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Don't Ignore Elephant Welfare
Printed June 29, 2006 in The Daily Texan
With Ringling Bros. Circus in Austin this week, thousands will attend and "ooh" and "ahh" at the spectacle of animal acts, oblivious to what really happens to these animals before and after the performance.
Circuses capture elephants, tear them from their families and train them with painful bullhooks and electric prods so they can perform tricks for a clueless audience. When the elephants are not being forced to perform under the stressful lights and noise of the circus, they are transported thousands of miles in all kinds of intense weather and spend most of their lives on cemented parking lots chained up like criminals.
The only ones who should be chained up are Ringling Bros. themselves, as they have been cited for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act over 70 times in the last 10 years and are currently the target of four federal investigations for animal abuse or the deaths of animals in their care. A case in point is the fact that Ringling Bros. are currently touring the country with a lame elephant who is suffering from painful arthritis and yet is being forced to bow and stand for applause under the Big Top.
Is this supposed to be entertainment?
Timothy J. Verret
UT alum
June 28, 2006
A Pig Farm Nightmare
Printed June 19, 2006 in the Austin American Statesman
Re: June 9 letter, "That's Some Pig Farm"
The letter to the editor regarding pig farms (June 9 "That's some pig farm") was one of the most absurd I've read recently. The writer wrote such a glowing review of modern pig farms that readers would have thought she worked for one.
Pig farms are a nightmare of animal abuse and environmental pollution. Weeks after birth, piglets are castrated, their ears are notched and their incisors are removed and, finally, their tails are cut off � all without anesthetics. A statistical bulletin from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in this country are used to raise pigs, chickens, cows and other farm animals.
The letter writer alleged that public health is a top priority for pork producers. I can't believe that. While these producers cram animals in cages, pollute our rivers and drinking water, they sell us meats linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths due to cancers, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks.
Ernest Samudio
President
Action for Animals
Pollan is a Nice Guy?
Printed June 7, 2006 in the Austin American Statesman
Re: March 31 Food & Life article, "The opining omnivore":
American-Statesman writer Pat Beach wrote, "Pollan is not about to apologize for being a nice guy." In my opinion, nice guys don't attack a reputable company such as Whole Foods, which does more for the environment than any other chain of stores out there. And nice guys would at least go to the source (in this case, Whole Foods' founder and CEO John Mackey) before dragging someone's name through the mud in a book. And nice guys don't read Peter Singer's "Animal Liberation" and come away supporting a meat-based diet, regardless of whether the cattle are fed corn or grass. Well, I guess nice guys do finish last, as Pollan has proved.
Timothy Verret
Pets Are Innocent Victims
Printed January 19, 2006 in the Austin American Statesman
Re: Jan. 13 article, "Squabble Ends Fatally for Man's Dog"
Unfortunately, cases such as this one, where a woman is charged with stabbing a dog caught in the middle of a dispute, are not uncommon. Many innocent pets have no voice as they are thrown in the middle of situations where they become innocent victims.
In one case, a woman in the midst of road rage threw a dog out of a car into traffic. Serial killers took out their repressed anger by abusing animals before they moved on to humans. This is why cases such as these have to be taken seriously at the animal level and dealt with "to the fullest extent of law," to quote Austin police Lt. Doug Dukes. Individuals who abuse animals deserve the strictest of sentences.
Timothy J. Verret
Too Many Animals; Not Enough Homes
Printed in the Austin Chronicle's On-Line Edition
Re: Nov. 18 article, "What Happened to the No Kill Millenium?"
Dear Editor,
Thank you for your thoughtful article on Austin's pet overpopulation problem (What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?, News, Nov. 18). The bottom line is that it's a simple numbers game � there are far too many animals and not enough homes. Whether breeders are conscientious or the horrible puppy-mill kind, they are still creating more animals in an already overpopulated world. I urge everyone who is looking for an animal companion to adopt from a shelter or rescue organization, and be part of the solution, not the problem.
Andrea Schwartz
Animals Can't Put on a Condom
Printed December 2, 2005 in the Austin Chronicle
Re: Nov. 18 article, "What Happened to the No Kill Millenium?"
Dear Editor,
In regards to your Gimme Shelter cover story ("What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?," News, Nov. 18), I thank you for not shying away from publishing photos that show the needless end result of what happens when people don't spay and neuter their pets. As a humane educator for Animal Trustees of Austin, I can honestly say that time is well spent in educating people on why they should spay and neuter their pets. As an educator for this issue, I've heard everything from "if I spay and neuter my dog, will he/she still be able to pee?" to "my dad won't get Spot fixed because he thinks he won't be a 'man' anymore." Spaying and neutering your pet is not a sex-change operation. It's a simple procedure that will help end the need to euthanize healthy and adoptable pets at TLAC. With inexpensive resources like ATA's Low Cost Spay and Neuter Clinic (512/450-0111) and EmanciPet (512/587-7729), which offers free spay and neuter Fridays for East Austin residents, there is simply no reason not to fix your pets. As an added bonus, spaying and neutering your pets will reduce their behavior and temperament problems, as well as reduce the risk of cancer and other health problems that are expensive to treat. Dogs and cats can't put on a condom, so it is up to us to spay and neuter our Austin pets today for a no-kill millennium tomorrow.
Timothy J. Verret
Toss the Cheeseburgers
Printed October 18, 2005 in the Austin American Statesman
Re: Oct. 9 article, "Tofu outmuscles red meat at firehouse":
I applaud the firefighters of the Austin Firehouse No. 2 for their adoption of a vegetarian diet. Their choice to go vegetarian not only ensures their own healthy livelihood, but also those of animals in factory farms, which are kept in deplorable conditions and treated as nonfeeling entities.
Although the other firefighters in the fire station shove bacon cheeseburgers and "big, juicy red steaks" down their throats, these vegetarian firefighters will have the energy and compassion to protect our community. These vegetarian firefighters can put out my fire any day. A vegetarian firefighter calendar? I'd sure buy one!
Timothy J. Verret
PETA's Pet Ownership Stance is Reasonable
Printed October 12, 2005 in the Amarillo Globe News
RE: Opinion Guest Column: "The dark side of those wacky PETA billboards 10/05/05" (registration required to view)
Martin Morris (guest column, Oct. 5) is really off the mark saying that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is against having pets.
PETA is against people having pets that are chained up for life, living in solitary confinement. PETA is against people having pets that are used for fighting purposes. PETA is against people having pets that are not spayed and neutered and that stance is based on the fact that millions of dogs and cats are killed every year because of people's irresponsibility. PETA is against people having pets for all the right reasons and there are far too many people who have pets who shouldn't.
I refuse to feel guilty for supporting PETA.
Timothy Verret
In Defense of Animals
Printed August 12, 2005 in the Austin Chronicle
RE: "A Better Place"
Dear Editor,
Thank you Cindy Widner for pointing out how wild animals suffer in the entertainment industry ("A Better Place," News, Aug. 5). Coincidentally, some wild animals will be coming to town very soon ... for the Ringling Bros. Circus that is. Animals doomed to circus life are stolen from the wild and forced to perform "trained" with bull hooks, whips, and electric prods. Most of their lonely lives are spent in boxcars traveling from circus to circus. I sincerely hope that all fauna-loving Austinites will stay away from Ringling Bros. Better to go to an animal-free circus like Cirque du Soleil, where everyone is a willing performer.
Andrea Schwartz
No Censorship, Just Discussion
Printed July 8, 2005 in the Austin Chronicle
RE: "That Darn Documentary"
Dear Editor,
It is worth noting that no organized Austin animal rights group has made an effort to censor the controversial film Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat ["That Darn Documentary!," Screens, June 24]. Only concerned individuals have spoken out against the screenings. It sounds like the film is more of a true-crime story. How does showcasing a gruesome act translate as pro-animal?
Carrie Conley
Cruelty to Animals is Cruelty
Printed July 1, 2005 in the Austin Chronicle
RE: "That Darn Documentary"
Dear Editor,
I was puzzled that Marc Savlov did not include any opinions by local animal rights activists in his review of Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat ("That Darn Documentary!," Screens, June 24). He may have learned that some of us heard about this notorious case four years ago through dozens of Internet stories. We are raising our voices now because some people continue to be confused about whether killing a cat is art, and this film seems as confused. The students charged with killing this cat claimed that they did it to show the hypocrisy of animal cruelty, which they then labeled as art. Let's be clear about this: Killling a cat is cruelty to animals and is no more defensible than battering a woman to show the hypocrisy of sexism. Both are crimes. A more compelling story for the filmmaker, and one that might actually save animals, occurs every day directly under his nose: that is, how humans treat the 9 billion animals we slaughter every year in this country for food. But as an activist I've learned that people are much more willing to see the cruelty in others' actions but not the complicity in our own.
Ernest Samudio