Larry Copeland, USA Today
February 2008
The growing influence of animal rights activists increasingly is
affecting daily life, touching everything from the foods Americans eat to
what they study in law school, where they buy their puppies and even whether
they should enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride in New York's Central Park.
Animal activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States and
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) say they are seeing a
spike in membership as their campaigns spread.
"There's been an explosion of interest" in animal welfare issues, says David
Favre, a Michigan State University law professor and animal law specialist.
"Groups like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA have brought
to our social awareness their concerns about animals and all matter of
creatures."
"Animals are made of flesh and blood and bone just like humans," says Bruce
Friedrich, PETA's vice president for campaigns. "They feel pain just like we
do. Recognition of that grows year by year. The animal rights movement is a
social justice movement (similar to) suffrage and civil rights."
Among other initiatives, PETA supports a measure introduced last month by a
New York City councilman that would ban carriage horses that haul tourists
around Manhattan. Many other cities feature such businesses.
"I think it's clear that animal issues are part of the public domain like
never before," says Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the
Humane Society, the largest animal welfare organization. "People have
started thinking more and more about how we treat animals in our society."
Food producers say the activists aren't just concerned about animal welfare
but are trying to win them the same rights as human beings.
"Ultimately, their goal is to eliminate animals being used as food," says
Kay Johnson-Smith of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, an industry-supported
organization that seeks to educate the public about agriculture. "There's a
real danger when we allow a very small minority of activists to dictate
procedures that should be used to raise animals for food."
[Editor's note:
1.) How can a "very small minority of activists" "dictate" anything??
2.) The only real danger the meat and dairy industries face is
a. Loss of profit and
b. Widespread public exposure for the damage they impose to human health and
the environment! The horrendous torture and cruelty to animals is obvious
but nonetheless important to not forget.]
Animal rights campaigns are moving on several fronts:
• The Humane Society says it expects 28 state legislatures this year to
consider strengthening existing bans on dogfighting and cockfighting; 13
states are considering bills regulating "puppy mills," mass dog-breeding
operations that keep puppies in small crates.
• Massachusetts activists are collecting signatures to get a statewide
initiative on the November ballot that would ban commercial greyhound racing
by 2010. The Committee to Protect Dogs says state records show that since
2002, 728 greyhounds have been injured racing at the state's two tracks.
• Over the past three years, 330 colleges have stopped or dramatically
reduced the use of eggs from hens in cramped wire crates called battery
cages; retailers including Burger King, Hardee's, Carl's Jr. and Ben &
Jerry's now use eggs produced by cage-free hens, Markarian says.
• More than 90 American Bar Association-approved law schools now offer
courses in animal law, compared with only a handful 10 years ago. Favre
compares the growing interest in animal law among incoming law students to
an explosion of interest in environmental law in the 1970s.
Monastery under fire
When it comes to food production and animal rights activists, even monks
don't get a pass. After months of protests by PETA, the monks at Mepkin
Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Moncks Corner, S.C., announced last month
that they were giving up the egg production business that had sustained them
for nearly 50 years.
The monks were targeted because their chickens were kept in battery cages,
the nation's most common method of egg-farming but a practice many animal
rights advocates consider cruel.
Father Stan Gumula, abbot of Mepkin Abbey, said the monks were reluctant to
give up the egg business. "The pressure from PETA has made it difficult for
(the monks) to live their quiet life of prayer, work and sacred reading," he
said.
David Martosko, director of research for the Center for Consumer Freedom, an
organization supported by restaurants and food companies, says most
Americans oppose cruelty to animals. But he says that activists who say
animals shouldn't be eaten or used for medical research or any other purpose
won't find much mainstream support.
"That is a position that very few Americans agree with," he says.
Martosko also says abandoning some current agricultural practices will drive
up food prices. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, a dozen
regular eggs cost $1.56 in mid-2007, compared with $2.89 for cage-free eggs.
[Editor's note: The reality is that Martosko's job is making sure the TRUTH behind the horrific animal cruelty in these industries doesn't become mainstream. That is one of the main primary goals behind the innocuous-sounding, hypocritically named organization: Center for Consumer Freedom. However, one thing Martosko is correct about it the fact that most Americans do indeed oppose cruelty.]
Pivotal events unfolded
Animal welfare organizations are riding a wave of popularity. The Humane
Society says it has 10.5 million members or supporters, up from 7.4 million
five years ago; during the same period, PETA says its rolls have doubled to
1.8 million. The groups attribute intensified public interest partly to
three recent events that highlighted the vulnerability of animals:
• New Orleans residents forced to leave pets to die in 2005 when they were
evacuated during Hurricane Katrina.
• The recall last year of 60 million containers of pet food after an unknown
number of cats and dogs were poisoned, raising questions about pet-food
safety.
• The conviction last year of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for
dogfighting.
"Those were major events that made people realize we have so much power over
animals," says Markarian of the Humane Society. "We can use that power to be
cruel and indifferent, or to be kind and careful stewards."
Johnson-Smith of the Animal Agriculture Alliance says current farming
practices have "a scientific basis" and "have been supported by the animal
science, research and veterinarian communities."
Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Meat
Institute, whose members produce about 95% of the beef, pork, lamb, veal and
turkey consumed in the USA, says the industry is diligent in handling
animals humanely. But, she adds, "people have different opinions about what
constitutes humane handling."
[ Editor's note: see: Food Hazard's and be sure to check out the recent news about Largest beef recall in U.S. history: USDA recalls 143 million pounds - much of which was sold to school lunch programs. In any case, it looks like ANIMAL RIGHTS is off to a terrific start for 2008!]
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