Archive for August, 2007
CCF Ads Are Kitty Litter
I must offer a thanks again to the contract shillers at the Center for Consumer Freedom. They’ve done us a favor. I am not kidding. CCF is best known as a front group for tobacco, alcohol, restaurant and agribusiness special interests. It has become tiresome . . .
Reform Needed to Rid Cruelty From Horse Competitions
Social change comes about not just with vision, but with practical action. Horse industry leaders have joined with The Humane Society of the United States and other humane groups in urging a ban on horse slaughter. Wolfgang Puck and other food industry leaders have joined . . .
Talk Back: A Plea for the Animals
Monday, after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, Michael Vick issued a public apology (which you can see portions of here). His statements drew a mixed reaction from readers, with many finding them hard to swallow. Among the mass of comments we received: . . .
Turning the Tide After Katrina
There is no question that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 reoriented us as a nation. In a different way, Hurricane Katrina did, too. We as a society were not prepared for a disaster of Katrina’s magnitude, and she exposed our full array of weaknesses in . . .
Spectacle of Bullfighting Losing Fans
Dogfighting has been in the news like never before. But there are other horrible spectator sports involving the torment of animals that are staged throughout the world, and none is better known than bullfighting. Fortunately, bullfighting is banned in the United States, except a limited . . .
Apology From A Fallen Star
Michael Vick just made a live, direct statement to the public regarding his circumstance. What he said today was spot on. I felt real sympathy for Vick in watching him speak. I saw a man whose life has been turned upside down. No one can . . .
Vick Puts America on Watch
Last Friday, the federal government released Michael Vick’s statement of facts in his plea deal in U.S. District Court in Richmond—and another round of press attention was showered on the case. Vick admitted to being centrally involved in a multi-state professional dogfighting operation, centered around . . .
Circus Elephants Get Day In Court
Here’s a splash of good news from U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan in the federal court case initiated by a number of animal protection groups against Ringling Brothers. The Fund for Animals, ASPCA, Animal Protection Institute and Animal Welfare Institute are co-plaintiffs in a . . .
Cruelty—On All Fronts—Must be Condemned
During the Katrina crisis two years ago, I expected to hear more of this: why are you helping the animals when there are people suffering? Fortunately, that false-choice manner of thought was reserved for only the strident opponents of animal protection or the most cynical . . .
Talk Back: Food for Thought
Many readers contemplated two recent blog entries—a spotlight of Rabbi Marc Gellman’s essay regarding the ethics of keeping animals in zoos and our responsibilities to animals, and an update on the increased focus on factory farming abuses. Among the reactions to Gellman’s essay: I’m always . . .
Breakthrough Moments Broadcast Our Message
No matter how hard we try in the animal-protection movement, sometimes the message just doesn’t get through, and problems of cruelty are denied the public attention they deserve. So many cruel practices persist, not because reform could not command enough support, but because people just . . .
