Camilla Swift

If you were concerned about animal welfare, would you choose to spend money on prosecuting farmers whose welfare is below par? Or would you spend that money on improving animal welfare through regular unannounced farm inspections, and the labeling of meat that has met strict welfare standards? There seems to be a split in the RSPCA, and it’s this farming issue that’s causing all the trouble. At their latest annual meeting the charity’s members voted to support a motion which would see them increase their prosecutions of farmers and slaughterhouse workers, and abandon their current Freedom Food accreditation scheme, according to minutes leaked to The Times.

Do you know where the chicken in your lunchtime sandwich came from? Where it lived and how it died? For most people, the answer's probably no, so it might have been a surprise to discover that many restaurants, supermarkets, and even schools have been selling halal meat without labelling it as such. Of course there are people who will argue for both sides of halal. I can understand why people are so against it, as Melanie McDonagh explains in her blog. After all, slitting an animal’s throat while it’s still conscious isn’t the nicest way of doing things. But I’m not sure that halal – or even kosher slaughter, which prohibits pre-stunning – is the one burning issue in meat production.

'Look at how fantastic Kate looks on her tour of Australia and New Zealand', everyone exclaims. 'And she only gave birth 9 months ago!' Yes, the Duchess of Cambridge certainly does looks lovely. But surely even more credit is due to Zara Phillips, who this weekend rode in the Symm International Horse Trials in Hambledon, just three months after giving birth. So far, Zara has been doing a fantastic job of making motherhood look like a breeze – baby Mia in one arm, champagne (and/or milk bottle) in the other. Zara is one in a long line of royals who don’t seem to mind breaking the rules ­– particularly when it comes to horses. Zara rode until she was over four months pregnant, provoking a flurry of articles on the rights and wrongs of riding during pregnancy.

A cute puppy is natural front-page fodder, as the birth of Britain’s first cloned puppy last week proved. When it was announced that Rebecca Smith, from London, had won a competition to clone her miniature dachshund, Winnie – and that the procedure had been successful – the papers were full of puppy pics. The science of cloning isn't ground breaking; we've all heard about Dolly the sheep, and the world’s first cloned dog, Snuppy, was born in 2005. So why was there such a fuss about the latest puppy – and why is cloning a dog so different from cloning any other animal?  They already clone horses. In fact, in some equine disciplines, cloning is becoming a major industry. Well, if you can afford it, that is.

The funeral of Clarissa Dickson Wright: cook, television personality, countryside campaigner and, at the time, the youngest woman ever to be called to the Bar, was held in Edinburgh this afternoon. Best known for her eccentric and amusing Two Fat Ladies cookery programme with Jennifer Paterson, her life also encompassed law, alcoholism (and subsequent recovery), and appearances on a variety of television shows, including One Man and His Dog and Clarissa and the Countryman. She was famed for her outspoken and (apparently) ‘un-PC’ views on the countryside and hunting, and her admirable penchant for speaking her mind. But Clarissa is best explained in her own words. So in her memory, here are my favourite quotes of hers.

Channel 4 have gone all out with their coverage of today’s Grand National (sponsored, for the first time, by Crabbie’s). As well as the race itself, the channel boasts of having devoted 20 hours of related programming. This included Jockey School – an insight into the Northern Racing College in Doncaster, and what they describe as the ‘troubled teens’ aiming to be the next AP McCoy – and How to win the Grand National, an insight into the breeding and science of race horses. And for those who complain that the National is cruel, it’s worthwhile bearing in mind that it was presented by a vet, Mark Evans.

As I’m sure many of you will be aware, today is a very important day: National Tweed Day. To be honest, I don’t quite understand why they chose the first day of Aintree rather than some time during Cheltenham, but hey ho. The 3rd April it is. Tweed might be seen as a bit of a fuddy-duddy fabric, more suited to young fogeys and Cirencester types than the catwalk. But in recent years it has seen something of a renaissance, and the tweed industry – particularly Harris tweed – can be seen as something of a British success story. In the 2000s, Harris tweed was struggling. In 2009, one mill on Stornaway was forced to close due to falling sales; in 2008 just 500,000 metres of the cloth were produced.

What do I want from the budget, I was asked. So I had a think. One plea was for no more pasty taxes, which I argued distracted from the more serious changes that would actually affect most people. So Osborne decided to cut the Bingo Tax, and we ended up with #bingogate. Someone obviously hadn't been paying attention at the back. But among what I like to think of as the more serious requests to the Chancellor, I suggested the implementation of a charge of, say, £10, each time a person missed an NHS appointment. The Chancellor didn't listen to me then, either. (Well, to be fair, why should he?) But I see that a think tank has released a study, co-authored by former Labour health minister Lord Warner, which recommends charging a £10 monthly fee for use of the NHS.

Every year the Budget comes and goes, amid a flurry of live blogging and urgent blog posts at The Spectator. And almost every year, the papers are full of the minutiae which make for entertaining headlines. So this year, I say: Please, no more pasty taxes.  They just lead to days and days of stupid headlines, which might be fun (for the first hour), but simply end up detracting from the more serious announcements; or rather, the ones that will actually affect most taxpayers. Anyway, moving on. For selfish reasons, I am entirely in favour of raising the basic income tax threshold. I know that the Tories and the Lib Dems have been squabbling over who it is that we have to thank for this proposal, but either way, thank you, and please continue.

To cull or not to cull: that is – once again – the question. This time it’s not badgers, deer, or even goats that are being discussed, but wild boar. Locals in the Forest of Dean have complained that these giant pigs are attacking their dogs, spooking the horses, causing car accidents, and tearing up gardens and football pitches. The Forestry Commission have estimated that the numbers of boar are doubling almost every year, and they believe there are currently about 800 living in the 43 square miles of woodland. If the Forestry Commission get their way, half of these would be culled. But is that really such a big deal?

The jewel in the crown of the Cheltenham Festival – the Gold Cup – starts this afternoon at 3.20. And, unsurprisingly, today is also one of the biggest betting days of the year, with both bookies and punters hoping to recoup their losses – or improve on their winnings. We asked some of our experts who they will be putting their money on. Peter Oborne, The Spectator’s associate editor: Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh is the combination to follow at this festival, on which basis I will be backing On His Own at decent odds of around 20-1. Robin Oakley, writer of The Turf column: I am going for Triolo D'Alene. Alysen Miller, producer of CNN’s racing programme, Winning Post: On paper Bobs Worth is the one to beat.

The Cheltenham Festival kicks off today, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Arkle’s winning streak of 3 consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups, from 1964-1966. Here he is winning in both ’64 and ’65: Known to many racing fans simply as ‘Himself’, no other horse has even come close to beating his astounding triple in the Gold Cup. Indeed when he first ran, in 1964, many believed that his rival Mill House was invincible. But beaten he was, and Arkle went on to be thought of as at least one of the greatest – if not the greatest – steeplechaser in history. Nowadays many racehorses are household names – just think of Black Caviar, or Frankel. But Arkle was the very first to establish himself as a media star.