Before you madly search your home for tar and feathers, I am not a card-carrying PETA member. Nor do I concur with many of the group's "extremist" views or tactics. PETA's 2003 exhibit comparing factory farm animals to Holocaust victims, for example, was a bad idea.
That said, however, I still thank God for PETA -- short for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The PETA folks have riled up more than a few ranchers and trappers, infuriated many a meat eater and hunter, and prompted outrage from Bible fundamentalists and game farm proprietors. They have crawled under the skin of those people who feel animals were put on this planet merely for human exploitation.
That's what they want to do. But PETA also does something else that hardly any other group does with any regularity:
It stands up for those that can't speak for themselves. It sticks its neck out. It takes chances. It displays a great deal of mettle for a cause it profoundly believes in.
Whether you mock the PETA people or deplore their methods or view them as hopelessly zealous, they have elevated the discussion of animal rights and animals' place in the world. Amid the paint-splattered fur coats and celebrities-in-the-nude advertisements, the group is prompting many people to re-evaluate their traditional thinking of wildlife and animal issues.
Put it this way: How great would our ignorance of such issues be if PETA did not exist?
Thanks to PETA, we now know much more about the inhumane actions of some traveling circuses, the cruelty of steel-jaw leghold traps and the illegal trade in endangered species.
Thanks to PETA, individual acts of heartlessness have been exposed nationwide, alternatives to laboratory animal testing are now being used, and communities across the country have banned the chaining or tethering of dogs (including Lincoln).
Thanks to PETA, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Wendy's have all inaugurated animal welfare research programs. PETA also has been in the trenches in the battles against dogfighting and cockfighting.
In probably its most noble cause, PETA was among the first to expose the many sins of factory farming. For these actions alone we should be thankful, says author Matthew Scully. In his new book, "Dominion -- The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy," Scully writes:
"Feared for the truths they might tell, animal rights champions do not deserve our scorn. They deserve our admiration and our gratitude. Sometimes the most courageous thing is to state the obvious, and that is what they are doing when they tell us that to treat animals in such a way is cruel, abhorrent and inexcusable."
Now boasting a worldwide membership of 800,000, PETA continues to make headlines for some of its publicity efforts which, depending on your point of view, are either off-the-wall or bold. The group gained more attention recently when its Super Bowl ad was rejected by CBS, guaranteeing it thousands of hits and views on the Internet.
The commercial was a bit risqué, perhaps, but humorous and fairly tame when compared to the Super Bowl's halftime show and some of the other lackluster commercial spots. The gist of PETA's ad was that eating meat causes impotence. (You can view the 30-second ad at www.peta.org/feat/superbowl/.)
If you check out the commercial, you'll probably find it a bit offensive but quite amusing. That's sort of the way PETA has gone about its work for 24 years now.
Subtly and slowly, but surely and assuredly, PETA is changing the American consciousness. At times, change is imperceptible.
We may view PETA's actions as outrageous and radical, hardly giving them a second thought.
But I can't help but ponder: A decade or two down the road, might we wonder what took us so long to understand?
Pete Letheby is associate editor for The Independent.Federal Lawsuit Filed to Stop Mass Killing
Of Double-Crested Cormorants
Thursday
February 5, 1:07 pm ET
BREA, Calif., Feb. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) announced its sponsorship of The Humane Society of the United States' (HSUS) Pet Fest America(tm), a series of events designed to celebrate and honor the joy of pet ownership in a fun and festive atmosphere. The event features the athletic prowess of the IAMS(r) Superdogs, a troupe of family-owned dogs who have become nationally recognized for their ability to run, jump and retrieve at incredible speeds as well as perform a wide range of agility moves. The first event is in Atlanta at Philips Arena, Sunday, February 8, 2004 from noon to 6 p.m., with shows at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
| Humane Society dismayed by trap check rules |
| Dogfighting case faces stronger bite |
| By Tracy Idell Hamilton |
| San Antonio Express-News |
| Web Posted : 02/06/2004 12:00 AM |
| Eighteen-year-old Miguel Angel Martinez is out of
jail, but his dogs are still behind bars.
The dogfighting charges filed against him after police said they witnessed him urging two pit bulls to fight will be the first in San Antonio to be prosecuted as a felony under the state's beefed-up dogfighting laws. "We will be prosecuting aggressively," said Eddie Wright, one of the city's animal control investigators, who is helping police and the district attorney's office put together the case. Police called animal control workers Wednesday night to remove a male and female pit bull. Officers said they had seen Martinez urging them to fight. Wright said Martinez and family members tried a switch when animal control workers arrived, bringing out the female and a smaller male. But officers noticed the dog was wearing a different collar, and the third dog also was confiscated. Martinez was released on $5,000 bond early Thursday morning. A visit to the Martinez family house, in a Southwest Side neighborhood of chain link fences and crowing roosters, yielded little information. No one answered the door, and neighbors pled ignorance. The three pit bulls now sit in separate cages at the Animal Care Services division of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. The female, a smallish black-and-white, sported cuts on her face. The larger of the two brindle-and-white males began wagging his tail and leaping up as soon as humans came near him. The dogs' futures are in limbo. Wright this week is to file the paperwork necessary for an administrative hearing that will decide their fates. A judge who decides that an animal has been treated cruelly generally has three choices: order it to a nonprofit shelter, have it sold at auction (generally done with livestock), or have it put down. Most shelters will not accept fighting dogs, Wright said, and the dogs can't be handed over to another individual.
Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states and a felony in 47. It has been a felony offense in Texas since September 2002. The FBI does not keep statistics on the activity, but authorities believe it is on the rise. They estimate, from breeder advertisements, Web sites and previous arrests, that at least 40,000 people in the United States breed or own pit bulls for fighting. Dogs often are mutilated in their attempts to stay alive in the fighting pit. The loser may be nursed back to health, if valuable, or just shot or abandoned. Dogfighting also is lucrative. A champion may be worth upward of $10,000. Professional underground rings see thousands of dollars waged for a single fight. It also is a crime that is not prosecuted nearly enough, say officials with the Humane Society of the United States and other shelter organizations. "I think it goes to the cost," said Nick Braden, a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States. "It's expensive to go underground and penetrate these rings." Some states prosecute more aggressively than others, though, and Braden said those cases do act as deterrents. "States just need to enforce the laws they already have on the books," Braden said. Wright said that's exactly what he and the district attorney's office plan to do. With witnesses and police testimony, he said, "We've got a good case." thamilton@express-news.netThe Associated Press contributed to this report. |
|
Senate
Ways and Means Committee Members
Sen. Joseph Zarelli (chair)
360-786-7634
Sen. Mike Hewitt (vice
chair)
360-786-7630
Sen. Linda Evans Parlette (vice chair)
360-786-7622
Sen. Don Carlson
360-786-7696
Sen. Mark Doumit
360-786-7550
Sen. Darlene Fairley
360-786-7662
Sen. Karen Fraser
360-867-0011
Sen. Pat Hale
360-786-7614
Sen. Jim Honeyford
360-786-7684
Sen. Steve Johnson
360-786-7692
Sen. Cheryl Pflug
360-786-7608
Sen. Margarita Prentice
360-786-7616
Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen
360-786-7602
Sen. Debbie Regala
360-786-7652
Sen. Pam Roach
360-786-7660
Sen. Larry Sheahan
360-786-7620
Sen. Betti Sheldon
360-786-7644
Sen. Shirley Winsley
360-786-7654
|
|
For more information about how you can protect
your rights as a sportsman, contact The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, 801
Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, OH 43229. Phone (614) 888-4868. E-Mail us at
info@USSPORTSMEN.org
|
OGBA ANIMAL SPORTS RALLY RELEASE
"Don't tell me they have the right to come to the voters' box and tell us what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in rural Oklahoma," said Kelly Barger, a Pawnee gamefowl breeder.
"This has never been about chicken fighting or the people who fight chickens. This has been about personal rights, personal freedoms and the liberties we are granted under the Constitution."
As thousands of animal sports supporters gathered at the Capitol Wednesday, this was the thought that echoed down the halls of the Capitol. The blowing snow and rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of these hardy souls from rural Oklahoma. They had gathered to demand their constitutional rights.
These people came from all walks of life and all areas of the nation. Farmers, ranchers, teachers, lawyers, rodeo contestants, greyhound and racehorse breeders, gamefowl owners and many more occupations. All had one thing in common, the love of their sport and the unwavering desire to protect it and their rights.
Much to the dismay of the Humane Society and their sister organization the P.E.T.A , support in Oklahoma has gradually switched over to these animal sports groups. Oklahomans have came to realize that the label of barbaric inbred heathens that the Humane Society has tried to stamp on these people of animal sports is just not true.
A recent poll taken in the Tulsa area showed that 58% of those polled were against the 687 law which banned cockfighting and now sets in the Oklahoma Supreme Court by request of the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office. This can only be attributed to the fact that Oklahomans, both rural and urban, are more in tune to the facts and are not as easily swayed by animal activist propaganda.
The rally at the Capitol was held mainly to support Senator Shurdens legislation asking for the county's in Oklahoma to decide this issue within the county itself. This bill (SB829) would make it where both rural and urban Oklahomans could decide what is best for their own county's. This bill is a relatively simple bill that could end all this, and at the same time satisfy both rural and urban Oklahomans. Why not take this approach and settle this running feud that will go on for years otherwise and save the people and the state of Oklahomans millions of dollars that is needed elsewhere.
OGBA NEWSPAPER RELEASE
|
‘Sabungeros’ warned against avian influenza |
|
By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter Cockfight aficionados and breeders should be wary of the
deadly avian influenza spreading in several countries in Asia, a lawmaker
warned on Friday. Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Generoso Tulagan
warned of the danger to this group because migratory birds frequent the
breeding farms in the country’s mountainous areas. Tulagan, member of the House Committee on Health, based
his advisory on reports that some of those who were infected by bird flu
in Thailand are sabungeros, or cockfight aficionados. “It is in the best interest of the sabungeros and
breeders [in the country] to take the warning seriously because they could
be the next victims of this deadly virus,” he said. Tulagan also urged the Arroyo administration to impose a
temporary ban on the importation of game fowls. He said there is also a
need to strictly monitor the birds being sold in pet shops.
“We have to take all the necessary precautions to
prevent a bird-flu outbreak in the country.” Sanitary inspectors must regularly check cock-breeding
farms nationwide, particularly those situated in the mountainous areas.
Health authorities had warned fighting cocks could
acquire the deadly bird flu through migratory birds, which flock to the
country during winter. The Department of Agriculture has already banned the
importation of poultry from countries affected with bird flu to prevent
the virus from entering the country. Chicken, being the most marketable poultry product, is believed to be an effective carrier of the bird-flu virus. Other birds affected by the disease are quails, ducks and pet birds such as pigeons. |