As you can see, she's a very patriotic dog, and will serve her country gladly as soon as they need somebody who can lick faces, retrieve bumpers, and run agility courses . . . :-D
Posted on 03/26/2003 5:06:41 AM PST by kattracks
(CNSNews.com) - Animal rights activists are blasting the U.S. Navy for its use of mine-detecting dolphins in the war with Iraq because, according to the activists, the marine mammals "have not volunteered" to be part of the war.
Stephanie Boyles, a wildlife biologist with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said the use of dolphins to sweep for mines in Iraq is "just ridiculous."
"These are animals that, number one, have not volunteered to take part in this whatsoever. Number two, they are being put in harm's way...when they don't even know they are in harm's way," Boyles told CNSNews.com.
"There have been already enough victims in this world. We don't have to start adding other species to it," Boyles added.
Frank Gaffney, president of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy and a former assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under President Ronald Reagan, defended the use of the dolphins.
"My personal priority would be to save human lives and most especially American lives. If the dolphins can do so, hopefully at minimal risks to themselves and at great benefit to us, that seems to me to be a proper rendering of the priorities," Gaffney said.
Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins were scheduled to arrive in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr on Tuesday and were to be used for their natural sonar abilities to search the Iraqi coastline for hidden mines before humanitarian aid ships docked. Dolphins have a four-decades-long history of assisting the U.S. Navy.
U.S. Navy Captain Mike Tillotson told reporters in Iraq that the dolphins are trained to place a marker near any detected mines and avoid getting too close to the mines.
'Minds of Their Own'
But PETA believes animals should not play any role in the war with Iraq.
"Why are we spending time trying to train animals that have lives and minds of their own to try and carry out these tasks for us? That just seems a little archaic, not to mention unreliable," Boyles explained.
Boyles believes the use of dolphins to detect the presence of mines may cost lives because the dolphins may think the whole effort is a game.
"They have minds of their own; they don't realize the tasks they are being taught to perform are life and death. And when they don't perform correctly, human lives will be lost," predicted Boyles.
"[The dolphins] think this is a game, and yet the risk to their lives and the amount of suffering they may endure is great, and we don't seem to care about that," she added.
The animal "rights" activists are also concerned about the possible negative methods the U.S. military has used to train the dolphins.
"That's our great fear, that they are using negative reinforcement in order to train these animals," Boyles said.
"They are certainly not disclosing to us how they are training these animals," she added.
Boyles wanted to make it clear that PETA is in solidarity with America's fighting forces in Iraq.
"We support our troops. We have friends over there as well, and we believe they deserve the very best defense possible," Boyles said.
'Abominable'
But scores of dolphins swimming in Iraq's harbors and waterways are not going to give America's soldiers that defense, according to Boyles.
"[Dolphins] are not a good choice for the military, it's just ridiculous, and for them to try to convince the American public otherwise is abominable," she said.
Naomi A. Rose, a marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), said the animal "rights" group was "concerned about the welfare" of the dolphins but declined to denounce the use of them during wartime.
"As we have in the past, we will continue to express our concerns to the Navy and Congress about the military use of marine mammals, but while the war continues, we remain focused on the welfare of all those in the combat zone - human and animal," Rose told CNSNews.com.
Calls to the U.S. Navy regarding the concerns about the dolphins were not returned.
E-mail a news tip to Marc Morano.
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I know some people's browsers aren't handling the "clear all" tag so whoops I noticed I didn't close my hyperlink tag in my post above.
LOL, I was just waiting for this. I'm sure these activists care more about animals than people.
As you can see, she's a very patriotic dog, and will serve her country gladly as soon as they need somebody who can lick faces, retrieve bumpers, and run agility courses . . . :-D
Tonight we welcomew new show host TOM ATKINS! *GARY ALDRICH Former FBI agent, Author of Unlimited Access Gary will discuss his new book, and America's current political situation.
*PIERRE DE HAIL Former French Special Ops fighter, president of Risk Management International Pierre will offer exceptional insight in the Iraq war, and controversial opinions on France, Europe
Our girl was also the runt of her litter AND the Boss Dog. (We had to put her on a diet right away because she was taking the lion's share of 8 puppies' food!) I had my eye on a kinder, gentler black girl in the litter, but when she took to my kids so well I HAD to take her. If any other puppy came near the kids, she would shoulder them away and stand in between. She still does that for me if we meet another dog or people she doesn't like the looks of. She doesn't growl or bark, she simply takes up a position between me and the perceived threat and gives them "the look."
She has been a handful to train (a little wilful and bullheaded) but she's highly intelligent and intensely loyal and loving. She's still a little one - 21 1/2" at the shoulder and 41 pounds at two years.
When our Shelley was a baby, maybe 6 months, she boarded for a couple of days at her obedience trainer's house. The very first day, she got the cover off the hot tub and jumped in . . . "none of the dogs have ever figured that out before" said the trainer. Of course, she has Boxers and thinks that Labs are dumb . . . who's dumb now? :-D
Now she has figured out how to "bounce" the gate to the back yard so that the latch comes open . . . she always goes two houses up the hill to visit with two hunting dogs, a Black and a Chocolate Lab, that live in an Invisible Fence. So when I find the gate open, I just blow my whistle and she comes trotting home with this smug look on her face.
Changing the latch to a spring-loaded version this weekend.
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