Monday, June 30, 2008

Red Williams’ Comment*

Make no mistake, the public outcry concerning the polar bears, the bitter attacks on the East Coast sealers, and now the drubbing of the Natural Valley horse slaughter at Neudorf, Saskatchewan are part of the well planned efforts of international animal rightist groups which are now targeting Canada. Following years of often violent episodes in Britain and the US, we are next; because our laws protect their extremist activities that would be squelched in most jurisdictions.

But also make no mistake; we still have some animal management practices that can arguably be criticized, and individuals that function outside the accepted rules for animal care. Animal welfare in Canada is regulated and improving. There are federal and provincial regulations for transportation, management and humane slaughter. There are local chapters of the humane society with inspectors, and in our case the Farm Animal Council (FACS). However, all are based on the premise that animals can be used for food, for work, in recreation and for companionship, which the animal rightists challenge as being unacceptable by their lights. It is more than vegetarianism; it puts animal’s rights on the same plain as those for human protection in the most advanced societies.

And, make no mistake, the objective of these well funded activists; supported by a gullible public which believes their false publicity, will not stop short of total disruption of our livestock industries. Governments are helpless to halt them except when they commit violent crimes. But you and me, we can expose and denounce their false message

Your feedback is welcome. Please send your comments to red.williams@usask.ca

Dr. C.M "Red" Williams, Prof. Emeritus
Department of Animal & Poultry Science
University of Saskatchewan
6D34 Agriculture Building
51 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8
Tel: 1-306-966-4157
Fax: 1-306-966-4151
Email: red.williams@usask.ca

*reprinted with permission

2 comments:

  1. Regarding horse slaughter, it’s not animal rights activists, it’s equine welfare advocates. You are correct. What you are seeing at Natural Valley is exactly what we saw at Cavel, in DeKalb. The reason is quite simple. Cavel was notorious from ignoring our laws and regulations. They did as they pleased and dare anyone to challenge them. Well, we finally won and passed a state law that shut them down. In case you are unaware, Cavel is operating at Natural Valley. They moved their death and destruction to your country. If you are smart, you will run them out of your town, as well. I don’t know what your court system is like but be prepared for a long, drawn out battle. They will use every resource available that your country will offer them. They did it here. Appealing every loss to a higher court. Courts that are paid for from our hard earned tax dollars. They challenged the Illinois law all the way to the Supreme Court as did the two kill houses in Texas. None of them paid any federal tax. They managed to find a loophole that allowed them to reflect operating at a loss. To be fair, Dallas Crown in Texas paid $5.00 one year.

    Good luck in removing that cancer from your society.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr. Williams,

    I am one of the activists who helped rid the US of horse slaughter. Like most the anti-horse slaughter community, I work as an independent grass roots advocate on this issue. I would like to set the record straight since you seem to paint us with a broad brush.

    1) Our issue is horse slaughter and not "animal rights" or veganism. The lobbyists like to call us those things so they can scare the larger agriculture industry into paying them to fight our legislation.

    2) We are not well funded, we are self-funded. In fact I have never received even a bus token to do what I do and that goes for the vast majority in the movement.

    3) To my knowledge there has been absolutely no violence from our side in the six years I have been involved. The only act of destruction I am aware of occurred in the mid-1990s (before the horse anti-slaughter movement even started) when the ALF burned Cavel West in Oregon. They were caught and punished. We denounce all violence and illegal acts.

    You will soon learn that your country has let a despicable industry put down roots. Cavel was not just a scourge to the horses, it polluted for years and refused to pay fines for doing so. I have all the official records and a photo of their treatment tank foaming over with a huge black blob.

    Cavel was caught pumping raw waste into the local canal and ran up countless sewer violations. Dallas Crown was no better. It was predictable that once Cavel set up business in a remote area like that Natural Valley is in, they would use the countryside as a sewer. Before you jump to their defense, check out what we are warning you.

    ReplyDelete