NAIA;

[W]hen Local Grocer owner Heather Chase put together a class on how to ethically raise and process chickens (naturally, including information on how to slaughter them), and became the target of an animal rights campaign, it probably seemed odd to some onlookers. After all, aren’t the animal rights folks always campaigning against people who don’t ethically raise animals? Why on Earth target a “sustainable,” “beyond organic” operation? Well, for the answer to that, simply refer back to paragraph one: because it’s not about the level of care; in there eyes there is no such thing as “ethical meat.”

Bess is a Lakeland terrier. She is 10 weeks old. We brought her home several months after Daisy, our fox terrier, died. That is not quite right. We put Daisy down. She had been in constant pain for a couple of weeks. The veterinarian said that due to the dog’s age and multiplicity of ailments, her treatment would be extremely expensive and continuous. He said even so, the odds were not in Daisy’s favour. He gave us a day to think about it. It was I who took Daisy to the vet — she was by that time semi-conscious and in obvious pain. I stroked her head while the vet gave her the shot. My wife could not bear to be there. She stayed home and cried for a week.
As it was, the consultations, the treatment Daisy did receive before her death and her cremation cost just under $1,300. There are those who would say that Daisy deserved more, that she deserved the same level of medical treatment as that of any family member, because Daisy was not just a pet and we were not just her owners. We were her pet “guardians.”

How much is that moral superiority in the window?

Movement and sales of dogs through “rescue channels” continues to explode. While more and more cities and states are restricting sales of dogs in pet stores to those obtained from animal shelters and rescue groups, the actual source of these dogs remains obscure. Yet, there is mounting evidence that movement through “rescue channels” includes individuals or organizations involved merely for the profit, hence the name “Retail Rescue.” The dogs may be coming from the very same unscrupulous dog breeders these laws are intended to put out of business.
[…]
People continue to want to buy dogs, particularly puppies, but have been convinced that pet stores sell dogs that receive substandard care from commercial breeders collectively called “puppy mills.” Thinking they are saving these dogs, the public is increasingly backing laws banning sales of pure-bred commercially sourced dogs, and permitting only sales from animal shelters and rescue groups.
Notably, the overpopulation of dogs in many parts of the U.S., particularly the north east, has been curtailed by effective spay-neuter programs in these states. Therefore, to provide puppies and dogs to the public, seeking to purchase pets through rescue channels, these animals have to be imported from other states and countries.

How much is that moral superiority in the window?

Several years ago I noticed a trend. I’d be on the beach with my dog Betty when she’d meet another dog. They’d play and I’d get chatting with the dog’s owner. When I’d ask what kind of dog it was, the owner would tell me it was a “rescue dog.”
Did some doggie version of the Titanic sink off the Jersey Shore? Nope. It turned out this was a new term for what was known as “a mutt from the pound” when I was a kid.
[…]
The people running animal shelters found out some years ago that they had a problem, Reichman said.
“There was a very successful campaign to educate the public that if you are not intent on breeding, you should spay or neuter your pet,” she said. “That campaign has worked so well that the shelters in the Northeast generally don’t have any puppies anymore.”
The shelters could have declared victory and shut up shop. But in 2005 a new field opened up, said Reichman.
“It started innocently enough with Hurricane Katrina,” she said. “There were so many animals loose from the storm that people all over the country adopted them. After that died down, I think people realized there was a market. That’s when it started.”
The “it” in question is a massive and unregulated market in pets.
[…]
That points to the real problem with the attack on dog breeders and pet stores, which have been banned from selling dogs in many major cities. Under the guise of reducing the population of unwanted dogs, the traffickers are eliminating competition.
In many cities, you can’t purchase a puppy from nearby. But a pooch from Puerto Rico is yours for the asking — as long as you pony up.

Dr Arnold Goldman, a speaker at the most recent NAIA conference related to the 14,000 dogs (documented by the State of CT) that were imported into his State in 2012. (from an attendee’s personal notes from his speech:)

….They found that PetFinder was not necessarily honest about problems, and people who adopted these dogs imported were not ready to deal with the accompanying illnesses, i.e. respiratory illnesses, parasites, deformities. 14,000 dogs were imported into CT in 2012. How do these imports affect animals, dogs, already in the State? Diseased dogs were imported into CT from Katrina; again, PetFinder wasn’t honest, so the new owners have been dealing with issues. The modern outlaw is “The Dog Runner”.. someone with a laptop and letterhead would search PetFinder, broker a deal, then sell the animals at big ‘adoption’ events in CT – big dually trucks with long trailers pull into a parking lot at 7am with crowds waiting on a Sunday morning. One particular company, P.E.T.S, has 7 of these trucks. Laptop person never even sees the animals. 14,000 dogs in the rescue pipeline – and in comparison, CT only has 3,000 in pet stores. Another avenue is the adoption events, about two dozen a year on the East Coast alone, in cooperation with the big box stores of Petco, Pet Smart, and crowds show up for the events, put on by the SPCA/CT which is a one man operation. Lots of money in this.. $125 transport fee, $60 vet exam, and sell for $450 – $650. Use emotionally manipulative terminology – ‘adoption’, ‘pet parent’, ‘furbaby’, ‘guardian’. ….

The trade is so lucrative, commercial breeders are now breeding and selling dogs into the “rescue” supply chain.

Nathan J. Winograd;

Two weeks ago, I warned about a possible attempt by Jennifer Fearing, HSUS’ California lobbyist, to seek legislation eliminating the right of families to reclaim their cat. You can read that article by clicking here. I was right. But it gets worse: AB 2343, as amended yesterday, will not only tear families apart, it will allow for the transfer of California’s shelter dogs and cats to individuals who want to sell them for undisclosed purposes. Yes, sell them.

When Neutering Is Not Enough: “Transgender Animal Rights Extremist Sentenced to Six Years for Europe-Wide Campaign of Terror”

Alberta Farmer;

Egg farmers at the meeting also got a glimpse into how big the animal rights business has become. Humane Society International, based in Washington but also Canada’s biggest animal rights player, brought in $9.3 million in revenue for 2012. Its U.S. parent, the Humane Society of the United States raises more than $120 million every year.
Less than one per cent of that is used for animal care, said Kay Johnson Smith, president of Animal Agriculture Alliance in the U.S.
“It spends $25 million every year on lobbying and legislative campaigns — campaigns to disparage agriculture,” Johnson Smith said. “It spends $20 million just to fundraise to bring in the other $100 million.
“It’s a big industry, and they have a very big budget dedicated to ending our industry and ending your livelihood.”
But activism isn’t really about farmer practices or even animal welfare, said 
Austin.
“It’s not about improving welfare practices,” she said. “Don’t expect that they’ll go away because you did what they asked you to. They keep moving that bar to make it impossible for you to do business.”

Ryan Hanigan;

The crux of PETA’s problem with the Westminster Kennel Club is that it promotes the breeding of purebreds, which they say will “kill shelter dogs’ chances of finding a loving home.”
I am no veterinarian, but my intuition tells me that shelter dogs losing their chance at finding a loving home has less to do with the Westminster Kennel Club promoting purebreds and more to do with the overdose of barbiturates that PETA injects into the dogs’ bloodstreams.

The Humane Society of the United States attack on inoculating pigs against a new disease threat.

I stood up on my tippy toes, mustered my strength, quieted my anger, and yelled: “I’m a farmer. If you have any questions about farms, ask me, not them.”

Animal extremism’s long reach;

A healthy, two-year-old giraffe was killed by a Danish zoo Sunday, and some of its remains were fed to lions.
Marius was killed by a shot in the head with a bolt gun by officials at Copenhagen Zoo, which says the animal had to be put down because of European laws on inbreeding, England’s Guardian newspaper reported.

World’s Largest Cardboard Bucket: PETA member wants roadside memorial for chickens

In 2013, PETA killed 1,792 cats and dogs, an average of 5 per day. The 1,792 figure represents 82 percent of all animals PETA took into its shelter throughout the year.
‘This delusional animal rights group is talking out of both sides of its mouth – on one side preaching animal rights, while on the other signing the death warrant of 82 percent of cats and dogs in its care. Labeling PETA as hypocritical would be the understatement of the year,’ said Will Coggin from the Center for Consumer Freedom.
In 2005, two PETA employees were arrested in North Carolina after allegedly killing adoptable pets and tossing the bodies into a supermarket trash dumpster.

Related: Parents Outraged After Kids Given PETA Pamphlet Showing Mutilated Cows

First they came for the carriage horses.

I have been writing and reading about the Central Park Horses ever since I became aware of the massive, well-funded and highly organized effort on the part of people who call themselves animal rights advocates (and who the media call animal rights advocates) and the political and bureaucratic power structures of New York City to ban the Central Park Horses from Central Park and New York City, and exile them to the rumored but so far largely mythical “rescue farms” waiting to take in all 200 of them.
The horses have been in the park since 1858 and are loved all over the world, but it seems there is a pervasive idea in urban New York City that their lives are grim, filled with too much work, abuse and dangerous traffic. That their time is come, the mayor says the discussion “is over,” no point in any more. Apparently, the mayor of New York City has more power than I thought mayors generally have. The Mayor and City Council President and a broad array of activists have made it a major priority of the new administration to get rid of the horses, above just about everything else.
This is evolving into one more well-meaning tragedy visited upon animals by people who believe they know what is best for them. No one who knows anything about horses believes these active and engaged working animals will be alive for very long, this is a campaign to kill and banish animals so that they can be rescued from meaningful work and connection with human beings.

Via Facebook: How much is that “rescue” in the window?

One of my long-term tenants called me last night. They are a lovely, retired couple with an adult daughter who lives with them that has health issues. None of them are in the best shape.
They lost their beloved Golden Retriever a few months ago and feel it’s time to get another dog. This time they are looking to “rescue” rather than buy a puppy. They found a dog 2 1/2 hours from here and I needed to call the Rescue Group and let them know it was OK for them to get another dog.
I explained to her about how there is a shortage of adoptable dogs up here….she agreed because they’ve been looking locally and all they find are pit bull or pit mixes. As she is telling me about “Tootsie” the dog they are interested in, I have some red flags starting to go off in my head. She tells me the dog was neglected and not socialized, but is making progress. It’s a lab/coonhound mix. I explain about the temperaments of labs & coonhounds and since they are looking for a quiet, medium sized lap dog, this mix was not going to be that.

Continue reading →

The toxic left’s furbaby wing loses a big one;

A circus producer said Friday that an animal rights group has paid it $9.3 million to settle two federal court cases claiming elephant abuse.
Feld Entertainment, Inc., trumpeted the settlement with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as a victory for its Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
“These defendants attempted to destroy our family-owned business with a hired plaintiff who made statements that the court did not believe,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, in a statement.
“Animal activists have been attacking our family, our company, and our employees for decades because they oppose animals in circuses,” Feld said. “This settlement is a vindication not just for the company but also for the dedicated men and women who spend their lives working and caring for all the animals with Ringling Brothers in the face of such targeted, malicious rhetoric.”