Animal Lovers: Don’t Hesitate to Feel Your Hate

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014. All Rights Reserved

Living in Earth’s out-of-the-way places, surrounded by prime wildlife habitat (as I’ve always chosen to do), an advocate must eventually make a choice—either stand with your wildlife friends, or join in the “fun” (made increasingly more popular by repulsive “reality” shows like Duck Dynasty and so many evil others) and go around shooting everything you see.

I made my choice long ago and decided the only way to live in such a wildlife-war-torn area is to have as little to do with the people as possible. To quote Sea Shepherd’s Captain Paul Watson, referring to his native land, coastal New Brunswick, Canada (where clubbing baby seals is the local pastime), “Love the country, hate the people.”

Author Farley Mowat, another selfless Canadian animal advocate in league with Captain Watson, ultimately came around to that same sentiment in A Whale for the Killing. The 1972 book is an autobiographical account of Mowat’s moving to Newfoundland because of his love for the land and the sea, only to find himself at odds with herring fishermen who made sport of shooting at an 80-ton fin whale trapped in a lagoon by the tide. Although he had started off thinking folks around there were a quaint and pleasant lot, he grew increasingly bitter over the attitudes of so many of the locals who, in turn, resented him for “interfering” by trying to save the stranded leviathan.

Mowat wrote, “My journal notes reflect my sense of bewilderment and loss. ‘…they’re essentially good people. I know that, but what sickens me is their simple failure to resist the impulse of savagery…they seem to be just as capable of being utterly loathsome as the bastards from the cities with their high-powered rifles and telescopic sights and their mindless compulsion to slaughter everything alive, from squirrels to elephants…I admired them so much because I saw them as a natural people, living in at least some degree of harmony with the natural world. Now they seem nauseatingly anxious to renounce all that and throw themselves into the stinking quagmire of our society which has perverted everything natural within itself, and is now busy destroying everything natural outside itself. How can they be so bloody stupid? How could I have been so bloody stupid?’”

Farley Mowat ends the chapter with another line I can well relate to: “I had withdrawn my compassion from them…now I bestowed it all upon the whale.”

Having recently finished reading, Give a Boy a Gun, by Jack Olsen (author of the pro-coyote/anti-trapping book, Slaughter the Animals, Poison the Earth—an appropriate addition to his numerous other true-crime works), I’m still puzzled by that book’s similar underlying question: How could so many people be so stupid as to think so highly of Claude Dallas Jr., a killer whose crimes included poaching, trapping out of season and the shooting of two Idaho Department of Fish and Game agents? Apparently the majority of people in cattle country there think nothing of the prolonged suffering of a bobcat, coyote or trappers’ other non-human victims, and accept people at the shallowest of face-value (except game wardens out to uphold the few laws animals have on their side).

In civilized society we’ve been brought up not to hate other people. Tolerance is the buzz word and that’s supposed to go for everyone, even if they choose to kill the animals you care about. It’s not like animals are people, right? Well, that’s debatable; besides, there’s only so much tolerance to go around. I love the wilderness and the wild things who live there. But can you really love something, without at the same time, hating those who threaten its very existence?

Every morning I’m reminded how much I hate the local duck and goose hunters, for example. At first light this time of year, before I can even think about how much I love living where flocks of migratory geese spend the winter, the sound of shotgun fire rings out to remind me of those whom I hate—the ones who make sport of killing creatures more noble, magnanimous and intelligent than they could ever hope to be.

If it’s not okay to hate the people who kill your friends for sport, who can you hate? And don’t think for a second that hunters, no matter how the schmooze, don’t hate you or anyone who might be out to spoil their fun by trying to ban contest hunts, or otherwise exposing their sadism.

Idaho’s ongoing Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous, organized by a group ironically calling itself “Idaho for Wildlife” (more appropriate names would either be, Idaho against Wildlife, or Extremist Idahoans for the Destruction of Wildlife) claims as part of their second mission, “To fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations who are attempting to take away our rights and freedoms under the constitution of the United States of America.” Apparently somebody is confusing the Second Amendment with the right to kill non-human animals for sport.

Now, you may have grown up to songs with lyrics like, “Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now,” or just heard phrases like, “feel the love,” “love thy neighbor” “blah, blah, blah.” Bullshit! If your neighbor is out mowing down coyotes or wolves for fun or cash prizes—or blasting into flocks of geese for sport—they need to know how deeply you hate them.

But hate is such a negative emotion; it’s not good for your chakras, or whatever they say. Well, sometimes the animals need our outrage, our lividness, our hate. It’s a war, after all, and the other side is winning, partly because we resist the urge to embrace our hatred. How can you fight a war and not feel hate for your enemy?

Yet it shouldn’t be seen as desperate words coming from some lone, animal-loving whacko. As long as the laws are on their side and they think society shares their view of animals as objects, they’ll be encouraged to keep up the killing.

In other words, “Come on people now…Everybody get together, try to hate coyote hunters right now. Right now. Right Now!

https://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/animal-lovers-dont-hesitate-to-feel-your-hate/

It's not cool to be cruel.

By Raining Cats and Dogs,

Earlier this summer, I did a blog post with a young woman who had just purchased her first pet. Within a day, her pet store purchased puppy was deathly ill and was diagnosed with canine parvovirus. Her story had barely gone live when she called me and sounded heartbroken.

Allie became ill shortly after purchased from Furry Babies. Her story sparked a mean reaction from some advocates.

Why are they so mean?

They are the animal advocates that launched nasty, personal attacks against her on my blog post. I won’t get into some of the vile comments that I quickly took down. My reader was hoping to be helpful by telling her story and was crucified for doing it. She was not only dealing with a deathly ill dog but with being bullied when she told her story.

It's not cool to be cruel.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. I’ve lost track of the number of very nasty and personal attacks that have been posted on some of my blogs. I’ve been pilloried by puppy mill owners and puppy brokers – that is to be expected, they make a living off a vile business model. They are almost laughable and I can work with that.

But, it’s the lack of compassion from a small group of people from the community that baffles me. Why can’t we be kind to animals and people too? Why do people think this is OK? It's not cool to be cruel.

I’m not alone.

One of my fellow bloggers – Jenna Karvunidis who writes High Gloss and Sauce – wrote a great post recently criticizing Hillary Clinton. It focused on Clinton’s humanitarian efforts in the fight against elephant poachers while ignoring very important local issues. Jenna concentrated on a very key issue for her – water pollution (more specifically chemical contamination caused by Atrazine) – an issue that had taken the life of her unborn child. It was a very personal and heartfelt post.

Shortly after her post went live, the stampede came from the pro-elephant crowd. Whole groups of people that couldn’t just state their case…they had to summons the depth of nastiness to make it.

How does that help your cause?

"I'm actually very careful that my 'activism' for clean water stays the distance from verbal assault territory," says Karvunidis. "Sadly, and I say this as a 20+ year vegetarian, I use PETA as my anti-example. When your message, however true, is too harsh, no one can stand to look at you. I try to mix funny stuff and posts about my thrift finds into my overall message about the dangers of atrazine. I just don't want to be the proverbial paint-throwing activist."

It's a good point. Why would anyone want to listen to your way of thinking after you channel your inner middle school bully and let loose? Does the relative anonymity of social media give you super powers to help animals by being hurtful to people? Is it cool to be cruel? I don’t think so.

This dog was rescued from puppy mill/hoarding situation.

Here’s the deal. If you’re involved in animal welfare or pet rescue, you often see the worse people have to offer. You see cruel everyday. People tiring of their pets and dumping them, animal abuse, dog fighting, puppy mills, factory farming and so much more.

The phrases – people suck and I hate people – pop up often in our threads. When you are battling against the worst people have to offer and the heartless acts of so many…it’s perfectly understandable to go postal on animal abusers. That’s not the focus of this column at all.

I’m seeing a mean streak too frequently when people with a common interest – pets and other animals – that have no compassion for people who don’t share their experiences. The people who don't have the background or knowledge from being involved in rescue to know where pet store puppies come from. That haven't had the experiences to know certain behaviors may put their pets at risk until it happens to them.

When people tell their stories about sick puppies from pet stores or a dog snatched from their yard or other topics, it tells a powerful story. Those stories reach far more pet lovers than any public service announcement or Saturday protest. Many people don’t know the back-story of an issue until it hits them.

So, what’s the point in being a jerk?

Bird supporters have frequently gone after groups supporting feral cat management.

Why can’t you be kind to animals and people too?

One Chicago organization, The Puppy Mill Project, has launched their own campaign focusing on the It's Not Cool to Be Cruel message.

“The “It’s Not Cool to Be Cruel” campaign is the cornerstone of our new educational program that we're using, especially with school children,” says Cari Meyers, founder of the organization. “This campaign covers so many aspects of what children are facing everyday beyond just focusing on how we treat dogs and other animals.”

I have no problem with controversy and debate when it’s respectful. I have ZERO tolerance for those that need to bully anyone – whether you are on the same side of the issue as I am or not. If you disagree…make your point without channeling your inner Mean Girl.

My focus here is the pet-related stories. But, if you write a blog or run an advocacy page anywhere, you’ve been hit. There’s a lot of stupid nastiness by the garden-variety social media trolls that spew venom any place with a comment button. It’s enough that it makes you want to pack up the group of trolls and ship back to middle school, lock them up and throw away the key. (I’m not even touching nasty political debates here.)

Yikes.

That being said – I do love a good debate. Earlier this year, I blogged about the rescue of 23 English Bulldogs from one of the worst puppy mills in Iowa. As the story was cross-posted beyond the animal welfare community, it landed on the page of puppy millers and some breeders who have been known to be nasty. They let loose and even accused the rescue of stealing dogs.

Portia was one of 23 English Bulldogs rescued by CEBR from a puppy mill in April.

The Chicago English Bulldog Rescue and many of its followers responded with facts and documentation. Even though they were being baited by the same people they were trying to put out of business, they didn’t go there. They used the forum to speak up and educate in a way that more people should mirror. It's not cool to be cruel.

There are so many issues in the animal welfare community that need support – from puppy mills and feral cats to responsible pet ownership and, yes, elephants. As we look at the bigger picture in Chicago, the violence continues to spill out on our streets and we are about to start what could be a very dicey school year.

Maybe if we all worked a little harder at being kind to animals and people too, we could continue to have a dramatic impact for our causes because it's not cool to be cruel.

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Filed under: Pets

Tags: animal advocates, animal cruelty, cats, Dogs, pet rescue,pets, puppy mills