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| Lynx Issue 20: Tiger Ranch Update, Cruelty of Horse Racing |
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| Wednesday, 07 May 2008 00:00 |
In this week's edition:
Tiger Ranch Update The preliminary hearing on the Tiger Ranch case ended on Tuesday May 6, with the judge confirming her opinion given the previous week that there was enough evidence in the video and photographic content already presented for both the summary charges and misdemeanors to go to trial. The hearing went on as planned despite an attempt by the defense attorney to get the misdemeanors dismissed with prejudice, claiming that the charges in question concerned "failures" to provide sufficient care (veterinary, nutritional, etc.) rather than an "active" action of animal abuse. In other words, the argument was apparently that since the charges involved allowing animals to die through sickness or starvation and not, for example, through beating them to death, the offenses were not serious enough to constitute misdemeanors. Fortunately the judge did not accept the motion. Had she done so, the implications in terms of the value attributed to animal life under the law would have been horrible. We also noted the repeated attempt by the defense attorney to refuse the use of the word "euthanized" and use "killed" instead. While the animal rights / no-kill movement does reject the use of the term "euthanize", this applies, for example, in the case of healthy shelter animals who are killed for reasons of "overpopulation" alone, given that this does not comply with the dictionary definition of euthanasia as "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy." Those who have witnessed the suffering of the cats taken from Tiger Ranch can confirm that many of them were indeed in an advanced state of illness, that the use of the term "euthanasia" did apply when such action had to be taken, and that it is in fact to the credit of the veterinarians and veterinary technicians at the Clarion shelter that so many of the cats have been able to be saved. VFA deplores the attempts made by the defense in this case to appropriate the principles and vocabulary of the No-Kill movement as an excuse for the awful conditions and suffering at Tiger Ranch. As the Prosecuting counsel stated in her closing argument, the silence of the thousands of cats who have died at Tiger Ranch is "deafening". Many of you have been asking how you can help out in relation to the Tiger Ranch case. In response to those requests, we are organizing a delivery of donations which will be leaving once or twice a week from Pittsburgh, starting next week. Look out for details via email over the next few days. Horse Killings In The News There have been two shocking new stories regarding horses over the past week. First, the 10-year-old blind pony Kahlua who was found dead by his owner in Mercer County, apparently dragged until death by an ATV, causing considerable public consternation. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_565766.html A $500 reward is being offered by the Mercer County Humane Society for information leading to the arrest of Kahlua's torturers. If you would like to make a personal donation to increase the reward, a check labeled "Kahlua Reward" can be sent to: Renee Dorogy, Humane Agent And while some celebrated their winnings with champagne after the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, one stall was empty, the one occupied prior to the race by Eight Belles, who had to be killed after collapsing in agony past the finishing line with both ankles broken. VFA abhors the fact that Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton added to her already unimpressive record on animal issues by placing a bet on the ill-fated filly via daughter Chelsea who was present at the racetrack. Media coverage repeatedly refers to Eight Belles being "euthanized." But Eight Belles was not euthanized, this healthy young horse was killed after being literally raced to the point where her ankles gave way, making her of no more value to those who had used her for her short life and who at the end of the day are really no different from those who killed Kahlua. The Kentucky Derby epitomizes the horrors of the racetrack and of animal exploitation in general. This hideous event and the thousands like it every year are just an excuse to show off, make money, or preferably both. Remember to always speak out when friends, family and colleagues talk about horseracing. Write letters to the editor, make your opinion known, and hopefully one day we can celebrate the end of the Kentucky Derby. That will only happen when this horrible "sport" is finally recognized for the animal abuse that it is. We encourage you to read the excellent column in Sunday's New York Times on the subject: Animals in the News Bear Used in Movies Attacks Trainer Some of you may have heard about the attack on the trainer who supplied the bear for the movie Semi-Pro and others. Stephan Miller was killed by the animal during the filming of an episode of his cousin's television show. The 5-year-old male bear named Rocky was trained to wrestle with handlers and has "performed" in commercials and movies. Tragically, Miller's life came to an end when Rocky bit him in the neck. The bear was restrained and subdued while Miller died. Although the trainer's cousin claims that he does not blame the bear and admits they put themselves in dangerous positions, the bear still faces possible euthanization (i.e. killing) for doing what comes natural to a wild animal like a brown bear. As far as we know, the decision has not yet been made to kill or save the bear. It is important to note that this bear is a wild animal. Wild animals are not meant to be forced to perform for human entertainment. This is the reason for so many attacks on humans in animal entertainment situations. Even those involved admit the risk of attack in such a situation. It is quite tragic that, given the mistake made by the trainers, Rocky's life is now in jeopardy. It is important that we each take steps to boycott all forms of animals used for entertainment and to make our voices heard on such practices. The inhumane "use" of wild animals for mere commercials or movies is unacceptable and leads to far too many human and nonhuman deaths. Read the entire story here: http://www.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/04/23/Grizzly.Attack/ What is truly frustrating about stories such as this one and that of Eight Belles, is that the trainers of these animals often express sadness and regret for their losses but fail to acknowledge that their use of nonhuman animals as items of entertainment needs to stop. It goes to show that the job, the trade, or the entertainment industry has been put ahead of the animals' lives regardless of the amount of suffering, neglect, or death that occurs. Petitions have been created by parties outside of Voices for Animals if you are interested in signing and adding your words: Save Rocky Petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/saverocky News Briefs · Just a reminder that the next vegan potluck at Joseph Beth's Bookstore is coming up shortly on Sunday, May 18th, at 2:00 PM. The featured cookbook is Vegan Fusion World Cuisine by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi. This cookbook includes tasty recipes like Whole Enchilada Casserole, Amazing Grace Apricot Corn Bread Stuffing, and Cosmic Curl Girl's Carrot Cake. If you'd like to participate, please contact Anna Sophia Wolak to reserve your space and pick a recipe: (412) 381-3600, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it · And if you need another good reason to consider becoming vegan, in the news last Wednesday was a story that two of the country’s largest cow slaughterhouses that supply beef to the National School Lunch Program were cited for humane violations, including not stunning cows properly, overcrowding cows, and using electric prods on cows. It should be noted that these are all routine, standard procedures in slaughterhouses-the kind of cruelty that usually continues unabated and unchallenged; it just happens that this time they got caught. See the link below to read the news article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/slaughterhouse_abuse |