Cats Protection booth at Companion Animal Welfare Conference / Photo: Lena Yacoumopoulou

In Lena Yacoumopoulou’s first article for Animal Issues Reporter (AIR), she fills us in on proceedings at the Companion Animal Welfare Conference. AIR is pleased to welcome Yacoumopoulou, who is both an accomplished journalist and a dedicated animal rescuer, to our pages.

By Lena Yacoumopoulou

CEO’s, employees, trustees, vets, researchers, epidemiologists, nurses, designers, salesmen, and mostly volunteers—anyone and everyone to do with animal welfare— packed the beautiful Mare Nostrum Hotel to network, fundraise, exchange ideas and more during three intense days at the 14^th annual Companion Animal Welfare Conference (ICAWC) held last month in Vravona, Greece.

ICAWC is sponsored by Dogs Trust UK every year. Why was Greece chosen for the venue this year? 

Dogs Trust Chief Executive Clarissa Baldwin said in an interview with this reporter that delegates clamored for a warmer country after the annual conference in Latvia last year. Their wish was granted and even more so since Greece was experiencing record-breaking warm weather this October.

The setting of the hotel was heavenly and convenient for delegates who flew in for the three-day conference, she added. Some 260 participants (77 from Greece) from 31 countries attended, representing 124 organizations worldwide (13 from Greece). Never before did the organizers have to close registration before the conference began; one week before the event, all tickets were sold out.

Up to 600 million stray dogs worldwide

The vision of Dogs Trust is a world “where no healthy companion animal is destroyed for want of a caring home with responsible owners,” and Clarissa adds where “a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.” These are the messages conveyed at the conference every year and they are important because even in the U.K., which is considered an animal-friendly country, according to a Dogs Trust survey, over 126,000 abandoned dogs were rescued during 2011, six percent of whom were put to sleep because of lack of homes and shelters.

Worldwide it is estimated that there are between 500 million to 600 million stray dogs, the majority living in appalling conditions and often prey to widespread culling by government strategy.

There were four workshops and 24 speakers on subjects ranging from dog behavior to the law, getting and retaining volunteers, cat and dog diseases, fundraising tips, running a shelter, neutering, and management of feral colonies, among other themes.

Perhaps no one will forget the video of Worldwide Veterinary Service CEO (WVS) Luke Gamble removing 20 kilos of plastic from a cow’s stomach in India. His surgical intervention to unblock the cow’s intestines was a great public relations stunt to highlight the way we dispose of plastic as well how we care for animals. WVS treated more than 11,000 animals worldwide in 2011. The group donates medicine and helps animal welfare groups with neutering and advice.

How to manage resources wisely

Also thought-provoking was Jeffrey Young, founder of Planned Pethood International, based in Colorado, which supports low-cost neutering in mobile units across America. He has established an additional vet clinic in Merida, Mexico and a state-of-the-art vet hospital in Slovakia, where vets from around the world are trained for free.

Dr. Young said he turns out a large profit from his private vet practice in Colorado (he is proud to be a good businessman) and that is how he funds animal welfare work worldwide.  He believes that caregivers should give of their time and money with the big picture as a guide: often volunteers will spend months and a lot of funds saving one animal when those resources could benefit dozens of stray dogs and cats through neutering.

He recommends that animal welfare groups aim to educate otherwise they will just remain perpetual ambulance drivers; they should focus efforts on changing or strengthening the law: in the United States 20 years ago, he illustrated, 24 million animals were euthanized in shelters annually as a government strategy; today through changes in law and awareness, the number has been reduced to an estimated four million each year.

SNIP International booth / Photo: Lena Yacoumopoulou

Dog diseases

On pet travel and diseases, Paula Boyden, Vet Director Dogs Trust, pointed to the prevalence of rabies in Eastern Europe (the incidence of rabies in Greece dramatically declined in the early 70s with the last case reported in 1987) and overall to the tapeworm (echinococcus multilocularis) which can be fatal to humans.

Of particular concern in the Mediterranean basin is Leishmaniasis also known as Kala-azar, a zoonotic disease transmitted by an infected sand fly.  In her presentation, Jenny Stavisky, UK epidemiologist, said it can be fatal for both dogs and humans and there is no cure. [Editors note: With proper treatment and medication the disease can be well-managed, and some vets are reporting cures.] The best form of prevention is to keep dogs inside at dawn and dusk and to fit them with a Scalibor collar.

Other dangerous infections from ticks we were told to watch out for are Babesia and Ehrlichia and the often fatal heartworm also transmitted through mosquitoes, therefore the importance of insect repellents such as Stronghold.

Dogs help with cancer detection and juvenile rehab

Claire Guest reminded us all that despite state-of-the-art advances on cancer diagnosis, a dog’s nose often remains the earliest and most accurate mechanism for detection. As Director of Operations of Medical Detection Dogs, she is conducting pioneering research that uses dogs to sniff not only cancer, but blood sugar changes, Addison’s disease and narcolepsy among other life-threatening diseases.

We were impressed by Rebecca Leonardi, PAWS for Progress, who developed the first prison-based dog training rehab program in the U.K.: providing skills to young offenders by teaching them to train stray dogs from the nearby shelter, thus offering a two-fold benefit with one good deed.

Tips on stray cats

Cats were not neglected at the Dogs Trust conference: we were offered challenging questions in feline rescue by Maggie Roberts, vet and co-author of Feline Advisory Bureau’s (FAB) Feral Cat Manual, and Karen Hiestand, Cats Protection. For example would we neuter a stray pregnant cat? (most in the audience said they would);  would we treat a very sick cat or euthanize her? (most said they would euthanize). However both issues are not often discussed openly in some countries, in particular Greece.

We got great tips on stray cats from Ian MacFarlaine, Cats Protection, who oversaw 162,000 neuterings in one year alone: that cats are better off on the street than in a shelter; that it’s better to make a vertical cut on the side of a cat when neutering to avoid pressure on the organs as happens with a belly cut; that cats benefit from being neutered as early as in the 9th and 10th weeks.  And for those who like to ‘hoard’ cats in their home—it can be anything from five to twenty cats—he pointed out that cats are solitary animals and prefer not to be crowded. (See the Feral Cat Manual he co-authored with Maggie Roberts www.fabcats.org.)

Microchipping and passports

HDI Chip International was present at the conference with passports and chips making them available to individuals and organizations at low rates, reminding us that in Greece these products unfortunately are only dispensed by private vets and at high costs.

Equipment

Every animal welfare organization represented at the conference came away with at least one item donated jointly by Snip International, MDC Exports and Cat Protection.  Altogether some 80 items were given out, from dog muzzles and protective gloves to sophisticated cat traps, carriers and restrainers. Thank you to these three groups!

Melvin Dwyer (left), designer of the cat trap and head of MDC Exports, and Annika Lahdeniemi of SNIP International / Photo: Lena Yacoumopoulou

Three Greek success stories

Despite the bad rap that Greece gets for its large number of animal abuses, and they are indeed happening, unfortunately, there were three successes that were noted at the conference: first, that Greece is one of the 27 European states (ahead of the UK and France) that has ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals which became effective in 1992. In his presentation, Trevor Cooper, Dog law specialist for Dogs Trust, focused on the “well being” of companion animals as being the core issue in that convention, something which Greek law 4039 also maintains (ευζωια), and which must include clean water and food, shelter and exercise for companion animals.

Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF)

For its part, Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF), now re-named Animal Action Greece, briefed the conference on two major landmarks in Greek animal welfare: CEO Amalia Sotirhiou and Evgenia Mataragka, Communication Manager, reported that in 2006, after years of spearheading the movement, GAWF succeeded in banning ALL animals from circuses in Greece, becoming the first country in Europe to do so.

The other important achievement was to identify and register some 60 barrel dogs in the island of Ikaria, thus bringing attention to the plight of thousands of dogs across rural Greece that are tied up in remote areas to prevent goats from moving from one area to another, often without adequate water, food, shelter or treatment, and an average lifespan of two years.

GAWF’s Carol McBeth kept meticulous records and photos of each dog, worked with the Ikaria municipality, local animal welfare volunteers, filed abuse reports where appropriate and succeeded in getting many farmers to install proper kennels or to remove the dogs altogether. Dogs Trust UK supported the campaign which included neutering, salaries for a campaign organized for one year, two education programs in schools, and an art competition for dimotiko (elementary school) kids.

Volunteerism differs across the globe

At a workshop on volunteerism by expert Amelia Tarzi it became clear that the management of strays differs widely region by region. A well-funded animal welfare organization for example in the U.K. or France can employ a large number of staff and volunteers for much beyond the standard activities of animal care and rescue, such as for education, fundraising, events organizing, managing a charity shop, all of which seemed like a dream for many Greek organizations which often struggle with one or two volunteers and scarce funds.  It was underlined at the conference that in Greece volunteerism has not caught on yet as much as in other western countries.

Tarzi stressed the importance of motivating and encouraging the volunteers, but some of us asked who takes care of the volunteers? Who manage the volunteers?

The Animal Healer

All delegates welcomed Elizabeth Whiter, who heals both animals and humans in a holistic manner, as she guided us through deep breaths and sighs and other stress releasing exercises in the conference room. Her book The Animal Healer is available on www.healinganimals.org.

All in all this conference brought together a wonderful group of people devoted to the millions who have no voice.

This reporter (pictured left) was happy to receive a cat trap/restrainer for our group PAWS. The trap was donated by SNIP International, Cats Protection, and Melvin Dwyer (pictured right), designer of the trap and head of MDC Exports.  Photo: Lena Yacoumopoulou

Lena Yacoumopoulou has 30 years experience as a writer/radio producer. She started at the bottom level in the film and radio department of the United Nations in New York and worked her way up to Senior Radio Producer, running the English news team. During those 30 years she covered the independence and elections in Namibia, the first ever democratic elections in Haiti, the two wars in Yugoslavia and many international conferences in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean. She was born in Alexandria Egypt in a large Greek community, studied at English and American schools there, and then English and French literature at the University of London.  She worked for two years as an editorial assistant at Thames and Hudson, London art book publishers, before leaving for the US in the early 1970′s to seek a better future. She retired from the UN in 2007 and realized her life long dream of living in a house on a Greek island. The plan was to lie under a Tamarisko tree and write her memoirs, but after seeing the appalling conditions of stray cats on Paros, she devoted herself full time to trying to improve their plight, focusing on neutering as a priority.  She is a member of the board of PAWS (Paros Animal Welfare Society).

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Waiting / Photo: Bob Hennis

Milestone! This is the 50th article on our fledgling little Animal Issues Reporter.org! It’s fitting that Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck should be its author, because she’s been wonderfully supportive of this website from the beginning. Many thanks to her and to all of AIR’s other reporters for their fine work and can-do spirit. And of course giant thanks to all our readers! Please keep tuning in and/or click the ‘Follow’ button to receive email notifications of new articles so you won’t miss any of our writers’ upcoming great work.

By Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck

In the beginning, two years ago, we were so happy together. I always had his full attention, and he wanted my opinion on everything. We talked a lot back then. After a long day at work, I couldn’t wait to see him, and he was always overjoyed that I was home again. He loved everything I served him, just because it was served by me.

But as time went by, our relationship changed. Now, I know that’s natural and it’s supposed to be a good thing. Because you can’t be in love forever; it’s physically impossible. So in time, the “crazy, madly in love” feeling evolves into a deeper feeling. A feeling that’s more stable and doesn’t cloud your judgment as much. But as the butterflies have slowly faded away, I cannot turn my back on the problems any longer.

At first, he started to distance himself from me. He wouldn’t be as happy when I got home as he used to, and his happy banter had become rare. The food that I prepared didn’t seem to go down so well anymore. He just shoved it into his mouth without really tasting it. Like a forklift truck. Not a pretty sight.

I had hoped that things would improve during the summer. Summer, the time of year that’s perfect for picnics and romantic outings. Being outside and doing things together. But he wouldn’t even sit outside in the garden with me anymore. Instead, he chose to go out on his own. Without me. For hours.

And now, come fall, things haven’t gotten worse, but they certainly haven’t improved either. He’s still gone half the time, without telling me a single thing. He still eats like a forklift truck and when he comes home, he just crashes on the couch or bed and ignores me. Oh, sure, we still cuddle every once in a while. When he’s in the mood. But it’s not half as often as it used to be.

I think he’s cheating on me. I’m almost certain he’s cheating on me. He doesn’t even really try to hide it. When his buddy comes by to pick him up, he’s out the door so fast, I only see a blur. And when he comes home, early in the morning (or really late at night, depending how you look at it), he smells like perfume and smoke. And I don’t wear perfume and I certainly don’t smoke.

I don’t get it. What am I doing wrong? Is she prettier than me? More fun? Does she serve better food? I really don’t know. All I know is he’s getting fatter and fatter while I see less and less of him (which sounds like a contradiction, but you know what I mean). He’s now at a point at which I am getting seriously concerned about his weight.

But what can I do? I mean, how do you stop a food-addicted cat from going next door and (ch)eating, without taking away the freedom his cat flap offers him?

If anybody knows, please tell me.

Ozzy, a.k.a. Al Bundy / Photo: Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck

Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck is an online marketing and social media specialist with a Masters degree in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Groningen in Holland. She has adopted two cats—one of them a colossal seven-kilo fellow from Greece (Ozzy)—and frequently helps rescue groups foster, place, and transport needy animals into new homes.

More AIR from Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck:

Why cats and computers don’t mix

Successful Facebooking for animal adoptions: Dutch shelter gets creative

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All rights reserved.

Visitor greeting Bill and Lou / Photo: Christine Celella

In her first opinion piece for Animal Issues Reporter, Antonia Fraser Fujinaga wades into the controversy swirling around two oxen at a small college in Vermont. 

Please note: As a native of Scotland, Mrs. Fujinaga uses British spelling and punctuation.

By Antonia Fraser Fujinaga

The most recent developments in the saga of Bill and Lou, two retired working oxen whom many of us have been trying to save from slaughter, include the following:

• Lou was euthanised on the 11^th of November for medical reasons by Vermont’s Green Mountain College (GMC), owner of both animals, and buried in an undisclosed location, according to a statement from the school. Bill remains alive but it is unclear whether GMC intends to fulfil their stated intent to slaughter and serve him in the campus refectory. (Several weeks ago Lou and his work partner Bill were both designated for this fate after Lou sustained a leg injury and became unable to plough the fields and perform other chores at the college’s Cerridwen Farm.)

• Philip Ackerman-Leist, GMC’s Farm and Food Project director, sent out a “Request for Common Cause” to “Colleagues in Food and Agriculture” pleading for support of the school’s aim to slaughter the pair of animals who had served the college for ten years—a decision that has brought an uproar of public opposition from outside the college.

• Ackerman-Leist’s request received an enthusiastic response from Rural Vermont, an organisation representing the interests of small farms all over the state, lauding GMC’s position as a “principled stand for food sovereignty”.

• At least two animal rescue groups have offered to provide lifetime care on their own premises for Bill (and, when he was alive, Lou), at no cost to the college. GMC rejected these offers, arguing that allowing the oxen to survive their usefulness, even at someone else’s expense, would be incompatible with the university’s ethos of ‘sustainability’ because it would allow resources to be wasted. Reportedly, other offers to buy the oxen, some of them involving large sums, were also rejected on similar grounds.

Ackerman-Leist’s appeal and Rural Vermont’s answer have benefited from so much distribution and approval that I feel that it is important to respond to some of the points and assumptions made in these texts.

Bullying and threats

Both Mr Ackerman-Leist’s appeal and Rural Vermont’s response paint opponents of the slaughter as “extremists” who use threats and other “extreme bullying tactics”. While it is almost indisputable that some such behaviour did occur, many or even most slaughter opponents, including myself, expressed their disapproval exclusively through painstaking and futile use of the written word, though our data and carefully presented arguments have so far been ignored, belying Ackerman-Leist’s claims of openness to “discourse, diversity, or democracy”.

Furthermore, GMC is itself perhaps not ‘above’ issuing threats. At least one person who had non-threateningly offered written arguments against slaughtering the oxen was the target of a misspelt attempt emanating from within GMC (and purportedly from its president Paul Fonteyn) to report them to their employer, according to attorney Steven M. Wise and sources close to the author of the original email.

Such an action could have the real potential to deprive a person of their livelihood for daring to voice an opinion—an opinion which was misrepresented as “uncivil and hostile”, as if the GMC email had been sent out by someone who had not actually read the original message. This goes beyond threats; this could have wrought actual damage if it had reached the intended recipient.

Friends in high places

In this intimidating email, President Fonteyn (or whoever was writing in his name) points out that “the Governor of VT and the Secretary of Agriculture have publically (sic) supported the position of the college”. In other words, the email’s author emphasises the fact that GMC is strong and has friends in high places.

Likewise, Mr Ackerman-Leist’s call for “common cause” is replete with references to how pervasive is the animal agriculture system of which GMC’s programme is a part (“the iconic Vermont dairy industry”, “longstanding efforts in our region”, “burgeoning farm-to-institution programs”, etc.); and, in a spectacle of mutual back-slapping by influential establishment figures, it receives the resounding approval of yet another set of powerful friends, namely the board and staff of Rural Vermont.

It is difficult to see how GMC’s position of strength, as an institution in a world where institutions have far greater power than individuals, as the defenceless oxen’s ‘owner’ with the right of life and death over them irrespective of any counterarguments, and as a representative of the “iconic” agricultural establishment in Vermont, can be reconciled with its attempt to portray itself as a victim.

Instead, one might reasonably construe the oxen as the ultimate victims of a deeply entrenched system which, despite well-known data showing that meat production is neither necessary for human health nor ideal for worldwide ecological ‘sustainability’, refuses point-blank to consider the possibility of plant-based sustainable agriculture.

The ‘sustainability’ question: are animals essential to agriculture?

The most cogent portion of Rural Vermont’s vote of confidence in Mr Ackerman-Leist is the following:

“Truly sustainable agriculture and food production is dependent on animals, not only for the nourishment of their meat and milk, but also for the fertility of their manure, essential to the production of the fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops upon which all of us depend. Indeed, to erase animals from the cycle of agriculture is to ensure dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilizers. Sustainable? Not exactly.”

However, there is considerable evidence that meat and milk are not necessary to maintain human health, and that avoiding these may increase longevity while decreasing the risk of several diseases.

The use of polluting agricultural machinery to till fields may be avoidable in the future through ‘green’, renewable energy sources; for the time being this can also be achieved through the use of draft animals like Bill and Lou who produce considerable amounts of manure.

Whatever additional fertiliser is needed can be obtained without recourse to artificial fertilisers: compost is one obvious option, but ingenious efforts have been undertaken to use human faeces (‘night soil’), safely composted to remove pathogens, or even human urine (used in farms, both large-scale and small-scale, in Sweden) as fertiliser. These are only some of the alternative but natural fertilisers which can be employed.

And given the high resource cost of producing meat, the resources saved by refraining from raising animals expressly for their meat would more than offset those ‘wasted’ by allowing draft animals to survive their working days in retirement (during which they would, of course, produce manure).

Defending the status quo

In other words, Mr Ackerman-Leist’s “principled stand for food sovereignty”, so admired by Rural Vermont, is not based on ecological sustainability—which, according to a considerable volume of data, would be best served by using plants, not animals, as food—nor on the necessity for animal products in the human diet, nor on the impossibility of avoiding the use of fossil fuels or sustainably fertilising one’s crops without eating meat products.

It is not a matter of necessity, but a matter of defending the financially and politically powerful status quo of “livestock agriculture” even if it harms the planet and costs lives—though, importantly, not the lives of those claiming “food sovereignty”.

It is also a matter of nestling into the established cultural habit of denying compassion to the sentient beings whose deaths are convenient to us, because challenging that paradigm would not only be intellectually bothersome but also necessitate organisational efforts.

The insistence on killing animals who, like us, fight to the last breath not to die—asking them to die for one’s ‘principles’, without oneself ever having to face the knife, and without considering the tremendous amounts of data and ethical arguments which suggest that they need not die—is difficult for some of us to reconcile with the “courage, reason and civility” which Mr Ackerman-Leist attributes to the advocates of meat production.

It is not courageous to sacrifice others when one’s own life is not at stake; it is both reasonable and courageous to be open to data and arguments; and it is eminently civil not to cut throats.

There is irony in a “principled stand” which defends convenience and accords with business interests and culturally established paradigms—a “principled stand” which fights tooth and nail against compassion.

Sources:

Philip Ackerman-Leist’s “Request for Common Cause”

Rural Vermont’s reply to it

Email, purportedly from GMC President Paul Fonteyn, to the employer of an individual who peacefully contacted GMC

Human urine as fertiliser – examples:

http://www.goveganic.net/article217.html?lang=en and

http://judynyokabi.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/potential-in-waste-ecological-fertilizer-from-human-urine/

Safely composted human faeces as fertiliser – examples:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15747455

http://journeytoforever.org/compost_humanure.html

http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/global/wastes-wanted/safe-use-of-treated-night-soil

http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/global/living-soils/traditional-night-soil-composting-continues-to

Scientific evidence in favour of meatless or vegan dining – examples:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10479226 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864

Ecological impact of livestock agriculture – examples:

http://www.imbs.uci.edu/CONFERENCES/2006/GRADUATE%20CONFERENCES/06-Fiala-Pa0er.pdf

https://www.sustainabletable.org.au/Hungryforinfo/Theenvironmentalimpactsofeatingmeat/tabid/105/Default.aspx

My arguments for meatless agriculture and for compassion, respectively:

http://urbantimes.co/2012/11/ethics-slaughter-bill-lou-oxen-green-mountain-college/ ;

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/animal-rights/defense-lou-and-bill-oxen-green-mountain-college

My (non-threatening) attempt to contact GMC:

http://james-mcwilliams.com/?p=2553

Antonia Fraser Fujinaga is finishing a PhD about Iranian criminal courts at the University of Edinburgh (UK) but lives in San Francisco with her Japanese husband. She is half Scots and half Italian, and her interests include performing traditional music from Greece, Bulgaria and parts of former Yugoslavia and learning the Indian dance forms Bharatanatyam and Kathak. She cares for several small rescued animals at home.

More AIR on this topic:

Eating oxen Bill and Lou is “morally preferable” to retiring them to a sanctuary, says college spokesman

The yoke’s on you, Bill and Lou–or is it?

Do you have an opposing view to this Op-Ed piece?  Polite and well-written responses are welcome and might be published, at the discretion of AIR editors. Please contact airinfo@yahoo.com for submission guidelines.

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Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Butterball is “incapable of preventing egregious animal abuse at its factory farm facilities,” says animal protection group. / Photo: Mercy for Animals

By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

“Butterball expects a few untrained workers to move thousands of crippled turkeys into transport trucks, and pays workers by the load, not the hour,” Mercy for Animals (MFA) Director of Investigations Matt Rice told Animal Policy Examiner in an email interview this week. [Please see full interview below.] “It is a recipe for disaster, and as our investigation proves, it results in horrific suffering for thousands of animals at the hands of Butterball workers.”

In October when MFA went back for a second, secret look at Butterball’s large-scale North Carolina turkey production facilities, their undercover investigator caught exactly the same types of severe abuses as during the first visit nearly a year ago, according to the group, which specializes in gathering covert video footage of animal cruelty on so-called “factory farms.”

On the most recent MFA video, workers are seen kicking, stomping on, and violently throwing turkeys. Many of the birds are filmed suffering and dying from severe, maggot-infested wounds and injuries with allegedly no veterinary care.

MFA’s first investigation resulted in one Butterball worker’s conviction on a felony animal cruelty charge, with several more cases against other workers pending.

In response to AIR’s questions about MFA’s allegations, a Butterball spokesperson said, “Upon learning of these new concerns, we immediately initiated an internal investigation and suspended the associates in question. Pending the completion of that investigation, Butterball will then make a determination on additional actions including immediate termination for those involved.”  (Please see Butterball’s full statement.)

Butterball has not yet replied to follow-up questions from AIR.

AIR INTERVIEW WITH MATT RICE, MERCY FOR ANIMALS:

Animal Issues Reporter (AIR): What prompted MFA to go back to Butterball a second time?

Matt Rice: Butterball is the world’s largest producer of turkey meat and is responsible for nearly one-third of the turkeys raised and killed for Thanksgiving. We believe that consumers have a right to know how turkeys are treated before they end up as Thanksgiving dinner, so that they can make informed choices.

Mercy For Animals is encouraging people to end their financial support for Butterball this holiday season by carving out a new Thanksgiving tradition and digging in to any number of delicious vegetarian, turkey-free alternatives.

AIR: Why did you suspect that there would still be abuses going on there, despite the earlier conviction of a Butterball worker for felony cruelty?

Matt Rice: Mercy For Animals has conducted more than twenty undercover investigations into factory farms and slaughterhouses, and in every case we have documented horrific animal abuse. We didn’t suspect animal abuse was happening behind the closed doors of Butterball’s facilities. It was a given.

AIR: What do you believe the company should do to prevent abuse of its animals? Any specific recommendations?

Butterball has proven to be incapable of preventing egregious animal abuse at its factory farm facilities. Butterball should be held criminally accountable for the suffering the company routinely inflects on these animals.

AIR: Do you mean that the company itself should be charged/prosecuted?  Or the company’s officers and/or managers?

Matt Rice: The company itself.

AIR: It seems it’s usually only workers who are charged in such cases.  What would it take for criminal charges to go ‘to the top’?

Matt Rice: Sadly, it is all too easy and common for factory farming giants like Butterball to scapegoat a few employees, when it is obvious these abuses are a direct result of Butterball’s complete lack of animal welfare policies, training, or oversight.

On top of that, Butterball turkeys are purposely bred to grow unnaturally large, very quickly. Consequently, many of these birds are suffering from broken bones, crippling leg deformities and severe infections due to their breeding and filthy living conditions.

Then, Butterball expects a few untrained workers to move thousands of crippled turkeys into transport trucks, and pays workers by the load, not the hour. It is a recipe for disaster, and as our investigation proves, it results in horrific suffering for thousands of animals at the hands of Butterball workers.

While law enforcement may or may not be able to hold Butterball criminally accountable, concerned consumers can help end this needless cruelty and suffering by refusing to buy Butterball turkey.

AIR: This is part of Butterball’s statement in response to questions I sent them regarding MFA’s investigation: “When we learn of any instances of animal mistreatment we take immediate corrective action to suspend workers involved, conduct a swift investigation and terminate their employment with the company.”

It seems a key phrase there is “When we learn of…” Do you know of Butterball having learned of abuse of its animals through any way other than MFA’s undercover videos shot at their facilities? What do you believe the company could do to better monitor the problem?

Matt Rice: Butterball’s statement is nothing more than PR spin. This investigation graphically illustrates that Butterball fails to have meaningful animal welfare policies, training, or oversight to prevent blatant animal abuse and neglect at its factory farms. Butterball is guilty of extreme animal abuse and should be held criminally accountable.

AIR: Another part of Butterball’s response statement:  “Butterball’s guidelines are based on guidelines developed by the National Turkey Federation that have been approved by animal well-being experts including Dr. Joy Mench at University of California at Davis, Dr. Janice Swanson from Michigan State University and Dr. Gail Golab at the American Veterinary Medical Association, among others.”

What is MFA’s opinion of those guidelines?

Butterball turkeys suffer and die from horrific wounds and injuries, receiving no veterinary care, says animal protection group

Matt Rice: More PR spin. Before ending up on Thanksgiving dinner plates, turkeys killed for Butterball are routinely crowded into filthy warehouses, left to die from festering, bloody wounds, and thrown, kicked, and beaten by factory farm workers.

AIR: Any info yet on whether or not there will be charges filed in this case?

Matt Rice: Following the investigation, MFA immediately went to law enforcement with extensive video footage and a detailed legal complaint outlining the culture of cruelty at Butterball. Law enforcement is investigating. It is too soon to say when charges will be filed.

AIR: Which counties would be the jurisdictions?

Matt Rice: Duplin, Onslow, Sampson and Lenoir counties in North Carolina.

More AIR on this topic:

Undercover video again catches Butterball workers severely abusing turkeys, says Mercy for Animals

Butterball workers suspended for allegedly abusing turkeys

Get fresh AIR! Hit the ‘Follow’ button above to be notified via email of new articles.

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Credits include hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for  outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner), a teleplay for CBS-TV, a short story for The Bark magazine, and 17 novels for Avon, E.P. Dutton, Simon and Schuster, and other major publishers.

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Injured Butterball turkey allegedly enduring neglect. / Photo: Mercy for Animals

By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

After an undercover video filmed by an animal protection group last month allegedly showed workers kicking, dragging, stomping on, and violently throwing turkeys at several North Carolina large-scale farms operated by Butterball, the company said it has “suspended the associates in question” and “initiated an internal investigation.”

A Mercy for Animals (MFA) investigator shot the secret footage while posing as a worker for the world’s largest producer of turkey meat, gathering images of severe abuse and neglect that are nearly identical to scenes that the group captured on film at other Butterball farms earlier in the year, and that resulted in a felony conviction for one of the workers.

Butterball, which MFA says “is responsible for 30 percent of the turkeys killed for Thanksgiving in the United States,” provided the following statement in response to the allegations:

“Butterball is aware of the video released today by Mercy for Animals, and we take any allegations of animal mistreatment very seriously. As has been our long-standing policy, we have a zero tolerance policy for animal abuse. Any employee found to have violated our animal care and well-being guidelines, as well as any employee who witnessed abuse and failed to report it, will be terminated. Butterball’s guidelines are based on guidelines developed by the National Turkey Federation that have been approved by animal well-being experts including Dr. Joy Mench at University of California at Davis, Dr. Janice Swanson from Michigan State University and Dr. Gail Golab at the American Veterinary Medical Association, among others.

“When we learn of any instances of animal mistreatment, we take immediate corrective action to suspend workers involved, conduct a swift investigation and terminate their employment with the company. Upon learning of these new concerns, we immediately initiated an internal investigation and suspended the associates in question. Pending the completion of that investigation, Butterball will then make a determination on additional actions including immediate termination for those involved.

“Animal care and well-being is central to the operations of our company, and we remain committed to the ethical and responsible care of our turkey flocks.”

More AIR on this topic:

Undercover video again catches Butterball workers severely abusing turkeys, says Mercy for Animals

Get fresh AIR! Hit the ‘Follow’ button above to be notified via email of new articles.

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Credits include hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for  outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner), a teleplay for CBS-TV, a short story for The Bark magazine, and 17 novels for Avon, E.P. Dutton, Simon and Schuster, and other major publishers.

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Butterball turkey, one of many allegedly abused by the company’s workers / Photo: Mercy for Animals

By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, animal protection group Mercy for Animals said it conducted its second undercover video investigation of Butterball and found much the same that it did earlier this year—severe and extremely unappetizing abuse and neglect of the birds.

Scene after scene of the secretly-taped and disturbing video shot in October shows workers at various North Carolina farms operated by the world’s largest producer of turkey meat kicking, stomping on, and violently throwing the animals whose meat will soon sit on millions of Americans’ plates.

Many turkeys are filmed as they bleed and suffer from various injuries and wounds including broken bones and punctured eyes, with no veterinary attention, simply “left to die,” according to the narration.

At one point the video catches MFA’s undercover investigator and one of the workers in dialogue:

Investigator: “That’s all the way through his skin.”

Worker: “Oh, hell yeah. We’ve seen them with maggots in them before.”

Investigator: “Maggots!”

Worker: “Hell, yeah.”

Investigator: “Damn.”

Worker: “Damn right. Nasty shit.”

Crippling deformities

A media release from MFA states: “As this investigation illustrates, the lives of turkeys in Butterball’s factory farms remain brutal and filled with fear, violence, and prolonged suffering. While wild turkeys are sleek, agile, and able to fly, Butterball’s turkeys have been selectively bred to grow so large, so quickly, that many of them suffer from painful bone defects, hip joint lesions, crippling foot and leg deformities, and fatal heart attacks. Due to the company’s lack of meaningful animal welfare policies, training, or procedures, Butterball continues to subject countless turkeys to immeasurable cruelty and neglect each year.”

The statement goes on to quote Dr. Greg Burkett, an avian veterinarian at North Carolina State University who, after the previous MFA investigation, accompanied law enforcement during a 2011 raid on Butterball. “The abuses shown in this video are identical to the abuses documented in last year’s Butterball investigation, which led to criminal cruelty to animals charges and convictions,” said Burkett. “These behaviors are cruel, inhumane, and injurious to the birds. I am appalled at the disrespect these workers have toward the lives of other living creatures.”

MFA executive director Nathan Runkle added, “Butterball has once again been caught in the act of subjecting animals to horrific cruelty and violence and should be held criminally accountable.”

A previous MFA investigation at another of Butterball’s intensive large-scale farms in North Carolina resulted in the felony conviction of one of the workers, Brian Douglas. The group called the case “groundbreaking”–the first such cruelty to animals conviction “related to birds used for food production in U.S. history.”

“Please reject animal abuse each time you sit down to eat by choosing a vegetarian diet,” concludes the video’s narration.

Butterball offices do not open until 10:00 a.m. Eastern time and thus the company could not be reached for comment while this article was prepared.  A search of Butterball’s website did not yield any information or response regarding MFA’s allegations. Please check this page again for possible comment from Butterball.

UPDATE:  Butterball workers suspended for allegedly abusing turkeys

Get fresh AIR! Hit the ‘Follow’ button above to be notified via email of new articles.

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Credits include hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for  outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner), a teleplay for CBS-TV, a short story for The Bark magazine, and 17 novels for Avon, E.P. Dutton, Simon and Schuster, and other major publishers.

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Lou (left) and Bill (right) quietly consuming resources at home, Green Mountain College / Photo: Christine Celella

By Kalypso Arhilohou

You weigh a ton, wield horns as hard as hammers and as sharp as spears, and you could puree a man’s foot with one slightly misplaced step of your mighty hoof. But it’s perfectly safe to kiss you, hug you, and parade you through crowds at college commencements.

This good humor of yours, Bill and Lou, comes about partly because your kind have been bred that way for millennia, and partly because you’re just nice guys.

Apparently you like people. At least you don’t seem to mind hanging out with us, following our lead, and doing our bidding. Maybe you feel that in return we like you too.

The fact is that lots of people like you, and many say they love you.  The curious thing, though, is that some of the people who say they love you also say they want to eat you.

You seem to love people, too, in your way, but so far this hasn’t moved you to want to sink your teeth into them. Presumably, to you, loving someone, or even just liking him, means refraining from harming him.

Perhaps in your minds there has been an unwritten contract—one based purely on trust.  You must trust the people around you, to lend yourself so wholly to their behest and whim. To trust that much, and to give them your all in labor and docility during your decade in service, you might be expecting the best from them in return.

Promises

You’re not alone in that expectation. Many animal-human relationships are based on exactly that same unspoken agreement. Don’t hurt me, and I won’t hurt you.  Love me, and I’ll love you back.

And you’re certainly not alone in experiencing a breach of that promise. Happens every day to animals around the globe, whether they’re used for work, like you, or for food, fur, sport, experimentation, or companionship.

That’s nothing new.

What is new is a funny but terribly important word.  You might be hearing it bandied about the barn: “sustainable.”

Like many of us, you might be wondering what that means, and why it has anything to do with you.

Definitions

Here’s some illumination from Merriam-Webster.com about that word. Sustainable: “a) relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged; b) of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods.”

As per a statement by your owners at Vermont’s Green Mountain College, this is how the word applies to you, a pair of middle-aged oxen who they are plotting to kill:

“While many of our students are vegan or vegetarian, many also eat meat, and we strive to meet the dietary preferences of all students. Bill and Lou, when processed for meat, will yield over one ton of beef. If this meat doesn’t come from our animals, it likely will come from a factory farm setting which carries with it a significant amount of ecological impact. For example, the American agricultural system uses approximately 5 million gallons of water to produce the same amount of beef (not to mention greenhouse gas production, soil erosion, and water pollution)…

“If sent to a sanctuary, Bill and Lou would continue to consume resources at a significant rate. As a sustainable farm, we can’t just consider the responsible stewardship of the resources within our boundaries, but of all the earth’s resources.”

This epistle translates as follows. Your owners believe you are no longer worth the plants it takes to feed you. Of course you used to be, for those ten years when you unquestioningly hauled towering loads of hay or walked in monotonous circles to generate electricity. But now that you, Lou, are injured, and you, Bill, allegedly don’t cotton to working with a different partner (according to your owners) your only remaining worth would be as meat on their plates.

Not only that, but if they were to let you live instead of eating you, you would actually be causing harm, they argue. Your existence would waste valuable goodies and foul the environment. In general you would just be a bother when instead you could be hamburger.

Questions

If you could, you might ask your owners at the college for further explanation regarding that terribly important word. For example the question of who else gets eaten.

The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, after spending more than two years and $3.4 million examining the aforementioned American agricultural system, found that mass production and processing of animals for food “posed unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves.”

In its report “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) determined that intensive animal agriculture produces 18 percent of the world’s deadly greenhouse gases, beating out even the transportation sector as a top-tier polluter and contributor to global warming.

Numerous researchers and physicians such as those cited in The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health, and documentaries like Forks Over Knives assure us that consumption of animal products is in no way necessary or even salubrious for humans. Not only can we easily do without eating animals and all the things that come from them such as dairy and eggs, we’d be better off if we did.

But none of that stops your owners, in between their ruminations on sustainability concepts and principles, from plating up animals. And lots of them.

They say they especially relish the idea of eating you because while they’ve been using you for work, you’ve been treated far better than the animals they usually eat—animals who are bred in quantities of billions only to suffer gruesome lives and deaths as nothing but nameless, faceless, voiceless products on so-called factory farms.

If you could, you might ask your owners why, if those animals on whose carcasses and effluvia they regularly feast are treated so badly, they still want to eat them, thereby supporting the industry that mistreats them.

Apparently your giant size means that for a couple of months your owners will be able to chow down on you instead of on the animals who are treated poorly.

If you could, you might ask them if, after all of your flesh has been butchered and minced and broiled and served and chewed and stuffed through esophagi and sloshed into bellies, after there’s no longer anything left of you for them to nosh, after they’ve reverted to devouring the animals who they say are handled so heinously, will they give those animals another thought?

And what will they do with that funny but terribly important word?

Predictions

Since that word, “sustainable,” is your death knell, you might ask them if it will ever ring out in a different way, to call for the lives of those nightmarishly abused animals in factory farms, or for the life of the planet—our planet that is being slowly but surely engorged and choked and poisoned on the flesh of arrogance, and the blood of hypocrisy, and the gore of greed?

If you could, you might ask.

But you can’t. You can’t say a thing.

Which is precisely why, if your owners meet their goal, soon you will be carted away to some slaughterhouse—on the sneak since so many others oppose your premature demise—and there you will be expected to behave in the same way as you have behaved all your lives: with gentleness, humility, and trust, expressing your own form of love.

Then, for the sake of a word, everything you are will be taken.

But all the words—the millions of words for and against you that have been and will continue to be said and written and defined and debated—those will remain.

In life, you’ve labored under the yoke of your masters. In death, if it turns out to be the death they envision, you will serve under the same yoke that your masters must also wear, and under which their legacy too will toil long after they have met their own fates.

It will be the yoke of history—a master who is far more discerning, wise, and just than they can ever even dream.

Kalypso Arhilohou’s passions are animals, travel, and writing. She spends much of her time scheming on how to combine the three. 

More AIR on this topic:

Eating oxen Bill and Lou is “morally preferable” to retiring them to a sanctuary, says college spokesman

Do you have an opposing view to this Op-Ed piece?  Polite and well-written responses are welcome and might be published, at the discretion of AIR editors. Please contact airinfo@yahoo.com for submission guidelines.

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Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Rescuers need laws, policies, and government leaders to help us help animals. Photo: Yvette Holzbach and Sheri Burtch, Forgotten Dogs of the Fifth Ward Project

In the United States, this is perhaps the most important day we’ll have for another four years— election day.  The outcomes of thousands of local and national races will determine a great deal about our future for decades or even centuries to come.

Most years in the past I’ve volunteered heavily for various campaigns. This year I voted, but as far as political volunteering goes, I’m sitting it out. Well not sitting exactly. You can’t sit for very long when you’re caring for a sick dog who was recently a parasite-infested bag of bones roaming the streets. I’m running myself ragged, actually.

Which is one reason why election day is important. We animal rescuers have it rough. We all run ourselves ragged.  We need people in government who get that.  Who understand that it’s not just about the animals. It’s about us too—all of us who care about animals.

We need candidates who recognize that caring about animals is not some wacko fringe neurosis. It’s an extension of caring about people.

We need authorities who see that what we do is not only good for animals but good for society. It’s helpful and constructive and healthy to care about animals.

We need leaders who know that animal rescuers make a community a better place—we make our country a better place.

In a few minutes I have to leave the desk so as to feed, medicate, and walk our current rescued/foster dog. His name is Agapi, the Greek word for “love.” So I can’t write as much as I’d like tonight.

Prior to rescue Agapi suffered for months on the streets alone with a deadly disease called Leishmaniasis. Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

In fact I have dozens of articles about animal issues backed up and waiting in the pipeline. Doing hands-on animal rescue means I haven’t had time to finish and post them.

Which is an additional reason why election day is important. I don’t want to have to keep doing this.

It’s true that I found neither Agapi nor the other two dogs I fostered and re-homed this year in the U.S. Right now I’m in Greece, where you could argue that the situation for animals is worse. But it’s not a lot worse. The status of animals in our beautiful United States is shockingly poor considering our status in the world.

Theoretically we’re one of the planet’s most highly developed countries. It’s a pity that our treatment of and attitudes toward animals reflects that so little.

Which is yet another reason why election day is important. The U.S. is the globe’s leader—or at least trendsetter—in so many ways. Why not in animal welfare?

My goal had been to present a series of interviews with animal-friendly candidates for readers to use in preparation for voting. I failed to meet that goal, in large part because I was rescuing a dog.

I know I’m not the only one whose plans, hopes, and dreams get set aside when we encounter animals in need.

And that’s yet another reason why election day is important. I want my life back. Perhaps, if you’re a rescuer yourself, so do you.

We need leaders bold and visionary enough to march us out of the dismal animal Dark Ages into a brilliant new era of light.

As you go to the polls and make your choices, as you look for the best candidates to address your needs and represent your views, please remember the animals. And please remember the rescuers.

We need your vote too.

For use of the top photo, thank you Yvette Holzbach and Sheri Burtch of Forgotten Dogs of the Fifth Ward Project, a group that does challenging rescue work in Houston, Texas.

Get fresh AIR! Hit the ‘Follow’ button above to be notified via email of new articles.

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Credits include hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for  outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner), a teleplay for CBS-TV, a short story for The Bark magazine, and 17 novels for Avon, E.P. Dutton, Simon and Schuster, and other major publishers.

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.
All rights reserved.

Student cuddles with Bill (Photo: with permission of Nina Keck/Vermont Public Radio)

By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

With Halloween just a day or so away, and a “monster” storm bearing down on the northeastern United States, a small school in Vermont is reportedly about to commit an act that, for many animal advocates, will add yet another macabre note to the week.

Green Mountain College, which specializes in what it calls “environmental liberal arts,” plans to slaughter Bill and Lou, two amiable oxen who have worked at the college’s farm for a decade. Then they will serve students the animals’ flesh.

Animal Issues Reporter interviewed the college’s Director of Communications Kevin Coburn via email, as follows.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Dear Mr. Coburn -

I’m a reporter for Animal Issues Reporter.org and for Animal Policy Examiner on Examiner.com, and am writing an article about the Bill and Lou controversy. After reading the Oct. 12 college statement on the matter, a few questions remain.

Below please find quotes from the college statement in [bold]. My questions follow each quote.

1) “We work to maintain high ethical standards for treatment of the land, people and animals.”

Does the farm and college have any sort of published code or statement regarding its standards for treatment of animals?

If not, could you describe or summarize those standards?

2) “A transition to a new setting will be difficult for them, and only postpones the fact that someone else, in the not-too-distant future, will need to decide that it is kinder to kill them than to have them continue in increasing discomfort.”

About how much longer would you predict Bill and Lou might live if they weren’t slaughtered now?

Does Bill have health problems too?  If so what are they?

If Bill is NOT facing serious health issues, would it be an option to allow him to go to the sanctuary that’s offering to take them?

Why do you feel the transition to the sanctuary would be difficult for the oxen?

3) “We have draft animals on the farm because they do important work which would otherwise be performed by equipment that consumes diesel fuel.” Also the college statement mentioned that Bill and Lou “consume resources at a significant rate.”

Would you discuss or point me to the research showing that the environmental impact of draft animals is less than that of using diesel fuel?

4) “Bill and Lou came to us nearly ten years ago as malnourished and neglected animals. At GMC they received considerate and humane care.”

Could you elaborate a little on that? Where were Bill and Lou obtained? Why were they malnourished and neglected? Was their previous owner prosecuted for the neglect?

Were Bill and Lou purchased, or were they seized from a neglect situation? In either case, given the state they were in, it sounds as if they were essentially “rescued.”  Would you agree with that?

5) “We delayed making any decision over the summer and held an open community forum on October 4 to discuss the ethics of sending draft animals to slaughter, and Bill and Lou’s case specifically.”

What are the ethics pro and con of sending draft animals to slaughter?  Is this typically done?

Are most students at Green Mountain in favor of or against the slaughter and consumption of Bill and Lou?  Was there any sort of official poll or vote taken?

Some commenters on FB, etc. say they find it disturbing that any students would want to eat friendly animals they knew as pets or mascots at the college.  Do you find that concept troubling at all?

What percentage of students at Green Mountain are vegan?  How many are vegetarian?

6) “While many of our students are vegan or vegetarian, many also eat meat, and we strive to meet the dietary preferences of all students. Bill and Lou, when processed for meat, will yield over one ton of beef. If this meat doesn’t come from our animals, it likely will come from a factory farm setting which carries with it a significant amount of ecological impact. For example, the American agricultural system uses approximately 5 million gallons of water to produce the same amount of beef (not to mention greenhouse gas production, soil erosion, and water pollution).”

Does your food services department regularly purchase and serve animal products such as meats, dairy, eggs, sea life, etc.?

If, despite the environmental and sustainability problems cited in the statement, the college purchases, produces, and serves animal products from the “American agricultural system,” or even from smaller family farms, or from its own farm, mightn’t the college perhaps be seen as hypocritical for continuing to consume large amounts of animal products—thereby contributing to environmental and sustainability problems—while at the same time slaughtering and eating two of its working animals on the grounds that their existence creates environmental and sustainability problems?

7) “As a sustainable farm, we can’t just consider the responsible stewardship of the resources within our boundaries, but of all the earth’s resources.”

Some might argue that if Green Mountain genuinely espoused this ethic, the college would cease to consume animal products altogether, especially in light of its statement that animals used for food carry a “significant amount of ecological impact” such as water waste and pollution, greenhouse gases, and soil erosion. The argument might be made that the college is applying its sustainability ethic only when convenient, so as satisfy students who wish to consume animals products, and that Bill and Lou are being sacrificed on the altar of the college making a point to which it does not closely adhere elsewhere in its operations.

What would be your response?

Would there be any possibility of the college going vegan so as to no longer consume the animal products which it has stated cause environmental and sustainability problems?

Do you worry about the PR involved in this controversy?  That perhaps it makes the college look heartless to slaughter and eat Bill and Lou for the sake of an environmental principle?  Many might ask if there couldn’t be some wiggle room and a reprieve granted to two animals who appear to have faithfully served the college for a decade, and who seem gentle and friendly enough to be frequently hugged and kissed. To some observers it might seem harsh to slaughter them when they are no longer useful, as opposed to accepting the offer of the rescue group who is willing to provide them with a comfortable retirement. Comments?

Many thanks for your time, Mr. Coburn.

Best regards,

Katerina

Response from Kevin Coburn – October 22, 2012

Hello Katerina—I’ve asked our Farm and food staff for more information on the circumstances of Lou and Bill’s introduction to the farm. Not sure I can address all your questions separately but I’ll start by posing one myself: Is it permissible to serve meat in a college dining hall in 2012?

If the answer is “yes” than it seems the criticism directed at Green Mountain College, a small liberal arts school that is seriously wrestling with issues of animal ethics, is misplaced or entirely out of proportion when juxtaposed with an agricultural landscape dominated by factory farms—places where animals have no identity or rights at all.

In answer to the question (not merely rhetorical), Green Mountain College has many vegans and vegetarians on campus–I would say a larger proportion than most schools. We also have many students who eat meat. We have an obligation to meet the dietary needs of all students. If it is permissible to eat meat, than where should that meat come from? Here, most vegans and omnivores agree that that if we eat meat it should be from animals that have been well-cared for and locally raised. (When we first began to raise animals on our campus farm about 10 years ago, vegans and vegetarians on our farm crew helped us understand it was important to for meat-eaters to have know the animals as much as possible).

It’s been fashionable to describe Bill and Lou as “pets” or “mascots”—this in not the case. They are working animals doing important work on our farm, which is conducting a long-term ecological research project on how to limit fossil fuels in agriculture. We heat hot water on the farm through solar power (hence the solar panels on our barn roof). We heat our greenhouses with solar-heated water coils at the root level, instead of electric heaters. We use oxen to hay and plow fields because we believe this is a more sustainable practice than using diesel powered tractors. Our research is leading to promising ways small-scale family farmers in a challenging climate can reduce costs and meet their long-term energy needs. See http://www.greenmtn.edu/farm_food.aspx for some background.

Our students who study and volunteer on the farm are confronted with the same dilemmas confronted by small farmers every day. The majority of our students also are familiar with animal rights and animal liberation literature—works by Tom Regan and Peter Singer, among others, are offered in our environmental ethics course. We have an animal studies minor and regularly offer a course in animal ethics.

All options for Bill and Lou were considered in our deliberations including sending them to a sanctuary. In the end we decided that the morally preferable alternative was processing them for meat, for reasons clearly outlined in our statement. We believe if there is any hope of transitioning away from industrialized factory farming and bringing democracy back into our food system, it depends more upon rich community dialogue than single-minded activism.

October 23, 2012

Dear Mr. Coburn,

Thanks so much for getting back to me with this info. You hit most of the points and I appreciate your taking the time.

I think there are just a few questions still outstanding, below. Hope you’ll have a few more minutes to go ahead and address these as well?

1) “We work to maintain high ethical standards for treatment of the land, people and animals.”

Does the farm and college have any sort of published code or statement regarding its standards for treatment of animals?

If not, could you describe or summarize those standards?

2) “A transition to a new setting will be difficult for them, and only postpones the fact that someone else, in the not-too-distant future, will need to decide that it is kinder to kill them than to have them continue in increasing discomfort.”

About how much longer would you predict Bill and Lou might live if they weren’t slaughtered now?

Does Bill have health problems too?  If so what are they?

If Bill is NOT facing serious health issues, would it be an option to allow him to go to the sanctuary that’s offering to take them?

3) “While many of our students are vegan or vegetarian, many also eat meat, and we strive to meet the dietary preferences of all students. Bill and Lou, when processed for meat, will yield over one ton of beef. If this meat doesn’t come from our animals, it likely will come from a factory farm setting which carries with it a significant amount of ecological impact. For example, the American agricultural system uses approximately 5 million gallons of water to produce the same amount of beef (not to mention greenhouse gas production, soil erosion, and water pollution).”

If, despite the environmental and sustainability problems cited in the statement, the college purchases, produces, and serves animal products from the “American agricultural system,” or even from smaller family farms, or from its own farm, mightn’t the college perhaps be seen as hypocritical for continuing to consume large amounts of animal products—thereby contributing to environmental and sustainability problems—while at the same time slaughtering and eating two of its working animals on the grounds that their continued existence creates environmental and sustainability problems?

4) “As a sustainable farm, we can’t just consider the responsible stewardship of the resources within our boundaries, but of all the earth’s resources.”

Some might argue that if Green Mountain genuinely espoused this ethic, the college would cease to consume animal products altogether, especially in light of its statement that animals used for food carry a “significant amount of ecological impact” such as water waste and pollution, greenhouse gases, and soil erosion. The argument might be made that the college is applying its sustainability ethic only when convenient, so as satisfy students who wish to consume animals products, and that Bill and Lou are being sacrificed on the altar of the college making a point to which it does not closely adhere elsewhere in its operations.

What would be your response?

Would there be any possibility of the college going vegan so as to no longer consume the animal products which it has stated cause environmental and sustainability problems?

Do you worry about the PR involved in this controversy?  That perhaps it makes the college look heartless to slaughter and eat Bill and Lou for the sake of an environmental principle?  Many might ask if there couldn’t be some wiggle room and a reprieve granted to two animals who appear to have faithfully served the college for a decade, and who seem gentle and friendly enough to be frequently hugged and kissed. To some observers it might seem harsh to slaughter them when they are no longer useful, as opposed to accepting the offer of the rescue group who is willing to provide them with a comfortable retirement. Comments?

Many thanks for your time.

Best regards,

Katerina

As of yet there’s been no response from Mr. Coburn after several attempts  to reach him via email and telephone, or from other college authorities including provost and vice president of academic affairs William Throop and college president Paul J. Fonteyn.

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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Credits include hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for  outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner), a teleplay for CBS-TV, a short story for The Bark magazine, and 17 novels for Avon, E.P. Dutton, Simon and Schuster, and other major publishers.

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

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All rights reserved.

Ten-foot-tall bloody mock pig stars in the Mercy for Animals’ ‘Walmart Cruelty Tour.’
Photo: Krissy Guzman

It’s hard to keep up with Mercy for Animals (MFA) national campaign coordinator Phil Letten. On his epic “Walmart Cruelty Tour,” he’s been making serious tracks, with a stop in a different U.S. city almost every weekday since July.

Thanks to Animal Issues Reporter’s Krissy Guzman, who we’re proud to have on board at AIR as our very first intern, we managed to catch up with Letten in Texas a few weeks back.

In the towering company of a bloody, wounded, ten-foot-tall mock pig that Letten had parked outside a Houston Walmart store, Krissy spoke with the intrepid MFA campaigner and two of the demonstrators to find out why they were out there in Houston’s blistering summer heat.

Interview by AIReporter Intern Krissy Guzman with MFA’s Phil Letten

Animal Issues Reporter (AIR): Why are you on tour of Walmarts?

Phil Letten: At two different Walmart suppliers we have documented mother pigs confined to these filthy metal gestation crates that are so small they’re not even able to turn around or lie down comfortably for nearly their entire lives; pigs with large open wounds, pressure sores from rubbing up against the sides of their tiny crates or lying on the hard concrete flooring; sick and injured pigs with severe bleeding wounds or infections left to suffer without any veterinary care; and fully conscious piglets being slammed headfirst into the concrete; as well as piglets being castrated and having their tails chopped off without any painkillers.

So we’re focusing on gestation crates.

It’s high time that Walmart follow the lead of Costco, Kroger, Safeway, and its other competitors in committing to phase out these cruel and inhumane crates. Gestation crates are so patently cruel that the practice has been banned in nine U.S. states as well as the entire European Union.

Demonstrators line up outside Houston Walmart next to MFA’s giant mock pig.
Photo: Krissy Guzman

AIR: What do you hope to accomplish?

Letten: We hope to accomplish Walmart committing to phase these crates out. Confining mother pigs inside these tiny cells where they can barely move for nearly their entire lives is out of step with American values and it’s high time that Walmart realized that and commit to phasing these out.

AIR: Have you had any feedback from Walmart yet?

Letten: We have spoken with Walmart. They are dragging their feet. Basically every major food provider in the country has committed to phasing these crates out except for Walmart, and it is unacceptable.

AIR:  So no signs any time yet of them phasing out that policy?

Letten: Nothing yet, no.

AIR: And how about the public response to the demonstrations?

Letten: Yeah, the public response has been incredible. Most people are opposed to animal cruelty and when they learn about the egregious abuses, pigs who are raised and killed for pork sold in Walmart are treated, they are horrified and they don’t want to support it any more.

AIR: And with reaching the public, how far has it gone? Have people decided to ban Walmart from their shopping?

Letten: We have spoken with a number of people who have stated that they no longer want to shop at Walmart until they take care of it.

AIR: And how about the response in Texas? How does that compare to the other states you’ve been in?

Letten: Texas has been the same as everywhere else. I mean, to me it’s like, no matter where you go, if you’re in the middle of nowhere or you’re in some big city, you go up to some random person and ask them, “Do you oppose animal cruelty?” nine times out of ten they’re going to say yes. So the same response we’ve been getting elsewhere we’ve been getting in Texas.

Photo: Krissy Guzman

Interview by AIReporter Intern Krissy Guzman with MFA demonstrator Jennifer Gray

AIR:   Jennifer, what are you protesting against today?

Jennifer Gray: Walmart’s abuse of pigs and wrongful treatment of them.

AIR:   And why is it important personally for you to stand up for the rights of pigs and all the animals?

Gray:  Well, because who else is going to do it? They can’t do it.

AIR:   How do your family and friends feel about you and this issue, coming out here today?

Gray:  My mom knows about it. She’s elderly so she couldn’t come out here. Nobody else really knows because I made this decision last night at a HART meeting. It was my first meeting at HART—Houston Animal Rights Team.

AIR:   What did your mom think about it?

Gray:  She’s fine with it. She’s slowly switching over to vegan meals because I cook for her.

AIR:   How long have you been vegan?

Gray:  Geez, not even two weeks, and the health benefits have been incredible. I’m 39 years old, by the way.

AIR:   How hard has that been to switch within two weeks?

Gray:  Not very hard because I was a kind of lazy vegetarian and then I went to vegetarianism and then I realized that you need to remove the eggs and the dairy. I mean, you need to go all the way, because it’s just across the board, the abuse.

Photo: Krissy Guzman

Interview by AIReporter Intern Krissy Guzman with MFA demonstrator Tierra Rodriguez

AIR:   Why are you protesting today?

Tierra Rodriguez: I’m protesting because I stand against cruelty to animals. I’m an animal lover and I support compassion toward humans. And, you know, I stand up for protecting human rights, and I think that my ethical system—and everybody’s ethical system—should be broad enough to encompass animals, too, because animals, they have feelings, they’re sentient, and they deserve to have a voice, a stimulating life. When you hear about the conditions that the pigs in gestation crates go through, like, they’re depressed, they’re bored, they’re extremely stressed, and they’re very sick, and, you know, I think once people find this out, they can’t in good conscience let it continue to happen.

AIR: Why is it important to you personally to stand up for the welfare of pigs and other animals? I know you just probably answered that, but do you want to go into more detail?

Rodriguez:   To me personally, I guess it fits in my value system. I believe that we have the social responsibility to be caretakers of our Earth and of our resources, and so that’s really why I’m standing up for animals, because they are resources and it’s our responsibility to treat them humanely.  It’s just a part of my larger value system, which is compassion, which is respect, responsibility.

AIR: And does your family know that you’re here?

Rodriguez: No, my family doesn’t know that I’m here right now, but a lot of my—I’m kind of like an online activist, so I let everybody in my social network know. I just try to spread the word and educate people. Even before this event I’ve been involved with Mercy for Animals and I support them, I donate, I sign petitions.

AIR:   How would they feel about this issue?

Rodriguez: My family?

AIR: And your friends, too.

Photo: Krissy Guzman

Rodriguez: You know what? I think they would support it. And I think just a lot of people don’t know. You know, they haven’t seen the images, they don’t know the reality that these animals experience. So I think if I were to tell them and let them know that this is a cause that matters to me, I think they would be on board with me.

AIR: OK, and the ones who do know, what was their reaction to you coming out here today?

Rodriguez: Supportive, you know, excited for me.

AIR: And are you vegan?

Rodriguez: No, but I have in my life made attempts to reduce animal products. I’m like more vegetarian, sometimes vegan, but for me I think what matters is really just having the awareness and making the attempt to reduce animal products and that’s where I’m at right now. But I think eventually I aspire to be vegan.

AIR: May I ask your name and your age?

Rodriguez: My name is Tierra Rodriguez and I’m 28 years old. T-i-e-r-r-a—like “Earth.” It’s kind of, what’s in a name? You know, my name, I stand up for the rights of Earth and its inhabitants.

AIR’s onsite and telephone requests to interview the Houston Walmart’s management were declined.

Watch MFA undercover investigation of pig treatment at Christensen Farms. [Warning: graphic]

Read more on this topic:

 Bloody, 10-foot-tall mock pig will star in animal welfare protest outside Walmart tomorrow

Walmart pork supplier cruel and ‘filthy,’ alleges new undercover video

Kroger and New Jersey Senate move to end ‘cruel confinement’ of pregnant pigs

Why is apparent pig abuse OK? Veterinary group explains

Pork rep admits undercover videos reveal abuses but says they risk bio-security

New journalist Krissy Guzman becomes Animal Issues Reporter’s first intern

Krissy Guzman’s lifelong interest in journalism led to her first published article—an interview with Houston Rockets player Robert Horry for the Houston Chronicle. Her other passion is for animals, encouraged by her late grandfather, who often picked up ailing strays, nursed them to back to health, and found them new homes.

Currently Krissy works as a kennel tech for a veterinary clinic. In her previous position she helped a pet supply store connect with local rescue groups to set up highly successful adoption events. Following her grandfather’s example, Krissy often does rescue herself. Her own three dogs are former strays.

As AIR’s first intern reporter, Krissy combines her two passions—journalism and animals—to write about animal issues in Texas and around the world.

Get fresh AIR! Hit the ‘Follow’ button above to be notified via email of new articles.

Please respect copyright law. Sharing AIR links really helps! But copying more than a couple of paragraphs of content without permission is a no-no. If you’d like to use one of AIR’s articles or one of our photographs, kindly contact us at [airinfo AT yahoo DOT com].

Copyright © 2012 Animal Issues Reporter and AnimalIssuesReporter.org.

All rights reserved.