A proper punishment for hog farm owners

It was so wonderful to see 23 charges filed against two hog-barn operators in Winnipeg who severely neglected their 2,000 hogs, which resulted in authorities finding 400 of them dead or dying, and later destroying 160 of the animals.

According to an article today's Winnipeg Free Press, the charges laid against the farmers in Notre Dame de Lourdes included (among others):

• failure to provide adequate food and water to more than 2,000 pigs
• failing to provide adequate medical attention to hundreds of wounded or ill animals
• confining more than 2,400 animals in a space with inadequate ventilation, according to court documents

I know that vegan purists and hardcore animal rights advocates who don't have any use for "welfarism" might argue that punishing animal abusers misses the point: All exploitation of animals must end. Punishing the abusers soothes the public into believing that justice is being served and everything is going to be OK. I get it. I understand the concern.

But for years, the justice system has traditionally let animal abusers off the hook. Authorities looked the other way. The worst abusers never even got a slap on the wrist. People were allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted to animals without facing any consequences for their actions.

Things are changing. There is a heightened consciousness about the need to end animal suffering. Rather than condemning the "gradualist" approach, we should adopt the view that every step in the right direction is a good thing. Improving the quality of life for animals is essential, even if those improvements do not entail dismantling the factory farm system tomorrow (which should happen, and it's important for us to keep saying, over and over and over, that it should happen, until we're blue in the face).

Something is better than nothing, though. We as vegans and animal rights activists can insist on radical changes, but those aren't going to occur overnight. Seeing harmful individuals - like the hog farmers in Winnipeg - appear to be getting the punishment they so richly deserve is extremely encouraging.

Good news: Hunting may soon be banned in Israel!

The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that hunting might soon be banned in Israel. According to the Post, a bill banning all hunting was recently approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, the government body that must screen all bills going before the Knesset. Right now, there is a list of animals in Israel that receive "protected species status" and therefore cannot be hunted. If this bill is passed, "nearly all animals would receive that status," notes the Post.

Of all the world's countries, Israel has been leading the way in the fight for animal rights, and this law would be yet another major breakthrough on behalf of animals. Over the years, Israel's Nature and Parks Authority has been refusing to grant additional hunting permits, and the number of Israelis with these permits has dropped from 6,000 to 2,000.

This could be a major victory.

"We praise the advancement of the bill, which includes banning sport hunting in Israel," said the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. "Development pressures already do a lot of damage to nature and therefore there isn't room anymore for sport hunting. There is a unique and rich biodiversity in Israel and it is our responsibility to protect it rather than damage it through unnecessary activities."

The bill, said the Post, is expected to go through swift passage in the Knesset.

Finally! The justice system is actually punishing creeps like this one...

The justice system in the United States is finally cracking down on animal abusers. Wayne Brackett, age 22, was just sentenced to a four-year prison sentence in North Adams, Massachusetts. His crime? In June, Brackett - under the influence of drugs and alcohol - broke into a construction company and horribly murdered and mutilated five pet rabbits on the premises. As the Boston Herald noted:

Surveillance footage reportedly showed him ripping the ears off a rabbit, stabbing another one repeatedly, and stomping one baby bunny to death.

Now, this low-life will be spending four years in prison - plenty of time to reflect on his heinous crime. It's wonderful to see a thug who abuses animals finally being punished for such violence. This hasn't always happened. Twenty years ago - hell, ten years ago - a creep like this most likely would have gotten away with a slap on the wrist, maybe a little bit of community service.

Not any more. This prison sentence sends out a strong message: Animal abuse will not be tolerated. Brackett's case is especially disturbing. Peter Gollub, director of Law Enforcement for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told a local television station:

The rabbits in this case suffered horrific and repeated acts of cruelty. We wish to express our gratitude to the courts for recognizing the gravity of the crimes by imposing appropriate sentences.... Regrettably, the savagery repeatedly inflicted upon the helpless rabbits exceeds any brutality I’ve seen in quite a while. (Source)

Nine other rabbits are missing and presumed dead. Good thing this creep is going to do serious jail time. There have been many studies that show that human beings who carry out such senseless acts of violence against animals often commit violent acts against other human beings as well. Who knows? By punishing this creep now, maybe the life of a person might be saved. And apart from that, what he did to those rabbits was so brutal, so vile and disgusting, he deserves to spend time in prison. He'll also have to do 100 hours of community service. I'm praying this jerk comes across a really big and really tough inmate who loves animals and detests animal abusers.

Protecting Animals by Getting Tough on Abusers

The time has come to get tough on serious animal abusers by charging them with felonies and giving them the harsh prison sentences they deserve. I never enjoy blogging about animal abuse, any more than I enjoy blogging about human abuse, but the shocking case of police finding 160 dead animals in a barn in Deer Park, Washington yesterday compels me to do so yet again. The barn contained 200 animals locked in cages, most of them dead. The ones who were still alive were desperate for food and water. It was an absolutely appalling scene. (Source)

In Garden City, New York, a mother was recently charged with forcing her children to torture pets. When the authorities raided her house, they found five dogs and a cat in cages, living in their own pee and shit. In the backyard, the SPCA made an even more gruesome discovery: 42 animals buried, many with duct tape over their mouths. The woman has six daughters, ranging in age from 18 months to 13 years. Her 21-year-old son who turned her in described her house as a "concentration camp for animals." (Source)

There are other similar cases, but, to be honest, it would depress me too much to list them all here.

Suffice it to say that it has only been since the 1990s that serial killers who target animals have actually been charged with felonies. Before the 1990s, such killers were usually let free, or - at the very worst - they were charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. There are several states that still do not even have felony animal abuse laws (for a list of which states have them and when they adopted such laws, see here). Some would say these sadists just need good counseling. But what they really need are long jail sentences and huge fines if there is any hope of sending out a message that this sort of behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

Note: I'm singling out the United States only because I have studied the society more carefully as an American historian and newspaper columnist who often comments on American affairs. Here in Canada, the animal abuse laws are a little tougher, but not much. (Click here for a history of animal abuse laws in Canada.) Four years ago, there was an excellent entry on the Toronto Humane Society's blog (dated June 9, 2006), that offered the following observations:

Canada's current anti-cruelty laws for animals are totally inadequate, allowing those who neglect and abuse animals to repeat their crimes again and again with minimal consequences. For six years, Canada's government has stalled on the passage of tougher animal cruelty sentences.

The main reason Canada remains largely ineffective in preventing animal cruelty is the lack of tough laws and large fines in cases of cruelty and neglect. The current maximum fine for animal cruelty is $2,000 and a possible two-year ban on animal ownership. The laws have not been updated in more than 100 years. Meanwhile, cruelty to animals continues....

Canadians want to protect animals

Ninety-three percent of Canadians polled support tougher animal cruelty legislation including law enforcement officers, lawyers, researchers, farmers, hunters and animal welfare organizations.