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Animal stories

Posted at 7:14 AM on February 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)

Nothing gets people worked up like stories about animals. Two are in the news today.

In the Twin Cities, 118 cats were euthanized after they were rescued from a St. Anthony mobile home. The Humane Society deemed them too sick to be adopted. Animal Ark, a no-kill shelter, said it would've saved the cats if the Humane Society had returned its calls. The bulletin boards and letters-to-the-editor sites are buzzing.

In the UK, the head of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Europe is defending a demonstration at the Westminster Dog Show, during which PETA dressed up as members of the KKK to claim that the show was promoting a master race for dogs.

"We want people to see that if they are outraged - as they should be - by the way the KKK arbitrarily labels certain people "inferior" simply because of the way they look, they should also be outraged that the AKC does the same thing to dogs," Poorva Joshipura said.

Comments (10)

Bob, the first link goes to the bbc story.

(BC: thanks. Fixed.)

Posted by Jefferson | February 17, 2009 7:28 AM

PETA is a terrorist organization masquerading as a group helping animals. I actually believed in them until I read that they promote euthanasia, and support violent actions against people as part of their overall strategy. Many PETA members should be in prison.

Posted by D Olson | February 17, 2009 9:41 AM

Master race for dogs? AKC=KKK? Dog shows=Lynchings? Really?

I do agree that some people are innately inferior to others. Exhibit A: PETA.

People
Eating
Tasty
Animals

Posted by George Hayduke | February 17, 2009 10:00 AM

I do think that if the trailer had been full of puppies and dogs...the decision would have been different. Cats don't seem to have the same value. I only saw the cats that were in the news clips, but they didn't look healthy. Of course no animal would at that point. I can understand why the Humane Society didn't want to bring them into their facility, because without testing each one they could have infected their entire cat population.

I don't understand why the Humane Society didn't accept offers of help from other organizations. I don't believe that has been explained.

Posted by Bonnie | February 17, 2009 10:17 AM

I love my dogs, but I'm clear on the concept that they aren't people. And while I support many of PETA's goals, their KKK-themed demonstration would suggest that many of its members are unclear on the concept that animals, while deserving of humane treatment, are not people.

Posted by Bob | February 17, 2009 10:41 AM

If what's happened to Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds is any indication, what you have isn't a "master race" of canines, but a bunch of dysfunctional show dogs. Here's an incisive blog post on the subject for anyone who's interested in the subject:

We had to destroy the village to save it

Posted by David W. | February 17, 2009 11:23 AM

We had to destroy the village to save it

Posted by David W. | February 17, 2009 11:25 AM

That is the one of the most disturbing things I have heard in a while. As a person raised as a Catholic and having 2 Milato children, I find this action by PETA extremely offensive.

Posted by S Bilyeu | February 17, 2009 11:37 AM

Bonnie, as a longtime humane society volunteer, I know to the HS staff & volunteers, cats have the same value as dogs. BUT there are so many more cats at shelters than dogs. It does appear cats don't have the same value as dogs to the general population.

Ringworm is really hard to treat and spreads to humans easily. In the deplorable conditions the 118 cats lived in, they'd not only be sick, they'd be antisocial as well. A daunting task for any rescue group.

Posted by momkat | February 17, 2009 12:18 PM

Here is the lead paragaraph from a StarTribune article this morning:

"The beaten woman, her five children in tow, had gotten medical help and needed shelter. But when an advocate checked the state's 28 shelters and 33 safe houses, she found nowhere she could send them."

While I don't think that cats should be put down for any old reason, why aren't we discussing situations like this instead.

Posted by bigalmn | February 17, 2009 12:38 PM