Petland Class Action Lawsuit in the works
I usually hear about these things sooner, but this is the first I recall hearing about it. Link found on a pet group I belong to.
Hundreds of Heartbroken Puppy Buyers Seek To Join Petland Class Action Lawsuit
I don’t normally link to the HSUS site these days, as I’ve heard a lot of garbage about them being in bed with PETA, but I can’t help but be on board with informing people where those poor puppies come from.
Please join us in boycotting PetLand stores. Frankly, I don’t think we’ll ever eliminate commerical breeders, but there has to be a better way to regulate the commercial breeding industry, and consumers should NOT be lied to about where their animals come from.
When purchasing an animal, remember that when it comes to commercial breeders, AKC papers don’t mean anything. A kennel name on a certificate doesn’t mean anything about the nature of the kennel. Commercial breeders have kennel names, and they register their dogs by sending in a piece of paper to the AKC. NO ONE AT THE AKC EVER SEES THOSE DOGS. If you want good, healthy puppies, you need to get them from a reputable breeder, not the local PetLand.
Tags: PetLand, puppy mills
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Thanks for spreading the word about Petland’s ties to the puppy mill industry. If any of your readers are looking for information about how to identify a reputable breeder, check out http://www.humanesociety.org/puppy.
I work for the HSUS, and after reading that you “don’t normally link to the HSUS site these days, as I’ve heard a lot of garbage about them being in bed with PETA”, I’m wondering about your concerns. Can you be more specific?
Hi there Hillary, I belong to a variety of dog training and animal rescue lists, and they all pretty much say this — HSUS is about animal rights, not animal welfare these days. Too slippery a slope for me. I love animals, but I own my dog, and I eat cows, and I ride horses. I have no problems reconciling this with my love of animals. I am 110% for animal welfare and laws to prevent abuse. I am 110% against extremists.
Here is an example of what I read about.
http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/136
And they’ve been pushing spay/neuter laws. I can’t express how much I’m against THAT. I agree that responsible owners neuter. However, it’s MY dog and MY decision as to when that is done. It has no business being made into law. I believe early neutering is terrible for dogs, and I think it should be my choice to wait until sexual maturity.
http://orkc.blogspot.com/2009/04/join-crusade-against-hsuspass-it.html
Pretty much every list I’m on is pissed off about that one.
I could actually go on a lot more, but then I’d need a whole new post. =)
More fun links
http://purebredcats.org/animal_rights.htm
http://www.humanewatch.org/
http://www.gutpilestyle.com/ForumSMF/index.php?topic=8773.msg75334#msg75334
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/1700
Hi Kaeli,
Thanks for being both candid and detailed in your reply. You love animals and that’s the key. It’s great that you have a dog (many of us HSUS staffers do, and about 50 dogs come to the workplace every day), and you can certainly eat cows and ride horses as you like.
The HSUS, which has been awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for seven years in a row, is an organization that is focused on celebrating animals, as well as combating cruelty in its most pronounced forms. What does that mean? Let me take a topic that is being hotly debated right now, and that is the intensive confinement of animals raised for food. The HSUS strongly believes that farm animals should have enough room to stand up, turn around, and stretch their limbs. We also advocate for humane transport and slaughter, ideas that are squarely within the mainstream of public attitudes. Unfortunately our opponents often decline to debate the merits of this argument, relying instead on caricatures like the often-parroted idea that the HSUS wants to make everyone vegan or that we want to get rid of animal ownership. It’s ridiculous, but there you have it.
Three of the six links you provided are maintained the Center for Consumer Freedom (consumerfreedom.com, activistcash.com, and humanewatch.com). CCF is a front group for tobacco, alcohol, and agribusiness interests that was started with a $600,000 grant from tobacco giant Philip Morris in the 1990’s.
The group’s stock-in-trade involves taking aim at organizations that promote food safety, public health, or animal welfare. CCF has even attacked the National Cancer Institute, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for their anti-drunk driving and public health campaigns. But you don’t have to believe me; check out the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) at http://www.citizensforethics.org
CCF has been condemned by the editorial boards of USA Today and the Washington Post for misleading the public. ABC News has also exposed the organization as a front group.
I’d be happy to rebutt CCF’s criticisms on a point-by-point basis (I’m thinking of their “Seven Things You Don’t Know About HSUS” document), so let me know if you want to continue this conversation. We can also talk about the mandatory spay/neuter issue (fyi, HSUS has not taken a position on the California bill calling for mandatory spay/neuter).
I’m sure there are issues where you may not see eye to eye with our organization, and that’s totally reasonable and legitimate. But don’t believe all the rants you see online; please consider the source.
@Hillary: Thank you for your reply. I would like to believe that the HSUS really doesn’t have the agenda some believe they have, and really are about animal welfare, not animal rights. I like meat, milk, and eggs, but I don’t like the idea that my food was tortured first.
I looked over the initiatives for the year in Congress, and I think most of them are wonderful ideas. (link for readers: http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/legislation/change-agenda-for-animals.pdf)
That said, the organization DOES think highly of mandatory spay/neuter laws and has a side organization called the HSVA that deals with animal rights.
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/delaware_mandatory_spay_neuter_law_signed.html
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/hsus_statement_on_chicago_spay_neuter_ordinance_073008.html
http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/09043-HSUS-Vet-War.asp
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/veterinary_programs_of_the_hsus/
The ASPCA has a page on their position clearly stating what they believe. http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.html
Why doesn’t the HSUS? Because they DO support it, but don’t want it that obvious? Unless they publicly state their opinion, they make us guess and research, which to me undermines their credibility a lot.
Please feel free to make a post on your site rebutting the points and I’ll be happy to link it up here for people to consider. I’m all for sharing information and letting people make up their own minds based on as many facts as they can gather. And I totally agree with you — All views should be taken with a grain of salt, both the pro- and con- sides of any debate.
If you need a spot to post your rebuttal, blogger.com is easy and quick for setup and it’s free. =)
@ my readers: I found a post on Wayne’s blog addressing many of these concerns, and while again, taking it with a grain of salt (after all, who’s going to TELL you their agenda is to make everyone a vegetarian and to eliminate commercial breeding entirely?), it did allay many of my concerns. While the title is about puppy mills, there’s a lot of good stuff here, including his opinion of responsible dog breeders and commercial farming of animals meant for consumption.
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/04/puppy-mill-bills.html
He’s right in that people take quotes out of context. I can imagine what people could make up about me by grabbing one sentence of a blog entry and it is laughable.
I hear you loud and clear on your concerns about mandatory spay/neuter, and the best I can tell you at this point is that our organization has been revisiting this issue and grappling with the pros and cons of various approaches. Once we’ve issued a formal position statement, I’ll let you know and you can decide what you think. Thanks for the great dialogue.
Why can’t I read this page on my Blackberry ? It worked well on my iPhone