BC SPCA Directors

Animal rights activists dangerous to our society?

Originally posted here

Thursday, May 12, 2005 04:04 PM

-by Kathi Travers

Whenever someone calls me an animals rights advocate I take it as an insult. Almost my whole adult life I have been working to help animals: saving them from overcrowded zoos; placing what one person considered a "pet" lion cub into an as natural an environment as possible; getting abandoned animals off an island that was almost blown away by a volcano. Even by writing, I feel I save or help animals in some way by educating the public. I have NEVER broken the law to do any of this!

Consider a group such as PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Sounds reasonable enough. Yet its founder and president, Ingrid Newkirk commented once: "6 million people died in concentration camps; but 6 million chickens will die in slaughter houses this year". How can a supposedly educated person make such a comparison? She admits that even if animal experimentation would help find a cure for aids she would be against it!

PETA has some very popular spokespeople, many of whom spout similar nonsense. Paul Mc Cartney is one. Although he is completely against animals in research, he played totally dumb when he was told that the chemotherapy drugs administered to his late wife, Linda, had been tested on animals, as most drugs are. It is easy to be principled when your life is not impacted. Paul's principles went out the door when his was impacted.

In fact, animal rights people don't even think we should have companion animals. Domestic animals, which have been bred for thousands of years to cohabit with humans and can generally not fend for themselves in the wild, should all be set free?

Time for a reality check! I am an animal welfare person. I not only love these creatures but I also respect them! I don't drive around in a pick up with my dogs flopping around. I try my best to keep them safe. All my pets are vaccinated yearly and every one of my 4 legged friends are spayed or neutered. They have good food and a safe space of their own in our house.

Medical research is now carefully monitored so that protocols are in place which eliminate most unnecessary testing. With public perseverance we can eliminate all of it. There is a right way and a wrong way. Breaking into labs and stealing animals is not the way to go.

Would I rather know a rat died in properly conducted research than a 4 year old child with an illness which may have been prevented with the aid of such research? You betcha!

Kathi Travers is an animal welfare person and resident of Prince George B.C.

Posted on Thursday, May 12, 2005 04:04 PM in Pets by Kathi Travers

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