October 13, 2006
And Now, A Little Good News . . .
Sometimes, the animal rights movement can be depressing to watch. If activists aren’t strong-arming companies into embracing flavor-of-the-month "reforms," they’re plotting unspeakable cruelty to their fellow man. On the strong-arming front, for instance, Ben & Jerry’s has taken its first step towards an all-frozen-tofu product line by giving the Humane Society of the United States control over the eggs it buys. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old animal rights activist was sentenced to life in prison for brutally killing a neighbor who he thought had accidentally run over and injured his dog. Still, some good news occasionally escapes the vortex of animal-rights dreariness. Here’s a recent sampling:
- The biomedical research company Covance has been in a bitter battle with the misnamed Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in a Phoenix suburb. Covance wanted land re-zoned so it could build an animal research lab. PCRM responded by spewing animal-rights propaganda all over Arizona. But suddenly last week, Covance outflanked PCRM by announcing a new building site -- an even larger one -- that wouldn’t require a public re-zoning battle. The animal rights movement is not happy. But Americans hoping for cancer and AIDS cures should be thrilled.
- Comedian Greg Proops -- best known for his appearances on the comedy-improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? -- told San Francisco reporters that activists "who are morally righteous about saving the animals are laughable. People are poor, sick and dying. Give that animal you were going to help to a poor person so they can eat it or wear it or keep it as a pet."
- The United States Senate passed, and the House of Representatives will soon act on, a bill that would beef up criminal penalties for animal-rights terrorism. Senators from both sides of the political aisle (including Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe and California Democrat Dianne Feinstein) spoke out about the importance of deterring the next generation of animal-rights bomb throwers.
- Word continues to spread about our popular PETA Kills Animals website, where over six million visitors have learned about the hypocritical group that writes "Free the animals!" with one hand while administering lethal injections with the other. This week University of Florida columnist Patrick Barrett wrote that the two-faced PETA promised to "drive to your house and whisk Mittens off to a wonderful new place, free of charge. Unfortunately, that wonderful place is animal heaven." Quipped Barrett: "[W]hen you see those PETA guys on campus, tell them how you feel. You know which finger to use."
