Fighting the Good Fight: SHARK is Shining the Spotlight on Animal Abuse

There are so many wonderful groups fighting the good fight against animal abuse and cruelty. One of those groups, which has been putting videotaping to its very best and most effective use, is Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (or SHARK for short). SHARK is a group that deserves our support.

SHARK maintains a highly effective Facebook and YouTube presence. SHARK's head, Steve Hindi, is an incredibly effective spokesman for the cause. A former hunter, Steve goes from place to place, camcorder in hand, documenting human brutality against animals. As Steve points out in the introductory video on YouTube, SHARK relies on volunteer efforts and operates with a skeletal budget, so they need all the support they can get.

SHARK has been particularly effective in exposing the abuse at rodeos. Far too many animals have died extremely violent deaths in rodeos, which has tripped off warning bells among animal advocates. In one of SHARK's most recent videos, documenting the death of a Wyoming rodeo horse on July 30, 2011, thugs attempted to prevent Steve from filming the horse's painful death. This sort of scene has repeated itself over and over. No wonder the rodeo bosses - and all people who profit from the abuse of animals - fear SHARK's videocameras. Thee are modern-day video guerrillas, taking the best weapons imaginable - camcorders - into the belly of the beast.

SHARK is doing so much that is worthwhile. I urge you to support them. I'm going to be logging on to PayPal shortly to give a donation.

We're fighting an uphill struggle, but it's worth it.

When in Doubt, Blame the Breeding!

Temple Grandin, the famous doctor of animal science at Colorado State University, subject of an HBO movie and one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2010, has been referred to as an "animal welfare advocate."

Perhaps the words "shill," "enabler" and "apologist" are more apt descriptions.

Grandin has been a celebrity for quite some time, having spent years helping to improve conditions in slaughterhouses. One can hear the animal welfare advocate: "That's great. Best to reduce the stress, whenever possible, among animals about to be slaughtered."

In reality, Grandin's methods - adopted by a number of assembly-line mass-murder operations - have simply made the destruction of animals that much easier, and have provided plenty of positive P.R. fodder for big companies such as Swift, McDonald's and Burger King. (Source)

Her most recent foray into the spotlight occurred early in this year's recent Calgary Stampede. On July 8, opening night, a horse involved in the chuckwagon races had to be euthanized after breaking his leg.

Grandin's explanation of the death? Too much selective breeding in the "horse industry." To quote Grandin:

"The thoroughbred industry needs to address the issue of the legs being too weak. The Stampede has done everything they could do to prepare the track, to change the rules so the wagons are not smashing into each another.” (Source)

The Stampede has nothing to answer for, according to Grandin. It has treated its animals "humanely." Just like all of those animals "humanely slaughtered" using her methods.

The truth is, the Stampede has been plagued with problems for years. Last year was especially bad, as the CBC recently noted:

How the chuckwagon races are run, as well as standards for other events at the rodeo, have been greatly overhauled in the last year since six horses died at the Stampede's 2010 edition. Two died of heart attacks, two were destroyed after suffering injuries and another broke its back from bucking too hard. The sixth died after experiencing health difficulties 40 minutes after a chuckwagon race. One change made in the wake of those deaths sees veterinarians implanting a microchip in every horse that is scheduled to compete in the chuckwagon races.

The previous year, 2009, the CBC reported that several animals died in the Calgary Stampede. In fact, if you like at the history of the Stampede, animal deaths have been one of the common recurring features of the event.

A week after Grandin gave the Stampede a clean bill of health, the Stampede fired the driver of the ill-fated chuckwagon and gave him a record fine of $12,500. The driver, Cliff Cunningham, participated in another chuckwagon event - a mere week after the first one ended so badly - that resulted in a collision with another horse. The second horse had to be put to death as well. Cunningham was fired and slapped with a record fine for recklessness.

But it's a mistake to blame the Stampede's flaws on one reckless individual. The real culprit here is the rodeo exhibition itself. These events are, by their very nature, extremely brutal and hard on animals even under the best of circumstances.

Sadly, Temple Grandin will likely continue her role as cheerleader for companies and institutions that harm animals. She'll continue to enjoy a status as a quirky trailblazer and a pioneer that has greatly advanced the cause of animal welfare.

Meantime, thanks to her efforts, more animals will perish - in the slaughterhouse and the rodeo arena - and all the while the public will sleep soundly at night knowing that these institutions have adopted the most cutting edge "humane" practices possible.

Progress on the Anti-Rodeo Front

Today's Calgary Herald reversed a longtime policy of refusing to run advertisements critical of the famous Calgary Stampede. For those of you who aren't aware of the Stampede, it is a huge event held each July in Calgary, Alberta - ten days of rodeos, exhibitions, games, chuckwagon races, rides and so forth. It is the biggest rodeo in the world and draws a million visitors to the province each year. The Stampede dates back to 1886.

And this is the first time in the long history of the Stampede that Calgary's main newspaper, the Herald - founded in 1883 - has allowed the publication of an advertisement taking aim at the Stampede. The $15,000 ad, pictured below, was taken out by the Vancouver Humane Society in today's Herald.

Interestingly, the advertisement shoes calf roping, but does not specifically mention the Calgary Stampede. The ad has caused some controversy. The Calgary Humane Society has taken a strong welfarist position and attacked the Vancouver Humane Society for its emphasis on "animal rights." As the Calgary Humane Society (CHS) notes in its Stampede press kit:

While other organizations may wish to intervene through protest, or other means, CHS has found it can best protect the interests of the animals involved by working with organizations that put on such events. (Source)

But there is no getting around the fact that rodeos brutalize animals. I've been to several rodeos (having grown up in the western United States). I've seen what these animals go through. Welfarists who are apologists for rodeos such as this one can talk all they want about emphasizing the well-being of the animals. And when you get right down to it, rodeos aren't as gruesome and gory as bull fights (which set the bar incredibly low when it comes to the treatment of animals). But make no mistake about it: Rodeos are still a form of extreme animal exploitation.

I'm a lifelong Westerner, born in Calgary. I know why people love rodeos. They can be very exciting events, where families and friends get together and have a good time. And I hate it when some elitists try to write off rodeo fans as rednecks. That's a crock. I don't buy it for an instant. Yet it is impossible to deny that animals are treated very roughly at rodeos. We would be a lot better off if the rodeo had never been invented, and if the good people who attend them could achieve a sense of community and camaraderie by some other means.