“Just a Handful” of Animal Extremists?

Over at Discovery.com, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle agreed to answer a number of questions about his views of the “humane” movement. Given that Pacelle no longer espouses his previous radical views (openly, at least), we didn’t expect to see anything other than platitudes and vagaries. But we were unpleasantly surprised.

Stating his opinion of the difference between an activist and an extremist, Pacelle said the following:

There are just a handful of cases, truly a handful, in the history of the animal welfare movement where people have been very menacing or threatening or actually committed violence.

Um, really?

Let’s see what former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI John E. Lewis had to say on the matter of animal rights extremism in 2004:

[S]pecial interest extremism, as characterized by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and related extremists, has emerged as a serious domestic terrorist threat. … The FBI estimates that the ALF/ELF and related groups have committed more than 1,100 criminal acts in the United States since 1976, resulting in damages conservatively estimated at approximately $110 million.

Yeah. Not exactly “just a handful.”

Now, Pacelle referenced violence in the animal welfare movement. We’d argue that this encompasses groups like the ALF, which undoubtedly view themselves as bettering animal welfare by “liberating” animals. Maybe Pacelle has a stricter definition of just, say, pet shelters, in which case he’d probably be correct. But in the context of the question, we interpret the answer in an expansive way.

For the record, HSUS has a statement against violence. But we certainly hope that its CEO isn’t glossing over the existence of fringe, terroristic elements in the larger animal liberation movement.

In fact, animal activists just the other week set fire to a fur store in Idaho, causing $100,000 in damage. Why isn’t HSUS speaking out more against this kind of violence? Given how many press releases that HSUS puts out (often several a day), can’t it afford to put out one against this violent act in the name of animals? If HSUS will offer a reward for the killing a single deer, as it did this summer, why won’t it offer one in this case of arson?

We’re sure Pacelle would agree with us that it’s good to be “humane” to humans, too. And it shouldn’t be a burden for HSUS to take more initiative in speaking out against violence—even “just a handful” of times.

Pacelle Has No “Bond” with American Airlines

Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle’s new book, The Bond, has already inspired a slew of puff pieces and pat-on-the-back press. Amazon is already deep-discounting the paperweight-class tome, but fawning reporters are doing pretty much what you might expect.

But sometimes even good press can backfire.

American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, devoted five full pages of its February issue to gushing (read: nauseating) prose about Pacelle, claiming that he has “the confidence of a Kennedy and the type of handsome face that seems perfectly tailored to accent his tailored suit.”

If you’re looking for that article today, however, you won’t find it on the American Way website. The browsable digital version of the February issues now contains five blank pages where the article originally appeared. (We found a scanned copy of the piece here.)

How did this happen? It turns out HSUS’s carefully crafted media image isn’t bulletproof when both sides of the story are heard.

The HumaneWatch Interview: Dr. Jeff Ondrak, DVM, MS

Dr. Jeff Ondrak is part of a disappearing breed: the beef cattle veterinarian. Demand is up for livestock docs, but the supply is short and getting shorter by the year.

He’s also one of the more outspoken vets. Dr. Ondrak is a clearly not afraid to speak truth to—or about—power. During a February speech in his native Nebraska, he advised a group of women in agriculture: “If you get a letter from HSUS, please don’t send them money.”

It’s no surprise that someone who depends on animal agriculture for his customer base would have a problem with the Humane Society of the United States. There’s a growing national awareness of HSUS’s affinity with the animal “rights” philosophy, and we’ve come to understand that this includes a desire for farm animals to exit the human food chain.

But veterinarians have sworn to work for (among other things) “the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering … [and] the promotion of public health.” So any time a vet is willing to sit with us for an interview, we’re eager to learn what he or she thinks about the animal rights movement and the Humane Society of the United States —and about whether those institutions are working toward the same goals.