What is it that drives us on? In spite of sorrow, loss, and all the battles
of life, how do we keep going no matter what?
Those of us with animals know the answer. It's heart that keeps us going —
passion; love. Isn't that what having animals is all about? But, as life
becomes more political, with laws and public opinion telling us what we can and
can't do — how we should think, how we should feel — what else are animals
showing us? Let's talk about how our love for animals, and doing right by them,
could be the very thing taking them away from us. And how it's not too late to
turn the tide.
Lots of us contributed to groups claiming to have great compassion for
animals over the years. We all wanted to do the right thing and it felt good being
told how nice we were for donating to their "cause." We were doing something
for animals and we all slept well because of it. The trouble is, it's about
twenty years later now. Those little groups on the lunatic fringe became
organizations, the organizations became publicity mongers and the whole bunch of them
became full-scale corporations with payrolls, lawyers and presidents. It all
morphed into something totally different from what we wanted and all of a
sudden, their idea of compassion is turning out to be quite different from ours.
In recent days, the Associated Press has been reporting some interesting —
and significant — developments affecting all of us with animals. At a
standing-room-only hearing in the U.S. Senate, the Center for Consumer Freedom gave
testimony blasting "the most visible animal rights groups" for hypocrisy and
support of national terrorism. Yes, that's correct: terrorism. And, for the first
time, these familiar organizations are being forced to defend themselves
instead of attacking others.
The tide is turning. Besides this Senate hearing, the state of Florida took
action against what we all know as HSUS (Humane Society of the United States)
just a few days ago. What could the Humane Society do wrong, you ask? How about
stealing an identity for starters? Lots of us are too busy taking care of our
dogs to figure it out. But, "HSUS" isn't the local "humane shelter" in town.
It isn't a humane shelter at all. It's a business name. Did you know you can
register the name of a legitimate business in another state and nobody can stop
you? How many of us gave money to "HSUS" thinking we were giving money to the
humane society in our local county?
Florida lawmakers are just like the rest of us. They were busy making laws
and confused about who this "HSUS" organization really is. Trying to do a good
thing, they allowed this company to benefit from a lucrative state program.
But, when they realized their mistake — to the tune of millions — Florida
surprised everybody and fixed it. Of course, Florida is also the state that let HSUS
get constitutional rights for pregnant pigs.
Sometimes, editors think my comments are bitter. I don't think they are
bitter at all. I grew up loving animals and always will. But, along the way, I
figured out something important, maybe even revolutionary: it's people that
animals depend on. They cannot survive in this culture without us. They cannot buy
their food. They cannot pay their vet bills (and perish the thought of any
animal ever being able to pay thousands of dollars for the kind of care mentioned
in a recent column of mine). When an organization pushes for laws that inhibit
us from breeding animals, racing them, showing them, or having as many as we
can care for — they are threatening the well-being of those animals and their
many generations to come.
That isn't compassion. It isn't anything close to what animals stand for or
how they inspire us to be. A horse named Afleet Alex bravely making his way
around the far turn, past the corner pole and into the home stretch is the sight
to behold. Before the eyes of millions, he drives his way forward — trying,
doing his best, giving his all — and, suddenly, he stumbles. Like you — like me
— out there, working day after day, giving all we've got to make a life for
ourselves and our kids, buying a car, a house, paying our bills and getting
ahead. And, just when you're getting somewhere, something trips you up. But that
horse never takes his eyes off the finish line, the goal he's determined to
reach — that horse keeps going. He keeps going and he pulls away from the pack!
He keeps going, and he wins that race not by a nose, not by a neck. He wins it
by four and three quarter lengths!
If anyone watching The Preakness could see that great horse and not be
thrilled by what he showed us with his body, his heart and his mind, then they don't
understand what animals and people are all about.
Sucking the air out of a record crowd of 115,318 and millions watching on
NBC, a horse showed us what no high school, no Sunday school and no college ever
could. That horse inspired us. He showed us never to give up. And people felt
it.
The governor of Maryland felt it, too. As he presented the most valuable
trophy in American sports to the team of people that brought the bay colt to
glory, his law makers were dangerously close to losing one of the greatest sporting
events on television. Accused of making "some kind of political statement" by
refusing to approve measures that would increase the growth of Maryland's
horse racing industry, they risked losing respect around the world and ripping
the hope right out of people. The governor had seen for himself what animals
mean to us and how we need them in ways that no law should touch - or ever take
away. "We'll work it out," he told reporters. "The Preakness will never leave
Maryland."
In time, we will understand how much of our joy and passion these
organizations have taken away from us. Maybe the people who run them have never known the
great heights, brilliant emotional colors and deep feelings that the rest of
us know with our animals. Maybe they all live in a bland, polite, Ritalin
world. But, time will change them. As people begin waking up, and lawmakers begin
to see their mistakes, they will take more than a second look at the
corporations that started with our contributions and grew up to bite the hands that
feed them. You will see things like Wisconsin passing laws to protect its
agricultural industry against interference by animal rights activists. You will see
things like Michigan Institute of Technology taking a second look before
offering credit courses on how to destroy the Greyhound racing industry instead of
improving it. You will see less and less about them in the news, because press
releases by animal rights groups will be more carefully evaluated by editors
and program directors before being reported as gospel. The circus will be fun
again, breeders won't worry about the safety of their animals, and horse races,
county fairs and dog shows will be bigger than ever.
It's summer here. I go outside and look at the lake that I fell in love with
the first time I saw this place that has become my home. The place where my
horses and dogs live along with Mamie, the wild cat who isn't really so wild. I
walk along the lake and imagine it's an ocean. Tossing a stone into the dark
water, I pretend the ripples are waves rushing over the sands, then pulling
back and leaving behind new things for us to think about, new things to discover.
That's how it is at the shore, in your bare feet, as the waves roll a little
further out each time. That's how it is when the tide is turning.
Sources:
CCF Knocks Animal Rights Groups Back On Their Paws—5/19/05
The nation's ultra-wealthy animal rights groups usually get a free pass from
the media for being "compassionate." But from New York to Washington and
beyond, the Center for Consumer Freedom is exposing those groups for their
hypocrisy, and for their support of the movement's terrorist underbelly. Our work is
paying off. The most visible animal rights groups are now being forced to turn
their attention away from their propaganda and toward defending their
indefensible acts.
Since we launched www.PetaKillsAnimals.com, hundreds of thousands of people
have learned People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' dirty little secret.
And yesterday, we told a standing-room-only U.S. Senate hearing how groups
like PETA, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine offer rhetorical and monetary support for groups like
the FBI-designated terrorist Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth
Liberation Front (ELF). Agent John Lewis, deputy assistant director for
counterterrorism, told the hearing that those groups pose the most serious domestic terror
threat, saying: "There is nothing else going on in this country over the last
several years that is racking up the high number of violent crimes and
terrorist actions."
Judging from the comments of PETA, HSUS, and a leading ALF supporter in the
wake of the Senate hearing, it looks like we've hit a nerve:
"An HSUS spokesman attempted to label our claims as "outrageous." That's
certainly the appropriate word for HSUS's behavior.
"PETA's attorney said the group "has no involvement with alleged ALF or
ELF actions." Yet a sentencing memorandum for convicted ALF arsonist Rodney
Coronado indicates PETA president Ingrid Newkirk had advance knowledge of his
crime.
"University of Texas El Paso professor Steven Best — an ardent defender
and press officer for ALF who refused to appear at yesterday's Senate hearing
or assist in any way — said: "I am in the above ground support movement, I do
not operate in both worlds such that I am in contact with anyone in the ALF or
recruit anyone for it." That's funny, since Best has been caught on camera
saying: "It's the same thing with the ALF. We are breaking down doors, breaking
into buildings, rescuing animals, and smashing property." [emphasis added]
He's also posed on camera posing with Rodney Coronado. The El Paso Times quotes
CCF noting: "Dr. Best's academic position affords him a position of regrettable
influence within the animal-rights movement."
Yesterday's Senate hearing received widespread media attention from outlets
like the Associated Press, Copley News Service, UPI, and the San Diego Union
Tribune. As CNN noted, Sen. James Inhofe "said there was 'a growing network of
support for extremists like ELF and ALF,' and he singled out People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals for giving money to members of both groups." The Des
Moines Register also reported:
Inhofe said that although no one has been killed in an eco-terrorist attack,
experts believe it is only a matter of time. "It is time to take a look at the
culture and climate of support for criminally based activism like ELF and ALF
and do something about it," he said.
Florida Neuters HSUS Funding—May 13, 2005
While leading animal rights groups spend top dollar trying to steal meat off
our tables, they spend precious little in the way of directly helping
animals. As we've highlighted with our popular new website,
PetaKillsAnimals.com, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spends
millions on offensive PR campaigns while it penny-pinches by killing more
than 10,000 dogs and cats rather than caring for them or finding them new
homes. This week, Florida legislators took funds from the state's "friends
of animals" license plate away from the radical Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) after they discovered the ultra-rich HSUS doesn't operate any
spay/neuter programs.
HSUS has over $113 million in assets and an annual operating budget of $69
million. The group's recent merger with The Fund For Animals will likely
bump its budget into the $80 million range. HSUS poured more than $175,000
into a 2002 Florida ballot initiative which gave constitutional rights to
pregnant pigs.
Meanwhile, as HSUS itself admits (in a disclosure buried deep within its
website):
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is not affiliated with, nor
is it a parent organization for, local humane societies, animal shelters, or
animal care and control agencies ... The HSUS does not operate or have
direct control over any animal shelter.
Reporter Mike Jackson poses the obvious question:
Since HSUS doesn't administer any spaying or neutering programs, the
legislature was quite correct to have blocked their receiving any future
funds. The unanswered questions causing the red cheeks are simple: How did
HSUS manage to get designated as a recipient of the funds in the first
place, and will there be any move to recover any funds they've already
received since they were apparently given to HSUS under false pretenses?
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Reprinted with permission. Author/Artist, Ron Hevener, is owner of one of
the oldest kennels in the U.S. — Lochranza Kennels. He is the author of "The
Blue Ribbon" — "Fate of the Stallion" and "High Stakes." His collectible
figurines and watercolor prints are sought at dog, cat and horse shows everywhere.
See more at www.ronhevener.com
If you would like to write to Ron Hevener, send your e-mail directly to Hevener@dejazzd.com or info@canadasguidetodogs.com and include "On With The Show" in the subject line.
Canada's Guide to Dogs