The North Carolina Pork Council recently launched a campaign to pressure legislators to back away from a bill mandating humane treatment of dogs in puppy mills. What does North Carolina’s pork industry have to do with puppy mills?
Nothing. Pork Council member Angie Whitener explained, “Our opposition is solely based on the proponent of the bill. We’re very worried about this powerful, very wealthy animal rights organization.”
Regurgitating the same “HSUS wants to ban all farming” myth that HumaneWatch encourages, the NC Pork Council derailed a bill to improve the lives of countless animals because they didn’t like the bill’s sponsor, the Humane Society of the United States.
Animal lovers were stunned and outraged that an organization would allow puppies to continue to suffer in filth and neglect to further the NC Pork Council’s political vendetta. (And if you number yourself among them, you can send an email to the NC Pork Council in care of Angie Whitener at angie@ncpork.org and politely let her know what you think of their tacit support for puppy mills, and how it will affect your purchases of pork products in the future.)
The willingness to sacrifice tens of thousands of animals in order to score political points is reprehensible. It’s an act born of malice and nurtured by ignorance.
When you cease being an opponent of an organization, and start being an opponent of anything that organization stands for — no matter how benign or beneficial — you have become a bigot. You have sacrificed reason, fairness, and intelligent thought for prejudice and blind hatred.
Which brings us to HumaneWatch.
HumaneWatch blogger David Martosko once said “No one with a brain is in favor of animal abuse.” And yet, HumaneWatch has condemned laws to protect horses from being slaughtered for meat. They sneer at HSUS efforts to prevent the massacre of geese in New York. They applaud the SCOTUS ruling invalidating laws that specify penalties for crush videos, and cheer a misguided NY Times editorial questioning the constitutionality of the new law due to replace it. (Wayne Pacelle has provided an excellent rebuttal to that editorial, one that pokes large holes in the NY Times’ facts and reasoning. It’s worth a read.) And they ridicule HSUS attempts to get puppy mill legislation on the books in Missouri, the puppy mill capital of the United States.
Today, I’m happy to report that that very same Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act was certified for the November statewide ballot. It’s a victory, but there’s still a long road ahead. The bill is certain to face heavy opposition from over 1,500 commercial breeders in Missouri — as well as HumaneWatch.
The question I pose to HumaneWatchers, the NC Pork Council, and others who oppose HSUS-backed legislation is this:
If you consistently enable abusers to continue their mistreatment of animals, how can you claim you are against animal abuse?
Defending the indefensible
The North Carolina Pork Council recently launched a campaign to pressure legislators to back away from a bill mandating humane treatment of dogs in puppy mills. What does North Carolina’s pork industry have to do with puppy mills?
Nothing. Pork Council member Angie Whitener explained, “Our opposition is solely based on the proponent of the bill. We’re very worried about this powerful, very wealthy animal rights organization.”
Regurgitating the same “HSUS wants to ban all farming” myth that HumaneWatch encourages, the NC Pork Council derailed a bill to improve the lives of countless animals because they didn’t like the bill’s sponsor, the Humane Society of the United States.
Animal lovers were stunned and outraged that an organization would allow puppies to continue to suffer in filth and neglect to further the NC Pork Council’s political vendetta. (And if you number yourself among them, you can send an email to the NC Pork Council in care of Angie Whitener at angie@ncpork.org and politely let her know what you think of their tacit support for puppy mills, and how it will affect your purchases of pork products in the future.)
The willingness to sacrifice tens of thousands of animals in order to score political points is reprehensible. It’s an act born of malice and nurtured by ignorance.
When you cease being an opponent of an organization, and start being an opponent of anything that organization stands for — no matter how benign or beneficial — you have become a bigot. You have sacrificed reason, fairness, and intelligent thought for prejudice and blind hatred.
Which brings us to HumaneWatch.
HumaneWatch blogger David Martosko once said “No one with a brain is in favor of animal abuse.” And yet, HumaneWatch has condemned laws to protect horses from being slaughtered for meat. They sneer at HSUS efforts to prevent the massacre of geese in New York. They applaud the SCOTUS ruling invalidating laws that specify penalties for crush videos, and cheer a misguided NY Times editorial questioning the constitutionality of the new law due to replace it. (Wayne Pacelle has provided an excellent rebuttal to that editorial, one that pokes large holes in the NY Times’ facts and reasoning. It’s worth a read.) And they ridicule HSUS attempts to get puppy mill legislation on the books in Missouri, the puppy mill capital of the United States.
Today, I’m happy to report that that very same Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act was certified for the November statewide ballot. It’s a victory, but there’s still a long road ahead. The bill is certain to face heavy opposition from over 1,500 commercial breeders in Missouri — as well as HumaneWatch.
The question I pose to HumaneWatchers, the NC Pork Council, and others who oppose HSUS-backed legislation is this:
If you consistently enable abusers to continue their mistreatment of animals, how can you claim you are against animal abuse?
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