Animal Rights

Rick Berman Attacks the Humane Society

by Anne Landman — February 17, 2010 - 11:39am
  • Topics: Animal Rights, Corporations, Propaganda

    • Front group man extraordinaire Rick Berman and his attack group, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), have launched a new Web site, HumaneWatch.org, to harass the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the country's largest animal welfare organization. In pursuing its mission of stopping animal cruelty, HSUS has apparently run afoul of some large, wealthy business interests, and now it is getting some major pushback.

    The Humane Society works to stop egregious, ongoing animal abuse, particularly in money-making enterprises like puppy mills, factory farming, dogfighting, cockfighting, and unsporting hunting practices like "canned hunts," where hunters pay to shoot at captive, domestically-raised, exotic animals. While this is a laudable goal, it pits HSUS against a significant number of wealthy, powerful businesses that engage in animal cruelty practices, like meat and egg producers, factory farmers, canned hunting businesses, contract research labs that do animal testing for big corporations and pharmaceutical companies that exploit animals to manufacture drugs like Premarin, which is used to treat the symptoms of menopause. Premarin is made from pregnant mares' urine and is marketed by Wyeth Pharmacueticals, one of the world's largest drug companies.

    Mad Cows Coming Home to Roost

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — May 7, 2008 - 2:48pm

    The global increase in grain prices may make the meat supply less safe. The European Union is considering a relaxation of feed bans that prohibit animal by-products being used as feed for other animals in the human food chain.

    Main Source: 
    The Guardian (UK), May 4, 2008

    Industry Encourages More Regulation, USDA Declines

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — May 2, 2008 - 2:04pm

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been criticized for not totally banning "downer" cows -- animals "too sick or hurt to stand for slaughter" -- from the food supply. So "when a coalition of major industry groups reversed their position and joined animal advocates and several lawmakers in calling for an absolute ban," why wouldn't the USDA agree?

    Main Source: 
    Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), April 29, 2008

    British Anti-Terrorism Law Used to Spy on Minors' Smoking, Drinking

    by Anne Landman — April 23, 2008 - 12:11pm

    A British county has been using an anti-terrorism law enacted in 2000 to spy on minors for petty crimes like using cigarettes and alcohol. The Staffordshire County Council in Britain's Midlands region has been using Britain's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) for a host of non-terrorism-related applications, like monitoring underage liquor and tobacco sales, recording the movements of farm animals and tracking counterfeit DVD sales.

    Main Source: 
    The Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, United Kingdom), April 21, 2008

    Monsanto-Funded Front Group Fights Milk Labeling

    by Anne Landman — March 10, 2008 - 4:33pm

    A new "grassroots" farmers' group with close ties to Monsanto has been formed to outlaw labels that would notify consumers they are buying milk from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Monsanto genetically engineers rBGH, called Posilac, which is injected into cows, forcing them to produce more milk.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, March 9, 2008

    Smoldering Controversy

    by Sheldon Rampton — February 13, 2008 - 11:32pm

    "Here's a recipe for academic controversy," observes Richard C. Paddock: "First, find dozens of hard-core teenage smokers as young as 14 and study their brains with high-tech scans. Second, feed vervet monkeys liquid nicotine and then kill at least six of them to examine their brains. Third, accept $6 million from tobacco giant Philip Morris to pay for it all.

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2008

    San Francisco Zoo Hires PR Flack to Try and Save its Skin After Tiger Mauling

    by Anne Landman — January 8, 2008 - 12:16pm

    Look, but don't taunt.The situation was about as bad as it could get for a zoo. On Christmas Day, Tatiana the tiger escaped from her enclosure in the San Francisco Zoo, mauled a 17 year old boy to death and severely injured two of his companions.

    Main Source: 
    San Francisco Chronicle, January 7, 2008

    Killing Them Softly (With Silencers)

    by Anne Landman — December 18, 2007 - 11:29am

    Spinning the thinning?Tourists love Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park's spectacular elk herds. Visitors to the park often get out of their cars and pose for photos with groups of elk grazing placidly on the green grass behind them, snow-capped Rocky Mountains filling the backdrop.

    Main Source: 
    Greeley, Colorado Tribune, December 16, 2007

    Monsanto: Time to Cry Over Spilled rBGH Milk?

    by Anne Landman — August 7, 2007 - 6:41pm

    Monsanto is discovering a troubling new side effect from use of Posilac, its controversial recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) injected into cows to increase milk production: use of rBGH is shriveling up the market for milk from Posilac-treated cows. In response to growing consumer demand for hormone-free dairy products, retailers are increasingly rejecting milk products derived from rBGH-injected cows.

    Main Source: 
    Kroger Company press release, August 1, 2007
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