Because of my efforts to expose the killing by PETA, the embrace of abusive shelters by HSUS, and the ASPCA sending needy animals to the pound to be killed, defenders of these groups have maligned me. Because they are unable to attack the message, they take the low road of attacking the messenger by accusing me of being in league with puppy mills—an entirely baseless accusation intended to scare animal lovers away from listening to what I have to say.
I expect these accusations will reach a fever pitch tomorrow, not just in light of my recent pictorial of PETA’s brutal slaying of animals and its abhorrent defense of abusive shelters, but also because I will post an article called “The Lie at the Heart of the Killing: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation,” where I take to task the notion of national pet overpopulation, regional pet overpopulation, shelter overpopulation, and why the calculus doesn’t change when you include the number of animals living on the street into the equation.
At any rate, in a brief bio, I debunk these accusations against me. This article not only tells my history working in the animal protection movement, but the history of the animal protection movement itself—a story that explains how it came to be that when it comes to companion animals, the movement that is supposed to be protecting them is killing them instead. But suffice to say, puppy mills cause horrible animal suffering and death—two things I have committed my life to opposing. (Indeed, not just for companion animals, but for all animals as I am an ethical vegan and have been for over 20 years.)
I support laws banning the sale of purposely bred animals from pet stores. I’ve written articles and held workshops on closing down puppy mills. I do not get money from groups that oppose the rights of animals. And regardless of why animals are being killed, they are being killed, and as long as they are, I believe that it is incumbent on everyone seeking to bring an animal into their life to either rescue or adopt from a shelter. In short, adoption and rescue are, in my view, ethical imperatives.
Stay tuned:
For further reading:
Who is Really Standing for Animals?
Ethical Consistency for the True Dog Lover
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In 2012, over one new community per week achieved a save rate of at least 90% and as high as 99%. The No Kill revolution is ON THE MARCH. Join me as we celebrate that achievement and teach you how to do the same: nokillconference.org