002 but not without a struggle: “I was also studying for my professional qualification which meant working at the veterinary practice to gain practical experience. And because I was supporting myself financially, I had to work part-time. I was a PA at Merrill Lynch and I worked on days off, during the evenings and full-time during the holidays. It was exhausting — and a terrific juggle.
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“I was terribly over qualified for this job, but I wanted to get my foot in the door of animal welfare and Douglas assured me that I would grow and learn alongside him. It started off as a secretarial role but Douglas has allowed me to develop it. My aim is to keep ahead of his workload and to offload what I can.”
Tamsin works with the committee of 12 who decide policy, the board of four directors and the five trustees of Working With Wildlife, the educational charity set up by the League. She also organises the AGM, sets up media interviews and works with her boss on strategy.
Unusually, both work from home two days a week: “I can log on to all my e-mails so it doesn’t make much difference to how we work. Douglas and I are on the phone to each other the whole time.
“There aren’t many bosses like him. He is a lovely, calming person with great empathy. He values my opinions and is always encouraging.”
Douglas has been in his current role since 1999, after being made redundant in his midfifties: “When I saw this job advertised, I thought how nice it would be to do something I believed in. I have always disagreed with blood sports. My grandmother used to say, ‘If you are going to kill it, kill it but don’t play with it first’. I can never get my head around the idea that people get their thrills from hunting and killing.
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“It is an issue that goes to the heart of how people behave. There is a theory that people kill animals to demonstrate their dominance and that animals are a proxy. Certainly, cruelty to animals can be linked to anti-social behaviour and worse.”
Douglas has not fought with banners but by the political process: “We have managed to put the moral argument in front of politicians. Reason is more effective than blocking roads. Interestingly, it is the blood sports lobby that has taken to the streets and turned into activists.”
But won’t the fox population soar if hunting is banned? “When hunting was suspended for a year during foot and mouth, there was no difference. More foxes are killed by cars than by hunts and if you simply pick off foxes, then you create predator-free zones into which new predators move.”
If hunting is banned, where will that leave the League, other than relishing victory after 80 years? (“It will be a great day for us, but even greater for wildlife,” says Douglas.) The organisation has other campaigns, including improving conditions for greyhounds. But its next big target is guns. “We are opposed to shooting animals for sport,” says Douglas. “So we will move on to that.” If you want to save your chickens from the fox, management techniques, he says, are more effective. And his own? “I like to think I am fair and reasonable. I set clear objectives, but I give people ample freedom as to how they achieve them. I do work with a lot of very bright people, including Tamsin.
“I was concerned that she might be overqualified for the role but not the organisation. She is very good with people and she uses her veterinary knowledge in dealing with calls from the public.
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“Working from home suits us both and saves us commuting. These are the days of the virtual office but I have always found attendance at a desk to be an outmoded concept. For women in particular, it makes sense to work from home because it doesn’t force them into feeling trapped between work and families. The danger is that if they choose the latter, you will lose your bright, ambitious and able staff.”