From The Founders is a section for thoughts, articles and opinions from the founders of OVFA. Hopefully it will give a little insight into our hearts and minds. At times this page may be controversial and may offend some who are not willing to step out of the box and think with an open mind. We do assure you it will always be truthful and straight from the heart. We will never post any view or opinion that is not fully backed up by our years of experience and research in animal rights and animal life. If there are any opinions you have about anything posted in this section, please feel free to contact us at sh@ourvoicesforanimals.org
A Birthday Wish
Here at OVFA we truly do appreciate all of our supporters and it is a pleasure to have all of you with us on our journey to a better world for animals. Though everyone is special to us, there is a very special place in my heart for the young minds just growing into this world we have made for them. When I see little faces light up at the sight of an animal, or I hear stories of children going through our website with their parents and loving and learning about their fellow inhabitants, it makes me beam for days. I beam because I know there is a future for our earth and our beautiful animals. As Osho says; "The heart is your guide. When it is completely in harmony with nature, there is a beautiful dance and a music in your heart" As we all know there is no more of an unconditional and pure love or a sweet harmony with life as there is within the hearts of animals and children. One such sweet heart of a supporter is Alanna. Her and her Mom Lynn frequent our site and Lynn has even done a beautiful painting for me. Today, August 23rd, is little Alanna's 5th Birthday. So, from OVFA's founders, Sabrina and Tresa, from the entire OVFA community, and from the world of animals we speak for, we would like to wish Alanna a very Happy Birthday. Stay true to the earth angel! You rock!
Goodbye LuLu Hello Animal Rights Fight For Captive Freedom
A 46 year old Western Lowland Gorilla named LuLu passed away this week at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Columbus Ohio. There is no known cause for her death as of this writing. However, a necropsy is being performed to find the cause of LuLu's death. She began having seizures on Friday and passed away on Monday. Below is a photo of LuLu and one of her surrogates Umande.
With the death of LuLu, many animal rights activists have found another reason to slam zoo's for keeping animals captive. Undoubtedly, this heartbreak and immense loss will be followed up with much fighting and of course the dreaded statement, "These animals should be freed!" That is, as always, not an option. Most animal rights activists seem to forget the tragedies we are fighting in the wild. Tragedies such as poaching. No, gorillas should not be in cages or enclosures. But, is the wild any better? Let's take a look at the undeniable facts.
As of 2009, up to two gorillas were being poached a week for the bushmeat trade in the Congo Republic. Hand sized pieces of gorilla meat sale for $6. It was estimated by Endangered Species International that only 200 remained in the region with a population death rate of 50% per year. Those numbers are mind boggling to say the least. Not only are they being slaughtered for meat, but for their hands which are used in superstition and even as ash trays and souvenirs.
Many animal rights activist will use the age averages of the animals to fight their point, but in this case they have nothing. The average life span of a wild gorilla is around 35 years, while gorillas in captivity can live in to their 50's. Of course certain issues must be taken into consideration such as poaching and habitat destruction, as well as type of habitat and care while in captivity. LuLu's habitat is one of the best there is and has offered not only conservation education to the public, but the best medical care such as that of Misha. Misha is a baby born at the Louisville Zoo and moved to the Columbus Zoo after suffering a leg injury that resulted in amputation. Misha was brought to the Columbus Zoo to be placed with a surrogate mom. Misha is doing wonderfully with her new mom and loves being entertained by us silly humans and our cameras!
In the wild Misha's fate would have been certain death and LuLu as well as all of the Gorillas at the Columbus Zoo would be poached for meat and souvenirs. With that said, animal rights activists need to stop using the word "freed" until there is a freedom to be released to. Until that moment freedom from mass poaching, freedom from habitat destruction, freedom from being caught in the middle of war, freedom from the cruelty of mankind, is the only freedom we should be fighting to give them. Captive life in many cases, is freedom for these animals. Instead of insisting they be released into such harm, we should be facing reality and fighting for a better life in all circumstances for them. Removing the gorillas i have grown up observing and know by name from the only home they have ever known is as cruel as killing them for an ash tray. So called freeing the gorillas that blow me kisses and look at my pictures, that are learning sign language and that observe me as much as I observe them is as horrific as poaching them for dinner. Being so-called "freed" is not the only option. Having their best interest in mind instead of being driven by human emotion is.
Misha will grow up healthy and hopefully live well into her 50's with the help, love and care of the staff at the Columbus Zoo.
And as for LuLu, she will be remembered not as a display animal in a cage at a zoo, but as a teacher of children, an adopted mother to orphaned babies, a protector of the youths in her troop, and a true friend to many, both human and gorilla. Goodbye sweet LuLu.
"Crush videos finally banned in U.S." By: Sabrina Hinkle
Since 1999, the Humane Society of the United States and other animal rights groups have been fighting a war against one of the sickest cruelties toward animals known to date called crush videos. Crush videos are a disturbing trend in sexual fetish films with animals being mutilated and crushed for the gratification of the viewer. Scantily clad women are seen hammering nails through the bodies of animals, lighting them on fire, cutting off their limbs with pruning shears, drowning and suffocating them and then crushing kittens, puppies, and other small animals, even monkeys with their high heels and sometimes their bare feet.
In December of 1999, after the HSUS uncovered thousands of these sick videos selling for around $300 a piece, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Depiction of Animal Cruelty Act. The act banned the creation, sales and possession of these videos. Not long after the act became law, crush videos disappeared from mainstream sight. But, on April 20, 2010 the Supreme Court did the unthinkable during the U.S. verses Steven’s dog fighting trial, declaring the Act “overbroad”, and claiming it could inhibit depictions protected by First Amendment rights and used to help stop animal cruelty. This move left animals helpless in the grasp of crush video makers and distributers around the country. In addition, leaving our children unprotected from the footage and disturbing images quickly popping up all over the web. Video still shots of kittens with high heels through their eyes and down their tiny throats were easily found through my own research and will haunt my mind eternally and the videos they were taken from could be effortlessly purchased from numerous websites.
On April 21, 2010 state representatives from all over the nation introduced a new Bill, HR 5092, that moved quickly to the floor and then on May 18, 2010, another Bill was introduced, HR 5337. However, it was not until June 22, 2010 that Representatives, Elton Gallegly (California) and Gary Peters (Michigan) introduced a new Bill that would make all of the difference, HR 5566, called the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010. The Bill would ban the creation and distribution of crush videos all together and on June 23, 2010, the House Judiciary committee unanimously approved HR 5566 and moved it quickly through the system. The House of Representatives approved the Bill on July 21 before it stalled for sometime on the floor.
On November 19, 2010, a revised version of the Bill was passed by the Senate and was now in its final phase before becoming a law. The Bill lay on the president’s desk awaiting his signature. After much urging by animal rights groups everywhere, President Barack Obama signed HR 5566 into law on December 9, 2010, giving animals everywhere a reprieve from mainstream crush video torture.
Though the law is now in place and websites selling the despicable displays of agony have begun removing the videos, this is unfortunately, not the end of them. They will still live amongst the angst, greed and mentally disturbed of the underground and will continue to be legally made, sold, and owned overseas. With the help of animal rights groups worldwide, it is hopeful that governments around the globe will follow in the footsteps of the U.S. and ban them as well. The war against crush videos is long from over, but there is one thing that is for certain. The animal rights community will never stop fighting it!
“Dying For Art”
By: Sabrina Hinkle
Animal cruelty is running ramped with the atrocities committed against our fellow earth inhabitants growing sicker by the day. People are using animal torture for sexual pleasure, for emotional gratification, for relaxation, and for profit and notoriety. We see stories of animals skinned alive, crush videos and bestiality on the news and read about them in the paper more frequently now than ever. Our fight as animal lovers and advocates is becoming a winless war with no real help from our government. There are numerous laws against cruelty toward animals, but there is an underlying problem with them and that is the exemptions that give societies twisted an easy acquittal from their wrongs. Exemptions to such things as religion, politics, journalism, science, education, and history are what fuels the world of cruelty and what allows so many dangerous individuals to remain unscathed by our laws and go free of punishment. However, the one exemption that truly sickens this animal rights activist is the exception to art. Yes, I said art. Paintings made not with paint, but instead the blood of an animal and its organs. Films made of footage of animals ripping each other to pieces and called art films and living art that consist of humans in heinous acts covered in entrails and blood and these instances all come from the sick minds of so-called artists’ and are displayed in museums and galleries around the world for you and your children to see.
If you think the demand for blood and torture art is farfetched and that a place of education would never display such carnage, I give you the example of The Station Museum in Houston Texas that did just that from April 16 – July 2 of 2005 when a gallery from infamous actionist artist Hermann Nitsch was displayed. An entire wall of photographs of naked humans covered in animal blood and organs while posed in positions mocking religious events accompanied Nitsch's paintings. Hermann Nitsch became infamous in the 1960’s for crucifying a skinned and mutilated lamb while its entrails lay on a table below and called it art.
Much more recently, artist Adel Abdessemed found himself in a war with animal rights activists’ over his video display titled, “Usine”, which showed pit bulls, roosters and other animals penned and ripping each other apart. Abdessemeds’ “art” is a key principal in the writing of The Humanitarian Art Ordinance in San Francisco stating that when an artist has caused, created, or contributed to the crime of animal abuse for the purpose of his/her media or exhibit it should be deemed illegal. The Greater Valley Glen Council passed the ordinance in March 2009.
I have seen through my own research and through stories within my organization, Our Voices For Animals, that the demand for blood art has become much more sought after with children asking on forums, blogs and in chat rooms where they can find animal entrails and blood for school art projects. This kind of request from such fragile minds leaves me in disgust of what our world is coming to and demanding to know why our government is allowing these things to continue.
Not only are exemptions in the laws leaving loopholes in our system for the disturbed to get off free and clear but, some of our most trusted organizations are the very ones fighting to keep these exemptions in place. In October of 2009, during the fight to keep the 1999 law banning the sales of crush videos intact, not only did animal rights organizations have to face off with groups such as the ACLU, but we also had a war on our hands with a much less expected opponent, the art community.
The College Art Association filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the National Coalition Against Censorship. Together these two organizations argued that the law could criminalize any depiction of an animal being wounded or killed for commercial gain and call it violation of law. They worried that any museum or gallery would be convicted for displaying this kind of art. Shouldn’t they be? Parents take their children to museums and galleries for an educational and cultural experience never knowing they could be seeing mutilated animals instead of Picasso. These places should be held accountable and charged as accomplices.
Throughout history, animals have been subjected to cruelty in the name of art with clear exemptions by law. If we allow this ‘art’ exemption or any exemption to cruelty to continue, what will be next? Will our religions soon be splattered with the blood of a monkey hammered with nails due to a religious exemption? Will photos of a puppies paws being cut off with pruning shears taint our children’s education? Will historical facts no longer be the founding of our nation, but the fighting of dogs instead? Will our next DaVinci be the man or woman who was allowed by law to paint with the blood of an innocent animal? The world around us is tormented by minds that thrive on torture and see our first amendment rights as their free and clear pass to continue the agony. We want and we need freedom of speech, but we are abusing and using this right for our own twisted agendas. What words are we truly speaking when we allow abusers, murders, and rapist of innocent sentinel beings to go free and unscathed for the sake of first amendment rights?
It is time our government stops worrying about what merciless organizations like those mentioned above have to say and start fighting for the rights of those with no voice, our children and our animals. Until that day is bestowed upon us, we will continue to wallow away in this, a truly disturbed and unchecked society exempted by law of their crimes.
"Crushed By Justice"
By: Sabrina Hinkle (Our Featured Article on FreePress.org)
As the founder of an animal rights organization you would think that nothing would surprise me, but last year a disgusting cruelty was brought to my attention called “Crush Videos.” Crush videos are one of the sickest atrocities to happen to animals and its all for human pleasure. The description of these videos is sure to shock anyone with a drop of humanity or even half of a heart. A woman is heard talking like a dominatrix to a tiny kitten, puppy, hamster, rat, guinea pig, bird or even a monkey and rather than whipping, chaining, burning, and hurting a man, she burns the animals with cigarettes, near drowns them, lights them on fire, drives nails through their tiny bodies and then places them on the floor.
While the twisted minds that are watching are about to hit their sexual peak, the woman crushes the animal with her stiletto high heel and in some cases her bare feet. This fetish should not only be deeply disturbing to animal rights activist, but to you as well. Your next door neighbor could be enjoying these twisted videos or even making them and then giving you and your children a friendly, “Hello”.
As I researched more about this issue I found there are many other forms of fetish videos that I perceive as a possible beginning to this kind of torture. My research unearthed videos that are not your normal foot fetish with the stomping of food and other harmless objects, but instead what I found was women in child like clothing and child like shoes crushing doll babies and toy stuffed animals. Could this be the start of a mental process that leads to animal crush videos? What happens when boredom sets in and live animal crushing is no longer a thrill? What will be the next life these individuals feel the need to end by crushing. My fear is that they will turn their sick sexual thrill of torturing and killing animals to children. Could they crush a human baby? With stories of babies cooked in microwaves and infants left to die in dumpsters or on the side of the road, this form of torture doesn't seem so far fetched. So, in theory this could very well lead to even more mutilating and killing of children for sexual pleasure?
Sadly, our supreme court does not see this as that big of an issue. They feel that the sales of hunting and bullfighting videos will be affected and banned as well. If that means our kids and pets are safe then shouldn't we not care about banning so called educational animal torture videos? Our government caters far too much to the revenue hunters bring in and it’s not fair that innocent children and voiceless animals must suffer for the bulging pockets of the government, the ACLU and The Safari Club International. In 1999 Bill Clinton signed and passed legislation banning the making and distributing of these videos and with that law they nearly disappeared. Last year, with the dog fighting video controversy and trial of US verses Stevens the ban was lifted and these videos rapidly became an internet selling commodity for the sexual freaks in our communities. In 1999 it was estimated that there were about 1000 videos, shortly after the ban lift in October 2009, there was an estimated 2000 and growing and to make matters worse these videos are not hard to get a hold of. In fact, as I searched the web with multiple search engines and safe search on, I found four websites selling them; one even had a free preview. I also found disturbing images of dead kittens unrecognizable with crushed heads and a still shot of a woman in stilettos crushing the body of kitten while stabbing it through the eye with her high heel. Children with access to the internet could very easily find these same images and videos. Good luck to the parents that have to explain why “Fluffy” is bloody and his organs are oozing out of every end.
On April 20, 2010 the Supreme Court failed its citizens and animals by throwing out the ban on these kinds of videos once again due to the same possibility that hunting, bullfighting and other deemed educational animal cruelty videos would also be banned. The Supreme Court called the statue “overbroad”. Though they did go on to state the importance of protecting animals from cruelty and said, “The prohibition of animal cruelty itself has a long history in American law, starting with the early settlement of the Colonies.” The court is expected to uphold a narrower statue banning the distribution of crush and animal cruelty videos. The Humane Society of the United States and The Humane Legislative Fund are urging congress to speedily give law enforcement what they need to crack down on the distributors of crush videos by passing H.R. 5092 which is designed to end, as stated in a release from The Humane Society of the United States, “…intentional crushing, burning, drowning and impaling of puppies, kittens and other animals for the depraved purpose of peddling videos of such extreme acts of animal cruelty for the sexual titillation of viewers.” But will it be too late? Right this second as you read these words, animal abusers all over the country are making and selling videos that are depicting what our government claims to be important to them, the crime of cruelty against animals.
Some of the worries involved in the original legislation are that exposure videos from animal rights groups could also be banned. But is there not a significant difference between a humane officer or animal rights activist exposing cruelty to stop it and a woman talking dirty to a kitten and stomping its head in or hammering nails into its body? Is there not a significant difference between the teachings of, though I very much disagree with it, a rite of passage such as hunting and the crushing of a dog’s throat after having been lit on fire? Yes there is! Our laws need to change and the categorizing of videos showing cruelty needs to change as well.
As I sit here typing I can’t help but wonder what despicable crime our Supreme Court will allow next in the name of free speech. The Supreme Court and the groups that fought against the ban such as the ACLU and The Safari Club International should feel nothing but shame for letting this be lifted. When this sickest of crimes turns from animals to children or when children are disturbed from images and videos of crushed animals they call pets, the Supreme Court, and groups like the NRA, and The Safari Club International only have themselves to blame. The tears and blood of children are on their hands.
(The information changes seemingly everyday on this subject so please continue to stay with OVFA for the latest news.)
"Captive Truth"
By: Sabrina Hinkle
The debate about animals in captivity has been raging as long as there have been zoos, but is freedom really a better choice? It’s true that captivity is not always a happy place for animals, but it could be the only option for many dying species. Our world is over populated by people, and with people comes homes, jobs and cars, and with a humanized world comes habitat destruction and animal extinction. Let’s look at the Caspian tiger for instance. Nearly no one knows what a Caspian is because it was declared extinct somewhere between the 1940’s and 1970’s from over hunting. How about the Baiji River dolphin? It is a breed of dolphin declared extinct in 2006 due to river pollution. This same fate now faces African lions, elephants, whales and droves of other species. Scientific predictions say that lions will be gone by 2020. How will Africa look in ten years without its apex predator? There will be no Savannah or Serengeti National Park to visit and get lost in the beauty of nature. Instead, we will see overpopulated species of wildebeest, impala, and other prey starving to death before our eyes. We will see herds of cows instead of elephants, overpopulated villages instead of vast lands, and crops instead of the acacia trees shadowy silhouette in front of a striking African sunset. In just ten years a continent will change forever all because of human waste. Poaching, poisoning, slaughtering, black market pet trade, medicinal myth, starvation, pollution and loss of habitat will wipe out entire species. The wild is not a paradise of freedom for the animals that live in Africa and it’s no different in every other country upon this rock we call earth. But there is a solution that could save these species, though not their land. It’s a safe haven for the animals and a sanctuary from the destruction and selfishness of mankind. Sadly, it’s called captivity.
I met a blind cougar a few years ago named Charlie that changed my perspective on closing down captive animal facilities. I walked through his rescue and couldn’t help, but wonder what would’ve happened to Charlie if animal rights activist had ended captivity before his rescue? The thought broke my heart. There would have only been two options. Place an abused and blind cougar in the wild where his fate would have been an agonizing death or euthanize him. I watched him playing with a stick though he could not see it and I couldn’t help but be thankful for the people that took him in and gave him the happy life he had in captivity.
I have been an animal rights activist for 18 years and have spent my life researching not moral opinion and feel good emotion, but instead what’s best for the animals. I have consumed myself with the welfare of our co-inhabitants and I give my every breath to this cause, including starting my own organization. I spent much of my youth walking the trails of zoos and dreaming of someday working closely with animals in Africa while teaching the African people how to co-exist with the wildlife safely. When I began learning about animal rights I was shocked to see that zoo’s were considered horrible concentration camp facilities out for an easy buck. After much debate in my own heart and mind I trusted and I tried to believe these stories of agony, but could never really see it in the faces and behaviors of the animals. I spent some times 3 days a week at my local zoo trying to figure out what animal rights groups were seeing. I began learning about animals, their behaviors and the ins and outs of zoos. A lot of what I found out broke my heart, but just as much of the information made me into the radical against the grain realist and activist I am today. I learned that animal rights activist will do anything for the “good” of the animals even if that means putting them into ignored danger.
Let’s take the March 2010 death of a SeaWorld trainer for example. Animal rights activists pounced that very moment to have all killer whales, which are actually called orcas, released into the wild, failing to realize that the majority of these whales are captive born and have little to no wild instinct and the others have lived upwards of 20 or more years in captivity. Activists also fail to learn about the animal’s behavioral needs and complex living requirements before they badger to release them to an inevitable death.
One orca comes to mind when discussing this. His name was Keiko, but we all know him as Willy. People all over the world fought to have this enchanting boy released to his sea home. Trainers rehabilitated him, placed him in a sea pin and released him, but every time Keiko swam away, he came back. He sought out human attention and was found playing with children and letting them climb on his back. The government banned paying attention to Keiko thinking this would make him wild again, but all it did was leave him lonely, starving, and dead 5 years after his release. This didn’t have to happen to Keiko. That huge state of the art tank that children everywhere raised money to build was the right place for him. No, it isn’t a good life and no orcas don’t belong in captivity, but those already there do not deserve the cruelty, fear and loneliness of being thrown into a life they have no clue how to live simply because we humans feel in our hearts that it’s right for them. Animals will always have some of their wild side that needs to be catered to, but you cannot teach an animal instinct anymore then you can teach a human to live once more like a caveman. Now, even after the failure of Keiko’s release, animal rights activists have learned nothing and now other animals are doomed to face the same fate. Recently, I had the privilege of going out on a whale research boat to see the humpbacks in New England. It was a beautiful and inspiring day, until we encountered an oil tanker in the marine sanctuary and saw multiple deep gashes on one whale’s back from boat propellers. Before those sights, I couldn’t imagine anything living more freely. It was a hard realization that freedom does not really exist.
TV shows and organizations give us the illusion of the wild being a paradise for animals with breathtaking pictures and footage that makes us get lost in the beauty and freedom, but these pictures and videos only show one side. They neglect to let us see what’s happening just out of view of the cameras lens. Let me paint you a picture of the real wild. In the US, wolves are gunned down by helicopter; their pups are gassed with lethal environmental killing chemicals or are shot point blank in the head. Entire packs wiped out just for the fun of it and for ranchers who are doing more damage to our air then factories. Does our government offer any solace for these wild K-9’s? Of course not! In fact one governor offered a $150 reward to anyone that brought her the front leg of a wolf. Another governor couldn’t wait and acted like a child going to Disney World to be the first to shoot one.
In Africa elephants are slaughtered for their tusks and mutilated if they come near a village. Lions are poisoned by meat injected with Furadan and suffer up to 24 hours before they finally die. Lions are also brutally farmed for meat sales here in the US. Gorillas, so much like humans, are slaughtered for black market trade and for human consumption in Africa.
The entire world takes part in its share of cruelty. In the orient the abuse doesn’t stop simply with the wildlife. Stray as well as pet dogs and cats are beat to near death and boiled alive for dinner. In Asia tigers are poached for medicinal myth and fur. In Canada baby seals are beat to death yearly for their fur. In Denmark whales and dolphins are beaten to death in bays turned red from blood all for a human rite of passage. In other areas of the world there’s shark fining, whaling, oil and diesel spills, oil drilling, polar bears drowning from the ice caps melting and the list goes on and on. Not a pretty picture right? So, why would we even consider taking animals that are receiving medical care, the best diet, safe habitation, and though a little bored sometimes, no worry of death by element or human interference and put them into a wild we have made hostile and destroyed?
Remember, I’m not saying that all captive life is good and that’s where we the animal rights activist should direct our attention and that’s exactly where my organization is putting forth our effort. Instead of closing down zoo’s and placing the thousands and thousands of animals into the already overcrowded wild to die or in sanctuaries with little space and funding that still place them cages and pins, we need to turn our zoo’s into something that we can be proud to take our children to and teach them to cherish our planet and its animals. I can hear it now, animal rights activist everywhere saying, “But they would still be using animals for profit!” Yes, they would! And that profit would provide that medical care, natural habitats, and the best diet. Forgotten by most is that sanctuaries take donations and many of them allow patrons to come in and gawk at abused animals that are fearful of humans and the wild offers the animals to tourist as a profitable attraction. Even these supposed safe havens are taking money and there is nothing wrong with that if it’s for the care of the animals and to pay the caretakers!
We need to get a grip on the reality we have caused and stand up to make our wrongs right. We can’t replace the millions of acres we’ve destroyed and we can’t bring back the species we have killed, but we can prevent it from happening again! Our morals and opinions need to be placed on the back burner and the welfare of the animal needs to be first and foremost. Until we stop looking for a pat on the back or a warm and fuzzy feeling in our hearts, the abuse, the death, and the torture will continue. Until we stop competing with each other for donations and members and until we take off our rose colored glasses and see in the clearest vision, we will make no difference. Animal rights activist need an education in the real world of today and animals need our help even if that means captivity. We must work with zoos and animal parks, sanctuaries and aquariums to provide a safe haven from man’s destruction and abuse. And we must set our priorities straight. Zoos such as the North Carolina Zoological Park are not a priority as one overboard organization may lead you to believe and I know this from my own behind scenes visit. Dog fighting, laboratories, wolf hunts, black market trades, seal hunts, crush videos, puppy mills, catteries, circuses, habitat destruction and so many other atrocities are what we should be directing our energies toward and of course making captive life a true sanctuary for dying species. The animal rights community is failing the animals. We were brainwashed back in 1980 with what was right only then and we have not yet evolved our thinking with the worlds ever changing abuses. It is a new world and we must be a new kind of activist. Until we change for the sake of the animals we can only thank ourselves as the next specie very quickly disappears and our ecosystem changes forever.
Does sanctuary life really offer sanctaury?
By: Sabrina Hinkle
The definition of sanctuary goes like this: "a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept or arefuge: a shelter from danger or hardship"
The debate about setting Orcas free goes on with thoughts turning to sea sanctuaries, but are sancuatries really safe for captive animals, especially those born captive with no wild instinct? Upon a trip to Massachusetts as all ocean and animal loving people do, I took a whale watch trip, with the exception that the boat I was on was for humpback research and not just entertainment. As we ventured out into the sea and into Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary where whales should be free and safe we encountered something not even the researchers were aware of. We encountered this:
Its an oil tanker in a national sancuatry. As we all tried to shake off the sighting we continued out further and found ourselves surrounded by 13 gorgeous whales and... multiple boats. Here are a couple of shots of just some of the boats we saw that day from fishing, whale watching, to just traveling through this safe zone for marine life.
Not only were we sick at the thought of all of these boats perpellers coming so close to the backs of these beautiful animals that included Wright Whales, Humpbacks, and other sea dwelling mammals including dolphins and we must not forget the variety of shark that frequent there, but we got to see first hand what damage can be done. Even the researchers were concerned about the safety of this whale after its injury.
The moral of this story is that not all we precieve as safe and sanctuary really is. No matter what we do to protect these animals, there will still be boats that sneak in and like the Exxon spill that killed 22 orcas there will be more oil tankers and even whaling boats. Life in the wild is not pretty and full of freedom as we would like to believe. In a perfect world all animals, both in the sea and on land would be free from human interference, but unfortunately, this is far from a perfect world. That is why animals need people like you and me to stand up for them and do whats right, not what we feel is morally correct, which brings me to an issue we are dealing with here at OVFA. Many people are angry with us for our different way of thinking, for our down right controversial and open minded way of thinking, but the fact of the matter is, it's different to those angry ARA's because we took off the rose colored glasses and got a punch in the gut with reality. Sure that day at sea watching whales was beautiful, but it was also a reality check. Injured animals and oil tankers can't be seen through a shade of rose. Its amazing how clear vision becomes when you look in the face of reality and even death. We have worked with tortured animals and seen them die and my hands have been the very last touch to animals taking their very last and sometimes bloody breath from human caused agony. The glasses are off and I shattered them as I walked away. As long as we live with a rosy sight, animals will be abused. It will not be until we see cleary, that the pain will stop. I just hope that we can stop our petty fighting and competing and put our energies where they belong like being the voice and warriors these animals deserve.
“Credibility For A Chicken Suit”
By: Sabrina Hinkle
What is wrong with animal rights groups? I’m not asking this because I’m against animal rights; in fact it’s quite the contrary. I’m the founder of a quick growing group called “Our Voices For Animals”. After forming OVFA just over a year ago, it didn’t take me long to see that there was a lot to be desired from some of the other groups. In fact, I can understand why people look at animal rights activist like crazy crack pot hippy extremist. From the out of this world stunts to right out of Broadway’s trash can productions that some call protests, it’s no wonder we aren’t taken seriously and the abuse continues.
What does dressing up in costumes, locking yourself in cages, covering yourself in fake blood, and ranting outside of a building do for the animals being tortured in this world? The answer, turn those that we want to sway even further against us. Yesterday I read a story about a town erecting a bronze statue for Colonel Sanders and an animal rights group bragging about upping them, they think, with a chicken feces statue of the Colonel. What point does that make? None other than once again, animal rights activist are crazy. Of course, there will be those people out there that will love these tactics, and maybe even a few minds will be changed for the good because of, “Put yourself in my shoes”, sympathy. But for the most part people will run away from these kook's on the street, some may even fear them, and others will laugh. Nothing will have been accomplished other than making animal rights look ridiculous. A question from another group comes to mind when thinking of this, “Are we as activist truly doing everything we can to protect our fellow beings?” No we are not! Because in the time it takes to put on that costume and make-up, thousands of animals are horrifically dying. By the time that statue is erected hundreds of thousands of chickens will have died and will be served in buckets everywhere. Not to mention these productions take money. That is money that could be used toward defending these animals legally and changing laws and punishments. There is no credibility in these tactics and with no credibility there is no hope for those who so desperately need us, the animals
Example: Let’s say you have an illness and there are two people standing in front of you with a diagnosis and a treatment plan. One is wearing a lab coat, scrubs, and a name tag that says MD and the other is wearing a chicken suit and screaming in your face. You have no idea which is actually the doctor except for the name tag. Who knows, maybe it’s really the chicken with the medical degree! Which one are you going to take your diagnosis and treatment from? Me, the one that looks like a doctor! Degree or not, if someone in a chicken suit is handing out advice you have to wonder about their sanity and they definitely will be looked at with no credibility. Animal abuse is a disease plaguing millions and millions of animals and animal rights activist are the doctors with the cure! But, no one wants to hear it from a bunch of people dressed up in chicken suits.
Every day as a group founder I am faced with discussions and conflicts. I have to reach out and make contact with places like zoo’s, parks, rescues, and others groups and then of course those that are resistant to the thought of animals being anything but, nothing. None of them will even speak to me until I say that OVFA is different from the rest. I actually have to begin my first meetings with, “Hello! I run an animal rights group, don’t worry we’re not the stereotype!” Once that’s out of the way they’re willing to talk and more importantly, listen. That tells me that something needs to change. But, it’s not just those I’m trying to sway that I have to convince I don’t run an extremist group. In fact, at least once a week a new member will send me an email and ask how I feel about other specific groups. Once I answer them with the politically correct phrasing of, “They have done so much good, but I do disagree with some of their methods”, I get a response saying, “Great! I don’t want to be a part of a group like that.” I know why they feel way.
Some groups are dated. They are still using the same tactics that worked only momentarily years ago. People are desensitized to it now and have even begun to laugh it off like a big joke. And as with anything, with the decline of respect for the animal rights community comes an increase of animal abuse. These methods are not helping animals, they are actually hurting them by giving us, the activist and advocates, a bad and stereotypical reputation. Don’t get me wrong, I have the upmost respect for the other groups and this is not a bash on them. I personally feel we should all be working together instead of competing. These groups have done remarkable things over their years and have paved the way for groups like mine, but truth is truth. Times have changed and we must change with them.
When the words, “child abuse”, were first muttered people everywhere stood up and were appalled. Organizations for child abuse have so much respect, and it’s the same way with domestic abuse and abusing the elderly. With every day that passes these groups of hero’s gain more respect and change more minds. They don’t wear ridiculous costumes, erect statues made of feces and they don’t throw red paint representing blood on the abuser. They give us facts about the victims’ pain and suffering. We listen because they earned our respect with their credibility and with their cries they make us feel a genuine passion for what they’re saying! It’s not that way with those that are just as vulnerable, innocent and abused. Animal rights groups that once had an inkling of respect have lost it. Our victims are not felt for, but instead looked at as disposable, clothing, food, money makers, and punching bags. So, going back to the question, What is wrong with animal rights groups? The answer is simple, we lost are respectability and credibility. And until we stop playing games and putting on productions we aren’t getting it back. And who suffers for our mistakes? It’s not us. We aren’t being beaten, tested on, skinned, chained, or crushed for sexual pleasure. We aren’t being slaughtered for food and left to starve. We aren’t being forced to kill our own kind for a twisted minds profit. We are sitting in our comfy homes wishing the world would just think differently. The animals we love so much are the victim’s for our mistakes as their only voice. Not only has the hand of cruelty tortured them, but we have forsaken them as well. We’re letting them down and it’s time we stop. We must gain the respect we need to change minds. We must cure this disease called animal abuse. But first we must clear the stereotype that some groups have given to us all. I just hope our credibility comes before it’s too late.
"So Called Freedom vs. Captivity"
By: Tresa Hinkle
We think with our hearts and the passion we feel for the animals, therefore we lack the ability to think in a logical and realistic way. I've been involved in the animal rights movement for many years, and see so many of the old strategies that worked in the past, loose there power to make a difference now and in the future. It is time to wake up. The world and the people in it have changed and we must change with them. Right now we are just making a dent in the abuse area. We save one today, but loose millions tomorrow. Yes, that one life means everything, not only to me, but to the life that was saved. But what if, you could save that one and make a difference for the millions more, it is possible. But first we have to open our minds to a new way of thinking, a realistic way. Stop the arguing between ourselves, throw out the I know everything attitude and listen, give someone else's views a chance. I've noticed that the first thing someone will say, is animals belong in the wild. Ok, in the so called wild animals have no safety, no medical, they are subjected to harsh climates, slowly poisoned until there bodies give up, and poached not only for their ivory and fur, but for the many body parts that are used to help us, and then there is the loss of habitat, millions of acres are stripped clean everyday. Imagine being kicked out of your home with no where else to go. Face it there isn't any wild left. The next thing I hear, is put them in a sanctuary. Sanctuary's are being closed down on a regular basis, there are very few good one's and they are running out of room. Just think if we closed down every zoo elephant habitat and every circus including the ..Ringling.. ..Brothers.. ..Conservation.. ..Center.. in ....Florida..... We would be left with thousands of elephants to rehouse. Where would they go? There are only two good elephant sanctuaries in the ..US.. and the one in ....Tennessee.... only takes in Asian females. And keep in mind there is only so much room and elephants need a lot of it. So what happens to the thousands of elephants left homeless? They can't be sent back to their native land, they couldn't survive the wild and even if they could the protected areas there are no guarantee. We brought the wolves back in the wild only to be gunned down and as I write this 1000's of whales are being slaughtered in ....Japan..... Reality check, that is the wild and a so called protected sanctuary. I could go on with this and use every species as an example, but the answer will always be the same. We need to change the way we view saving animals. We need to be stronger and more aggressive and work together to change the quality of life for all animals, even if that means we put aside our own desires for their freedom. I'm just like many of you I want all animals to live in there rightful habitats in the wild, safe and free from mans interference, but unlike most, I think realistically. This isn't going to happen, we humans have interfered for to long and have destroyed that natural balance, so now we must interfere. Even if that means animals are in captivity. You do realize that your dog and cat are captive and that sanctuaries and rescues have cages, they're just bigger and in some cases better. There isn't a real freedom for animals. PLEASE! Open your minds for the animals sake, some of the fights that we are fighting are a waste of time and the quality of the animals lives we are trying to save.
