Posted on 02/20/2009 7:57:53 PM PST by barnieca
Coalition challenges Humane Society ‘outdated’ policy (Killing Puppies)
Dear readers, we know that this story is difficult. Best Friends feels as you do that animal welfare organizations are more effective when we get along and work together. In this case we felt it was important to draw public attention to HSUS?s policy on dogs from fighting busts because its clout and its relationships with law enforcement informs and justifies state and local animal control policies. The court-ordered destruction of 145 dogs, including about 75 puppies, which were seized from a fighting dog breeding operation in December, was based on the faulty assumption that all dogs seized in dog-fighting related busts should arbitrarily be deemed dangerous and euthanized.
The decision to kill the dogs was supported by the largest animal welfare organization in the country, the Humane Society of the United States. Representatives of HSUS testified in Wilkes County Superior Court that the dogs had to be destroyed because they had been “bred for generations to be aggressive.”
HSUS reasserted its outdated policy, written more than 20 years ago: “Any dog who has been specifically bred or conditioned for fighting, or for which there is evidence that the dog has been used for fighting should not be placed for adoption by an animal shelter but humanely euthanized as soon as legally possible.”
A Best Friends Animals Society-led coalition offered resources to the county for evaluation, spay/neuter, and support in finding homes for qualified dogs. These animal welfare organizations, which have extensive experience with rescued fighting dogs, urged Wilkes County to accept their offer of support for an alternative approach, such as was used in the Michael Vick case.
The coalition includes BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), Animal Farm Foundation, Villa Lobos Rescue Center, Downtown Dog Rescue, The Sula Foundation and Our Pack.
Although the coalition applauds much of the work the HSUS, a leader in the animal welfare community, has done on behalf of animals, it is disheartened and shocked it would testify in court for the automatic destruction of puppies and dogs who had not been given the opportunity to be evaluated as individuals.
"The Michael Vick dogs have proven how antiquated this approach is," said Ledy VanKavage, an attorney with Best Friends Animal Society.
In 2006, HSUS advocated that all of the dogs from the Michael Vick dog fighting case be put down for the same reasons they used when recommending the killing of the Wilkes County pit bulls. In that case, a federal court appointed a Special Master to oversee the evaluation of Vick’s dogs, all of which were adults. Many of the Vick dogs are now in adoptive homes, and at least two of the so-called “aggressive fighting dogs” are therapy dogs that visit hospitals to cheer up ailing patients.
“The coalition members and their supporters are urging HSUS to revaluate this policy and apply a more progressive approach that reflects the lessons learned by the animal welfare groups in the coalition, as well as other organizations that work directly with dogs,” VanKavage said.
Written by Best Friends staff Photos by Gary Kalpakoff
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
Coalition Contacts
Best Friends Animal Society http://www.bestfriends.org Barbara Williamson, (435) 689-0200 (cell) or barbara@bestfriends.org John Polis, (435) 644-2001, ext. 4858, or johnp@bestfriends.org
Animal Farm Foundation http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org Stacey Coleman, (845) 868-7559 or scoleman@animalfarmfoundation.org
BAD RAP http://www.badrap.org Donna Reynolds, (510) 441-6461 or donna@badrap.org
Downtown Dog Rescue http://www.downtowndogrescue.org Lori Weise, (213) 448-9961 or lori@modernica.net
Our Pack http://www.ourpack.org/ Marthina McClay, (408) 460-4244 or marthina@ourpack.org
The Sula Foundation http://www.sulafoundation.org Ken Foster, (504) 613-7370 or kenrfoster@gmail.com
Villa Lobos Rescue Center http://www.vrcpitbull.com/home.htm Tia Maria Torres, (661) 268-0555 or tiamaria@vrcpitbull.com
Yep. According to the posted piece, the Humane Society put a lot of wrongfully bred trash down. Pit bulls have to go, and they will go. Their cowardly owners are most often too afraid to do physical harm without their little monsters doing it for them.
Nope. The police called the body in as a man. Not even recognizable. Who is the bigger monster the killer chimp or the psycho owner? I'm still mulling over that one.
Update : Thugs next door have been carved down to 4 left
in the yard!!! Down from near 40 or so,,,
But,,,When I took Harley out to pee just before dark the
biggest and most vicious male ran to the end of his
login’chain,,,Harley gave him back his Big Dawg GRRRRRRRR!!!
And turned back to look at me,,,
“Are You Still There With The GUN?!?!”,,,
Thug now goes and hides in the house when he sees me,,, Must be that open carry law,,,;0) Got em’ on the run...;0)
jet,,,(thread somewhere)
I know she is in real bad shape,,,(hands and face gone)
She fought that SOB off for 12 min.
I would rather be dead myself than torn apart like she was.
It's that crazy-ass woman's fault 100%,,,
IMO she should go down for LIFE!!!
SHE is the one that took baths/slept with and made a damn
Monkey her Boyfriend(fed him lobster and wine),,,SICKO!!!
Same for any thug-dawg owner who's POS bread does the very
same thing to people,,,
IIRC 2-3% of dawgs(thug-dawgs) commit 65% of the maulings
and deaths in this country,,,(2008),,,
Ya’ know what ALL of them(owners) have in common ?!
“He's A GOOD BOY,,,HE WON'T BITE.”,,,BullShiiTe Sez Me!!!
(read what the nOOb posted)...
NO yeah. You are right. She’s still breathing. I can’t believe it. That’s what I get for watching the news on NBC. I always get screwed. They made it look like she was dead. I need to keep to my trusted sources. Yeah, they are putting her face together right now. Wow. You heard that story about the cats overrunning the house right? Well I painted a house for some guy who was flipping a house. It had been overrun by cat spray and piss. It’s the sickest smell and the walls had this think brown coating. He had to use this special chemical and do all this stuff to get it out. You can still smell from the subflooring. And thing was this guy had this stupid mutt he let run around his house. The stupid thing would crap and piss on the floor. Watch you step. INSANE MAN!!!!
Buy yourself a gerbil. They have never been know to attack and kill anyone.
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