http://dailycaller. com/2013/ 01/01/animal-
rights-groups- vs-elephants/
The Daily Caller
Animal rights groups‚ vs. elephants
By Buckley Carlson
January 1st, 2013
As you wade through the ever-mounting requests for your charitable
dollars, cast a wary eye on these year-end supplicants, as there‚s a
good chance the charity seeking your money is relying upon an emotional
appeal that is at extreme variance with its actual aims and deeds. The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), with
its humiliating and expensive defeat last week in its decade-long battle
to outlaw elephants at Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, is one
such charity.
But, while ASPCA now limps away ˜ proverbial tail between the legs ˜
having coughed up a $9.3 million settlement to Barnum & Bailey‚s owner,
Feld Entertainment, the legal case against its co-defendants (the Humane
Society of the United States [HSUS], the Fund for Animals, the Animal
Welfare Institute, the Animal Protection Institute, Born Free USA, and
the Wildlife Advocacy Project) continues unabated, exposing widespread,
coordinated, and illegal conduct from some of America‚s largest „animal
rights advocacy‰ groups.
This interminable legal odyssey ˜ clogging up the court system for 12
years, consuming untold taxpayer dollars (and more than $22 million in
Feld Entertainment‚ s funds), diverting judges‚ time and attention ˜
began as a manufactured lawsuit, a complete fabrication cooked up by the
defendants; they actually paid a former Ringling Bros. elephant trainer
nearly $200,000 to claim injuries that didn't exist. Predictably, the
court rejected his testimony, sending what should be an indelible
message that paid plaintiffs, especially those that use litigation to
fund-raise have no place in the American justice system.
Undeterred, these self-styled „animal rights advocates‰ have pursued an
ever more radical agenda, manipulating the court system in a
never-ending series of twists and turns, finally claiming that Ringling
Bros. is violating the Endangered Species Act by harming its elephants
with the guides and tethers it uses.
And, of course, they lob these charges against a company that employs
teams of full-time veterinarians; subjects itself to constant scrutiny,
undergoing repeated inspection by federal, state, and local authorities
in every city in which its circus performs; displays visibly healthy,
clean animals; has never once been found in violation of the Animal
Welfare Act, the comprehensive and demanding federal law that regulates
treatment of animals by circuses, zoos, and other exhibitors; and has
been a happy household name in America for generations, very much as a
result of the joy it has brought to both parents and children alike.
If the ASPCA settlement is any guide, these other „animal rights‰ groups
will also get their justice, however slow the system labors on; their
litigation abuse, suborning of perjury, and racketeering are all well
documented. Still, it‚s time for a public examination of these
tax-exempt „charities,‰ as well as an affirmation that if they want to
preserve their status, they need to adhere to the mission statements
that earned them their special status in the first place. Being exempt
from taxes does not make a group exempt from the law.
Americans deserve a lot better from their „charities.‰ In fact, it‚s
time non-profits are held to the same standards as their for-profit
brethren. If a group of for-profit companies had conspired to engage in
similar criminal conduct, they would have suffered swift and brutal
legal and public-relations repercussions. But here, because the
perpetrators are public charities, it‚s somehow acceptable that
authorities and the media look askance.
Why do so many seem so unconcerned that fake litigation was ginned up
and used to make money in the name of „charity‰?
Two conclusions are inescapable:
1) The average donor to one of these charities has no idea her
hard-earned dollars are being used to fund these anti-corporate
campaigns, the purpose of which is to deny ordinary people an
opportunity they‚d never have otherwise: to view these majestic animals
up close, in a safe, controlled environment. How many puppies, kittens,
and abandoned adult animals could have been spayed, provided shelter and
medical attention, and adopted to loving homes for $200,000? Quite a
few, according to my favorite animal charity in Washington, the
Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL.org), from which my family has
adopted two angelic dogs.
2) These self-proclaimed „animal rights advocates‰ don‚t really care
about animals. If they did, how could they justify burdening Feld
Entertainment to the tune of $22 million with ill-founded litigation?
That‚s money that Ringling Bros. could have spent attending to its Asian
elephants and stable of other fine animals. Ringling Bros. has an
obvious incentive, as well as a long-established track record, of
actually caring for and maintaining its elephant population.
ASPCA reportedly has assets of more than $400 million, raising more than
$111 million in cash in 2011 alone. Its co-defendants ˜ equally
ferocious in their battle to destroy the family-owned and much beloved
Barnum & Bailey Circus ˜ are similarly well endowed. Isn‚t it time
charitable, animal-loving Americans (and a newly augmented IRS staff)
took a closer look at the non-profits that purport to represent their
interests? In this economy, and with their as-yet-undetermined tax
increase looming, how can they afford not to?
Buckley Carlson, a Washington-based writer and political strategist, can
be reached at Buckley@buckmedia. org.
Read more:
http://dailycaller. com/2013/ 01/01/animal- rights-groups- vs-elephants/ #ixzz2GpDPBst
3
The Daily Caller
Animal rights groups‚ vs. elephants
By Buckley Carlson
January 1st, 2013
As you wade through the ever-mounting requests for your charitable
dollars, cast a wary eye on these year-end supplicants, as there‚s a
good chance the charity seeking your money is relying upon an emotional
appeal that is at extreme variance with its actual aims and deeds. The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), with
its humiliating and expensive defeat last week in its decade-long battle
to outlaw elephants at Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, is one
such charity.
But, while ASPCA now limps away ˜ proverbial tail between the legs ˜
having coughed up a $9.3 million settlement to Barnum & Bailey‚s owner,
Feld Entertainment, the legal case against its co-defendants (the Humane
Society of the United States [HSUS], the Fund for Animals, the Animal
Welfare Institute, the Animal Protection Institute, Born Free USA, and
the Wildlife Advocacy Project) continues unabated, exposing widespread,
coordinated, and illegal conduct from some of America‚s largest „animal
rights advocacy‰ groups.
This interminable legal odyssey ˜ clogging up the court system for 12
years, consuming untold taxpayer dollars (and more than $22 million in
Feld Entertainment‚ s funds), diverting judges‚ time and attention ˜
began as a manufactured lawsuit, a complete fabrication cooked up by the
defendants; they actually paid a former Ringling Bros. elephant trainer
nearly $200,000 to claim injuries that didn't exist. Predictably, the
court rejected his testimony, sending what should be an indelible
message that paid plaintiffs, especially those that use litigation to
fund-raise have no place in the American justice system.
Undeterred, these self-styled „animal rights advocates‰ have pursued an
ever more radical agenda, manipulating the court system in a
never-ending series of twists and turns, finally claiming that Ringling
Bros. is violating the Endangered Species Act by harming its elephants
with the guides and tethers it uses.
And, of course, they lob these charges against a company that employs
teams of full-time veterinarians; subjects itself to constant scrutiny,
undergoing repeated inspection by federal, state, and local authorities
in every city in which its circus performs; displays visibly healthy,
clean animals; has never once been found in violation of the Animal
Welfare Act, the comprehensive and demanding federal law that regulates
treatment of animals by circuses, zoos, and other exhibitors; and has
been a happy household name in America for generations, very much as a
result of the joy it has brought to both parents and children alike.
If the ASPCA settlement is any guide, these other „animal rights‰ groups
will also get their justice, however slow the system labors on; their
litigation abuse, suborning of perjury, and racketeering are all well
documented. Still, it‚s time for a public examination of these
tax-exempt „charities,‰ as well as an affirmation that if they want to
preserve their status, they need to adhere to the mission statements
that earned them their special status in the first place. Being exempt
from taxes does not make a group exempt from the law.
Americans deserve a lot better from their „charities.‰ In fact, it‚s
time non-profits are held to the same standards as their for-profit
brethren. If a group of for-profit companies had conspired to engage in
similar criminal conduct, they would have suffered swift and brutal
legal and public-relations repercussions. But here, because the
perpetrators are public charities, it‚s somehow acceptable that
authorities and the media look askance.
Why do so many seem so unconcerned that fake litigation was ginned up
and used to make money in the name of „charity‰?
Two conclusions are inescapable:
1) The average donor to one of these charities has no idea her
hard-earned dollars are being used to fund these anti-corporate
campaigns, the purpose of which is to deny ordinary people an
opportunity they‚d never have otherwise: to view these majestic animals
up close, in a safe, controlled environment. How many puppies, kittens,
and abandoned adult animals could have been spayed, provided shelter and
medical attention, and adopted to loving homes for $200,000? Quite a
few, according to my favorite animal charity in Washington, the
Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL.org), from which my family has
adopted two angelic dogs.
2) These self-proclaimed „animal rights advocates‰ don‚t really care
about animals. If they did, how could they justify burdening Feld
Entertainment to the tune of $22 million with ill-founded litigation?
That‚s money that Ringling Bros. could have spent attending to its Asian
elephants and stable of other fine animals. Ringling Bros. has an
obvious incentive, as well as a long-established track record, of
actually caring for and maintaining its elephant population.
ASPCA reportedly has assets of more than $400 million, raising more than
$111 million in cash in 2011 alone. Its co-defendants ˜ equally
ferocious in their battle to destroy the family-owned and much beloved
Barnum & Bailey Circus ˜ are similarly well endowed. Isn‚t it time
charitable, animal-loving Americans (and a newly augmented IRS staff)
took a closer look at the non-profits that purport to represent their
interests? In this economy, and with their as-yet-undetermined tax
increase looming, how can they afford not to?
Buckley Carlson, a Washington-based writer and political strategist, can
be reached at Buckley@buckmedia. org.
Read more:
http://dailycaller. com/2013/ 01/01/animal- rights-groups- vs-elephants/ #ixzz2GpDPBst
3
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