The truth about the HSUS

Peta Kills Animals Press Release

Peta Kills Animals Press Release

PETA Killed 97 Percent of Adoptable Pets in its Care During 2009
(3/8/10)

Hypocritical Animal Rights Group’s 2009 Disclosures Bring Pet Death Toll To 23,640

Today the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) published documents online showing that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) killed 97 percent of the adoptable pets in its care during 2009. Despite years of public outrage over its euthanasia program, the notorious animal rights group has actually increased the number of adoptable animals it kills at its Norfolk, VA headquarters, to an average of 44 pets every week.

According to public records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, PETA killed 2,301 cats and dogs last year while only placing eight in adoptive homes. That means PETA found a home for only 1 out of every 300 animals at its headquarters. Since 1998, a total of 23,640 pets have died at the hands of PETA workers.

“PETA hasn’t slowed down its hypocritical killing machine one bit, but it keeps browbeating the rest of society with a phony ‘animal rights’ message,” said David Martosko, CCF’s Director of Research. “PETA is more concerned about funding its advertising and media antics than finding suitable homes for needy cats and dogs.”

Despite its $33 million annual budget, PETA does not operate an adoption shelter. PETA employees make no discernible effort to find homes for the thousands of animals they kill every year.

“Since killing pets is A-OK with PETA, why should anyone listen to their demands about eating meat, using lab mice for medical research, or taking children to the circus?” Martosko continued. “Virginia regulators should reclassify PETA’s headquarters as a slaughterhouse. This is shockingly unethical behavior.”

CCF obtained PETA’s “Animal Record” filings for every year since 1998 from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Members of the public can see these documents at www.PETAKillsAnimals.com.

What is A Puppy Mill?

I cringe now when I hear the phrase "puppy mill." What I have to say may not win any popularity contests for me but it needs to be said.

1. What is a puppy mill? You have your definition I am sure. But there is no LEGAL definition of a puppy mill. Because we in the fancy have freely thrown this phrase around, we have actually aided the animal rights activists. As far as the animal rights activists are concerned, a puppy mill is anyone who purposefully breeds ANY dogs, even a single litter! I will bet you do not agree with this definition. But take a look at Calif. AB 1634 and see what's going on. In terms of AB 1634, you breed a litter, you're a PROBLEM! That's the way that bill is framed. Same with WA SB 5651!

2. If there is no legal definition of a puppy mill, should we be in favor of preventing all breeding of dogs based on our own personal definition of a "puppy mill?" I think not. People want pets. You and I don't breed enough to supply them. Think about that!

3. Can we agree there is a definition of a puppy mill? I think not. Ask 10 fanciers independently and you will get 10 different answers. So what does the public think? How does the public (not dog breeders) define a puppy mill? Here is where the AR's have used us. They talk about "overpopulation" and the need to stop ALL breeding.

We talk about "puppymills" and stopping puppy mills. So the public is now confused since there is no legal definition of a puppy mill. The public is beginning to view breeders, all breeders, as puppy mills. We have contributed to public perception. We don't breed enough to supply the public's desire for pets but we oppose breeding by others who see a need and plan to fill it for profit.

4. We need to stop buying into the "overpopulation" rhetoric. People want pets and people will have pets. It is a matter of who will supply those pets. We need to focus the public on the value of purebreds over the various mutts imported from Mexico, Puerto Rico and everywhere else. As long as we talk about "puppy mills" we are missing the boat. Talk about substandard kennels if you like. Talk about conditions. No one approves of dogs badly kept. Talk about diseases brought in by mutts from tropical climates. But don't talk about puppy mills.

5. Petland and Hunte exist for a reason: people want pets. They are commercial entities. We hobbyists don't like the idea of commercial entitites. That's been clear for ever so long. Does that mean that all commercial sellers are "puppy mills?" Well, there is no legal definition, please remember.

Petland and Hunte probably do a much better job of selling commercial bred dogs than the mass breeders of doodles and poos and the chances of a Petland dog being healthy are way ahead of what the chances are for the mutt imported from Mexico or Puerto Rico. But the animal rights activists have been extremely successful in convincing you, the hobbyist, that all commercial bred dogs are bred in filth and squalor. In fact, that's not true.

The terrible kennels of the80's have in large part been weeded out by AKC's Inspections and Investigations department and 5000 inspections a year along with the USDA inspections.
There are still some bad kennels, but guess what, there are bad hobby breeder kennels! Does that mean because you may personally know of a kennel where the dogs are not kept well, that all hobbyists are bad? Of course not. We just don't like the idea of commercially bred pets. But definitions count!

6. Historical fact: Some of our founding breeders of our own Shelties, people we all respect, made a lot of their living selling dogs including pets. People like Dot Foster (Timberidge) chief author of the current standard, Betty Whelen, excellent and beloved breeder, etc. There was a time it was ok to breed lots of dogs and sell the non showdogs for pets, and do it proudly. What happened? We all convinced ourselves we shouldn't breed too many dogs. We left the door open for commercial breeders and sellers.

7. The animal rights people have changed the landscape. If you help protest "puppy mills" please remember there is no legal definition. Some of the commercial breeders have state of the art kennels. I know you don't want to hear that, but it is true. Does a commercial kennel that is state of the art qualify as a "puppy mill?" Does your fellow breeder who breeds two extra litters of puppies a year qualify as a puppy mill? Does your single litter quality you as a puppy mill? Depends on whose definition you use.

And remember that as we fight bad legislation, we are ALL Puppy Mills according to the animal rights activists! Let's concentrate on the real enemy: the animal rights activists who want no purposefully bred dogs at all.


Charlotte McGowan
ASSA Legislative Liaison
Charlotte is a noted breeder/judge, the AKC Legislative Liaison for the American Shetland Sheepdog Association and was given an award by AKC for her legislative work.

Question - Why do people sell and breed dogs?

Recently on a dog list I am on we discussed this and then the topic was closed, for good reason. The owner of the list had this to say and I wanted to share with everyone, penny for thought kind of thing. Much more worth a penny though. I hope you will think of this the next time this question comes up for you. Please feel free to join the lists located at the end...

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There are a couple of different reasons for ending this thread.

1. We have people on this list who have WONDERFUL dogs from every kind of breeder you can imagine. Putting down their kind of breeder is often seen as insulting their dog. Petdogs-L is here to HELP people

remember, ‘Advice without attitude’?

Oh yes, even dogs belonging to you folks who got them from a shelter or rescue have a breeder—you just don’t know who it is.

2. It is a simple fact that America needs and will continue to need breeders of all kinds. In fact, the kinds of breeders that people are most likely to look down on—people who don’t know much about it but breed an occasional litter in the garage or a shack in the backyard, for example—will be supplying steadily MORE of our dogs in the future, as the animal rights movement and wooden-headed do-gooderism steadily shut down those breeders that might be considered more ‘responsible.’

Yep. The future is MORE small scale, unskilled home breeding. LESS professional breeding, especially less large scale commercial breeding. Importing of young puppies for resale has already been banned. And we can expect to see an almost complete end to skilled home hobby breeding of purebred dogs.

A dozen different kinds of laws are steadily choking off the more established and in-the-open types of breeding. Pet limit laws, mandatory spay/neuter laws, breeder licensing laws, abusive enforcement of welfare laws, limits on the number of dogs that may be owned for breeding, zoning laws, requirements for a business license to breed even one litter, expensive litter permits if you want to sell more than a single dog in a year, and more ... That’s the direction the laws are going and stopping them is going to take a monumental effort.

Only people who can hide from or don’t know about such laws are likely to be able to keep on, after the next 10 years or so. And we can wave goodbye to purebred dogs if that’s how things go.

We’re also likely to see some animal shelters start their own breeding programs, as dog shortages grow and prices go up. Shelters are exempt from all the laws that make breeding difficult or impossible for private individuals so they’ll be able to, they’ll make money they need to keep the doors open, and they’ll do it. The thought ought to curl your hair (the average shelter is far too dirty and the staff seriously short of breeding skills), but it will happen anyway.

Petdogs-L is the only one of the several public lists that Sharyn and I run that isn’t devoted to fighting to keep the rights of dog owners and breeders to continue following long existing animal welfare laws and traditional husbandry practices. While it’s certainly okay for posts on this topic to pop up here now and then, that’s not what this list is for, and talking about the subject makes it harder to do the REAL petdogs-L job.

If you believe the picture painted above, then there are several things you can do to help make it NOT happen.

1. NEVER give money to HSUS, PETA or any other national animal organization. Every single one has been taken over by animal rightists and will use your money to promote the end of pet dog breeding—and in some cases, every other use of animals. (Meat, eggs, medical research, fur and leather, fishing and hunting ... you name it, if it involves animals, HSUS wants it stopped.)

Give to your local animal shelter or quality rescue group instead. They nearly always need money and your dollars will actually help animals, rather than lining the pockets of activists, lobbyists, and lawyers.

2. You can read much more about the ‘Future of Dogs’ at:

http://www.pet-law.com/future/foreword.html

Click the link at the bottom of each page to get to the next.

3. Tell your friends what you’ve discovered.

4. Consider joining the national pet law list at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pet-law

That’s an even busier list than petdogs-L; it’s devoted to fighting for pet owner and breeder rights, full time.

If you think all of the above is nonsense, then you can ignore it. But expect posts that bring up the subject to not be approved. And don’t complain here if a few years out you can’t afford to buy the dog you want.

Walt Hutchens

co-moderator,

petdogs-L