Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare
Animal lovers universally support animal welfare. I support any organization or person who is out there doing good for animals. Those who display such human kindness deserve extreme kudos.
Animal rights advocates are an entirely different “breed” of animal lover. Yes, they might have some love for animals, but there’s far more to it. I didn’t understand the clear distinction between the two until a couple of weeks ago. Every alarm bell I have started going off! One of the best descriptions I’ve read:
What is the Animal Rightist Threat? “Animal Rights” proponents seek to restrict use and ownership of animals, including hunting and fishing, pet and livestock ownership, circuses, rodeos, zoos and medical research. They pursue this radical agenda through a wide variety of legal and illegal means, but concentrate on passing state and federal legislation that appears to address animal welfare. In reality, however, such legislation goes far beyond its superficial intent, placing severe restrictions on the rights of law-abiding animal owners and sportsmen.
Why should I be concerned? Animal Rights organizations, including the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), ASPCA, Farm Sanctuary, PeTA and others are growing rapidly and receive huge media-induced donations, frequently from pet-owning citizens who mistakenly believe the money goes to helping homeless animals. Nearly one-half of the U.S. House of Representatives and over one-third of the U.S. Senate consist of predictable AR voters, endorsed by the well-funded coalition, Humane USA, and other similar Political Action Committees.
To summarize, there are huge organizations with huge amounts of PAC money behind the pit bull myths. There’s no evidence to be found as to where the myths began, but there’s plenty of evidence to show how and why they are being perpetuated. What really bothers me about this is how easily the public, politicians and the media have gone along with it. Al Gore’s perceptions are so accurate! There is no logic that can support the myths and there are no statistics, yet we have prima facie evidence right here in BMG posts showing the impact the media has had. Out goes reason in the face of fear and panic.
Politicians receive a huge amount of support and information from lobbyists. Citizens no longer seem to be part of the equation. K Street holds the balance of power. Grassroots are only minimally effective. I get that now. I understand the extent and the complicity of the media. Light bulb went on and will stay on. I really didn’t get the full impact before. That is how things work. That is the only game in town. Daily Kos, BMG, web sites with information, etc. are gnats to be swatted away. Once elected, politicians are inundated with assaults on reason. The only hope is to find candidates who understand this and fight the assault. Without acknowledging the assault, we are doomed to repetition and change will fail. Pharma, insurance, animal rights groups — all have agendas that are antithetical to the welfare of the general populace.
That said, this is not a post about Democrats vs. Republicans. All parties have eagerly participated in this game. I wish it wasn’t so.
The Big Money Players and Hypocrisy
There are a number of organizations, some well known, others not, that are the big money players. Animal Scam has a list of these organizations and their backgrounds. These are the big PAC, K Street players who send out glossy mailers with pictures of puppies and address labels in hopes of receiving donations to ‘save animals’. They don’t really do anything about animal welfare:
HSUS raises enough money to finance animal shelters in every single state, with money to spare, yet it doesn’t operate a single one anywhere.
Here’s a site that tracks PETA’s hypocrisy:
Despite its constant moralizing about the “unethical” treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, PETA has killed over 14,400 dogs and cats at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. During 2005, PETA put to death over 90 percent of the animals it collected from members of the public.
PETA has joined in the pit bull hysteria frenzy (but they really love animals!):
Here’s another shocker: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the very people who are trying to get you to denounce the killing of chickens for the table, foxes for fur, or frogs for dissection, supports the pit bull policy, albeit with reluctance.
Although not on the scam list, Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) belongs there as well. This is where things get downright weird. The author of one of the most widely used documents on the dangers of pit bulls (that is totally based on media reports and is a prime example of statistical fraud) works for BFAS. BFAS claims to not support breed bans, but it employs the author of the most offensive, inaccurate and abused study out there! The bizarre factor here is not limited to BFAS being sold to the media by none other than Joe Trippi. There’s a post on Trippi’s blog about this. The comments are fascinating.
Apparently, BFAS originated as a cult and is headquartered on property formerly owned by the Church of the Final Judgment. The cult predecessors worshipped both Satan and Christ. Since BFAS is playing both sides of the game here, I’m wondering if there’s not some continuing cult influence? This organization wins the hypocrisy award hands down because it’s grabbing media attention by spending donations to airlift 300 animals from Lebanon into the US (while Trippi is out shilling the story to CBS)! OMG! Hundreds of thousand of animals are being euthanized in this country, with a backhand nod from BFAS, but they are the media darlings for spending donor money on a media blitz to save pets in Lebanon. Hmmmm. I used to be a Trippi fan. How could I have been so naive!
As an animal lover, I can understand some of the goals of these organizations. I object to the use of animals in medical testing ala Judy Giuliani. I don’t wear fur. But the extremists scare me and they should scare anyone who is a pet owner and lover. These people want to take away your ownership rights. Their goal is to systematically change laws, one piece of legislation at a time, to strip away your rights to own a pet. They want you to become ‘guardians’ rather than owners, all in the name of animal welfare. Don’t buy it.
Breeders are under attack (and these are the good people who are responsible for quality bred dogs). Rick Santorum is in on this one:
So reading between the lines, Senator Santorums bill will actually start the unthinkable. Hobby breeders, who have always been considered the legitimate and best way to find a healthy and well bred animal will be the ones that will be affected. Literally, the end to how everyone in the US can find and purchase a well bred domesticated pet.
These laws are being enacted everywhere by Democrats and Republicans alike. Ahnold Schwazenegger has set the state of California back by a few decades with a
bill that repeals the ban of breed specific legislation in the state. This opens the door even wider for the destruction of pit bulls or any other animal or thing deemed “dangerous”. CMD thought that there was an analogy to be made to gun ownerhsip rights. He’s correct, but it goes much further than that. You have no rights, only responsibility for something you are “guarding”.
In Trippi, Santorum and Ahnold / Paris Part III, I will highlight the language that is being used in legislation all over the country. I think this is the only way to understand the implications.
This is no longer about pit bulls, they are just the means to an end. It’s all about the politics of K Street, and you and your pets had better beware. There’s an agenda and money behind laws being written to impact your civil rights. It’s only just begun. You may soon be forced to microchip your pets so that you and your pets can be tracked at all times. It’s not 2008, it’s Animal Farm in 1984.
I’m willing to accept the fact that you’ve got a different outlook on pitbulls, but I think that the invoking of religion, i. e. the Church of the Last Judgement, etc., is not helpful, either, imho.
I’m of course oppose to any systematic attempt to wipe out a breed of dog, but fundamentally buying and intentionally breeding dogs and cats is wrong, because animals are not property.It is also just plain irresponsible given the situation of vast overpopulation, when there are millions of animals without homes and many of them tragically being put down, just to preserve the “purity” of certain breeds and to prop up a marketplace where living beings are treated as commodities.
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p>I’m with you on protected animals against discrimination, but you’re the one who is sounding extreme by attacking the existence of basic animal rights.
I agree and don’t. I’ll tell you why I personally have a problem with this. I love American Bulldogs, but not the kind that people think of. I like the Scott type, which is essentially the original breed established in this country. It’s almost impossible to find people who are trying to keep this version of the breed alive. Most of the people who are doing so are truly responsible and dedicated breeders. The dogs they breed represent what this dog was and should be from an historical perspective. No shortened nose to cause breathing issues. No increase in girth to provide extra weight. No problems with hip displasia due to breeding with dogs who have issues with shortened legs.
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p>I’m not an extremist, I’m just informed on what has happened in the breeding world. I don’t like it, but I don’t want to hurt the efforts of people who have dedicated their lives to keeping certain breeds the way they have always been. I despise breeders who want to create dogs who appeal to the general population.
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p>Unfortunately, the law is very maleable on these issues. At present, your animals are “property” and have even less status than your computer. If your rights to your animal are lost, your rights to you laptop may be next.
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p>I’ll give you an example that has happened to me:
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p>My dog was bitten my the neighbor’s Shepherd. Things like this happen all the time. They had played together for years, but suddenly they had an issue and got in a fight. I pulled them off each other and determined that my dog needed care. I brought my dog to the animal hospital. Despite the fact that I reported to the vet that both my dog (with a rabies license on her collar) and the neighbor’s dog were vaccinated, the incident (unbeknownst to me) was reported by the hospital to state authorities as my dog having been bitten by a “known rabid animal”. I received a call from the police department ten days later stating that my dog needed to be taken and quarrantined for a period of sixty days. At that point, I had no legal rights. It didn’t matter that I had proof of my dog being vaccinated or proof of my neighbor’s dog being vaccinated. All of the laws, as written, meant that the police and animal warden could break into my home and take my dog. This is a violation of my civil rights. It’s presumption of guilt. It’s a problem with the laws as they are written. My dog wasn’t removed from my home because I begged and pleaded with the police and the animal control officer. They could have done whatever they wanted because the way laws have been written, you, as an owner, have no rights even when the facts are false. This is a problem.
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p>I’ll go even further and say that the people who intentionally breed animals, cats or dogs, as a hobby, are the people who love these animals more than anyone else. I would only buy a dog or cat from an established small scale breeder because they are personally invested in the animal’s welfare for life.
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p>I’ve spent my whole life dealing with animal issues. I’m one of those people who has taken in hundreds of displaced animals and found them homes at my own expense (spayed and neutered and healthy). So, when I say that I don’t buy into animal rights, I mean that I care about animals, appreciate their rights to live, and I despise those who don’t care about their individual lives.