Keeping up the Good Fight

As you can probably imagine, morale within the animal protection community can get pretty low. The endless streams of requests to make calls, sign petitions, and write letters, all accompanied by heart-breaking details of ongoing cruelty and sickening pictures of the atrocities we all fight to stop, can wear us all down, understandably. Sometimes it seems like the stream won't ever end, and given Pennsylvania's abysmal record on animal cruelty (puppy mills, factory farming, lethal wildlife "management", etc...), it's often quite a challenge for activists and others who work to protect animals to not succumb to feelings of helplessness and futility.

SO... when a bill that will help animals is passed in the PA House or Senate, it's a cause for rejoicing, or at least a smile and a renewed sense of purpose - and that smile appeared on our faces here when PA HB 39 passed the PA Senate this week, with a 47-0 vote. If you're not familiar with the bill, it requires that various surgical procedures, including docking of tails, caesarian-sections, spaying and neutering, debarking (which should never be allowed at all, but that's another goal for another piece of legislation) etc... be done only by veterinarians. The bill, which was amended by the Senate, now has to go back to the House for a final vote. Because the House approved it unanimously when they had it the first time, it is expected to pass and then go to Governor Rendell to be signed into law.

Please contact your PA Senators and Representatives and thank them for supporting this bill. HB 39, while not perfect, will go a long way toward ending a lot of the butchering that currently goes on in puppy mills, in attempts to save money and avoid scrutiny of the horrendous conditions going on in these breeding factories. Use the links below to find your legislators:

PA Senate (click here and then enter your zip code into the upper-right corner box)

PA House (click here and then enter your zip code into the upper-right corner box)

There is SO MUCH MORE work to be done - we need stronger laws to protect dogs from all sorts of abuse (24/7 chaining, dog fighting, and all the things puppy millers are STILL allowed to do, thanks to the weak laws and the suspect make-up of the "Dog Law Advisory Board"), and of course, the fight continues for all the laws we need to protect other companion animals, farm animals, animals used in "entertainment," and wildlife, but we'll keep fighting and keep asking you, the VOTERS, to make your voices heard and speak for the silent victims of animal cruelty.

Just Like Us

99%.

This statistic refers to the percentage of a chimpanzee's DNA that matches human DNA. Our seeing so much in common with them has led to everything from dressing them in tuxedos and making them ride tricycles to using them for medical experiments, and a host of other horrors in between. We gawk at them in zoos, and say, "His eyes look so human!" and we watch documentaries on chimps and gorillas and we're fascinated with their intelligence.

For all our fascination with these beings, however, we treat them horribly. We torture them, we imprison them, we breed them for our use and then kill them. It's shameful, and the time has come to end the abject cruelty and wanton humiliation to which these creatures are routinely subjected. They provide little or no use to us for medical testing (their systems are different enough that very little benefit is derived from testing procedures and medications on them), and the conditions they endure in labs would make any decent person cringe in horror. They suffer a similar fat in many zoos, and in various "entertainment" venues, where isolation and abuse literally drive them insane. Just as humans are driven insane in solitary confinement, when tortured repeatedly, and given no hope for escape from various forms of confinement. Just like us. Here's how the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Christian Barnard, described his experience with chimps in a lab:

"I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures."

Of course, we can't count on all doctors and scientists -- and the corporations that employ them -- to be this compassionate. Especially when there's money to be made. One of the largest producers and users of primates for research is located in our own backyard, in Denver PA. Click here to find out about COVANCE, and their history of abuse. Their facilities around the world have been repeatedly cited for animal cruelty, but because their use of the animals for research has remained legal, little has been done to stop them and the many labs like them. Of course, the only people defending the use of apes (and other animals) in research are those who benefit financially from it. Citizens who defend it are simply misinformed as to its benefit to humans, as there is NO need to continue using animals for medical testing. Computer models, existing data, and human test subjects eliminate the need to use animals. PERIOD.

Might there be hope? Possibly, with your help. The Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA), which was sent to the Energy & Commerce Committee in March of this year, could put an end to much of the abuse great apes suffer in labs. If this became law, it would do some really great things -- that is if the pharmaceutical lobbies (and their puppets in Congress) don't see to it that it's amended to death. GAPA would:

• Phase out the use of chimps and other great apes in invasive research in the US (much of Europe has already done this -- AGAIN, we're behind the curve).

• Release 500+ chimps "owned" by the federal government to sanctuaries, permanently.
  

• Make it illegal to breed federally-owned chimps. Note that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has already banned this within their organization -- that ought to tell the naysayers something, right?
  

PLEASE call your US Representative (click HERE to obtain their contact info) and ask him or her to co-sponsor HR 1326, the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA). As we said, it was referred to committee in March, and needs to be released for a vote, without significant amendment. Great Apes CANNOT continue to be used for research -- they may share 99% of our DNA, but at a molecular level, their bodies are very different, and thus their use for studying disease and the effects of medication, etc... is of little value. There is NO reason to continue torturing these creatures.

When you call your House Rep, be brief, polite, but firm. You want him or her to support/co-sponsor HR1326, and you're aware that his or her refusing to do so would indicate (A) no concern for the humane treatment of these creatures, (B) no interest in real medical facts, which do not support continued use of these animals, and (C) that he or she is more obligated to the pharmaceutical lobbies and their corporate campaign funding than to the constituents who cast their votes. You will be asked to give your address, to show that you are in fact a constituent, but you won't have to do more than simply make a statement asking for support for HR 1326. The call will take just a few minutes, and it could help sway important votes and get GAPA passed when it comes up for a vote.

For more information, visit www.PCRM.org/GAPA.

Penalties for Animal Cruelty

Our current poll asks if PA's animal cruelty penalties are sufficient. Right now, it's 100% saying no, they're not. What are they, you ask? Well, as of 1995, when PA made animal cruelty (some forms thereof) a felony, here they are:

Animal cruelty is only a felony if (A) the victim is a zoo animal (for the 1st offense) or (B) if it's the second offense and the victim is a dog or a cat. Even then, it's only a 3rd degree felony. Also, the cruelty must be determined to be deliberate, so something that the perpetrator's attorney can make look like it was accidental, borne out of ignorance, or unintended will allow the person to escape serious penalty. First offenses on dogs or cats are considered misdemeanors (virtually no penalty or fine whatsoever). So in PA, if you want to beat your dog or throw a litter of puppies in the trash, you can only do it once and not really pay the price for your sadistic behavior. Second time, if they catch you, you may be in trouble.

Read a current article about the demand for tougher penalties by clicking HERE. (thanks to North Penn Puppy Mill Watch for sending the link)

The maximum jail time for a 3rd degree felony conviction is 7 years, and the maximum fine is $15,000. As we've seen in recent puppy mill cases, the sentences are much lighter -- in terms of jail time (virtually none is ever given) and fines (they're rarely over $1000 per incident). MOST of the cruelty cases that make it to court in PA end up being treated as misdemeanors, which is why while it LOOKS like a lot -- 7 years, $15,000 -- you never see that happen. It's all hinging on the abuse/cruelty being intentional -- and a good defense attorney and a "yeah, it's just a dog" judge will combine to assure the abuser a very light sentence.

So, yes, PA's animal cruelty laws are NOT sufficient, nor is the zeal with which judges apply them as they are. The "it's only an animal" mindset is quite prevalent, even in the minds of judges, who should know better. As stated in an earlier post, even if you don't care about animals, the studies prove over and over that people who are cruel to animals will eventually turn that sadism on people -- in the form of domestic abuse, crimes that involve assault or weapons, and in extreme (but sadly, not rare) cases, murder. A capacity for cruelty NEVER remains something that someone only exhibits toward animals.

PLEASE contact your legislators -- in the PA House and Senate -- and let them know that you want PA's laws to be tougher. And when there's a cruelty case in your area, contact the judge to let him or her know you want the toughest sentence possible to be given if the person is convicted. You also want to remind the judge that a lenient approach in determining the intent of the abuser won't be tolerated by the voters. That's the up-side of PA having judges be elected, rather than appointed. The voters get to speak and have an impact on the judicial branch of our state government.

Not sure who your state legislators are? Visit our legislation page for links to find out:
http://www.lohvpa.org/legislation.html#findlegislators

To find contact info for a judge who'll be deciding an animal cruelty case in your area, simply Google his or her name, and you'll find the number for their offices. A call to the judge (NOT an email) is best -- and you'll probably end up talking to an assistant, and that's fine -- the point of your call WILL be passed along.

Bottlenecks - WHY?

Animal cruelty legislation should be a no-brainer. Who would want to be known as the legislator who was in favor of performing painful medical procedures on dogs without anesthesia or antibiotics? Who'd want to be the person who looked the other way when the chance to stop real, tangible, proven suffering presented itself?

In the following article, "Anger Over Dog-Cruelty Bill Could Freeze Legislature", it seems that Dominic Pileggi, Republican and PA Senate majority leader is doing just that -- looking the other way on a chance to stop horrific medical procedures being performed by puppy millers looking to avoid scrutiny and save money. According to Thomas Caltagirone, Democrat, and head of the Judiciary Committee (and supporter of HB 39), the bill first waited way too long in the hands of the Senate's Agriculture Committee (chaired by Senator Mike Brubaker) and now it's being held up in the Judiciary. He considers it a stalling tactic.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20090620_Anger_over_dog-cruelty_bill_could_freeze_legislature.html

Why would anyone want to stall or stop this bill? HB 39 requires that only a veterinarian can perform procedures such as caesarian sections (surgery to remove puppies from a pregnant dog), de-barking (which the LOHV favors outlawing entirely -- would you cut out a child's tongue if he or she was too noisy or kept making sounds that gave away the fact that you were running a sweatshop in your backyard? That's the reason so many millers de-bark their breeding dogs), and other procedures.

It's funny (not funny "ha ha") that when we're doing outreach events to the voters, they're often incredulous that things that should be illegal already are not. "You mean it's legal now to tie a dog outside 24/7 in PA?" Yep, it sure is, thanks to the same sort of delays on voting on the dog tethering bill, which has appeared in multple forms for the past few years. "You mean it's not illegal to sew up a dog with fishing line after cutting out her puppies, just to save money?" Nope, it's not illegal -- and it remains perfectly legal to do so, thanks to the sort of purposeful bottleneck currently being created in the PA Senate.

Contact your PA Senator today to ask that this bill be moved along and be voted on immediately. Here's a link to find your PA Senator's contact info -- all you'll need to do is insert your zip code in the box in the upper right of the resulting window, and you'll find out who your PA legislators are, and you can then click on the senators' name/s to obtain their phone numbers.

http://www.pasen.gov

Remember, calls work MUCH better than emails -- which are often deleted without being read, if the topic is one that the legislator and/or his staff would rather not deal with. Nice, huh? Taxpayers pay for the computers and software used to ignore the wishes of the voters.