Who does the rescuing of the abused lab animals that PETA videotaped for 9 months? Everybody but PETA. Among the many groups (spread across several states) taking pets from the research lab:
Wake Co Animal Shelter (video)
Sunny Acres Pet Resort (video)
Norfolk SPCA (video)
This article says the rescue efforts were coordinated by HSUS – if that’s the case then good on them. I say if because the normally media savvy HSUS website has no mention of the rescue on it that I could find as of this posting. The same article mentions the lab put down strict rules for rescuers during the operation:
Only one group was allowed in at one time, and rescue workers couldn’t carry recording or communication devices, such as cell phones or cameras. Lab workers loaded the animals and did little or no talking.
Of course I can’t help wondering if any of the workers who put the pets in the crates are the same ones depicted in the video which exposed their cruel acts to the public. The lab’s president had previously stated that she was disgusted by the video and that workers who broke company rules would be fired. I wonder if this was their last night on the job – loading up the pets they had been abusing. I bet that made the workers hate the animals even more, if that’s possible.
I couldn’t find any specific mention of who rescued the bunnies from the lab so if anyone comes across that info, please post a comment.
Does anyone actually think that PETA videos are reliable? In that elephant video they sped up the video so that it looked like the handlers were slashing at each elephant with their sticks rather than gently tapping them. I thought that in the dance scene there was going to be an earthquake, the elephants were swaying back and forth so fast.
I hate liars.
Tom, is there any evidence of abuse that you would accept? Or is it “anything goes” as long as the people doing the acts own the animals or are acting on the authority of the owner?
I don’t accept evidence from habitual liars with an agenda. I don’t care what it looks like. These people also happen to criminals, as in it’s crime to be part of a terrorist group and support terrorism, domestic or imported. Your question is disingenuous.
Unprofessional, unreliable, dishonest, agenda-driven enforcement of animal abuse laws is worse than none at all. It’s worse for the animals as well as humans.
I seriously doubt that any version of the “truth” could be reconstructed from all evidence available. There are probably as many sadists on staff at the rescues as there were at the rescue, if not more. I have a conviction that if a person is cruel to humans he or she is likely to be cruel to animals. That cruelty will of course be sneaky.
A lot of the accusations that they lob at humans are intended to be cruelly controlling, when they aren’t whiny begs for money. That’s a concept that needs to be covered more. Cruelty to humans, the specter of, is something that they pay lip service to in order to convict animal abusers of more than they actually did, but I don’t see them showing kindness to humans in a kind manner. They are very exploitative of humans and very mentally cruel, using animals as an excuse.
As always, we don’t know how many infiltrators there were. There may be infiltrators being paid to sit in jail on animal cruelty charges. We know what kind of people they hired to kill those animals that they dumped behind the Piggly Wiggly and to lie to people who had to give up their animals.
I received an email response re bunnies from Peta…all the rabbits were killed prior to the inspection by USDA after Peta filed a complaint.
Oh well suck. Did PETA do anything to stand up for the bunnies – like offer to rescue them or find a rescue willing to take them or anything at all?
That’s awful. I wonder why all the stories make it sound like the rabbits were included in the rescue? :(
I’m glad PETA’s not getting the animals. They kill 80-90% of the animals in their own “shelter.”
USDA, PETA…What’s the difference? None, to the rabbits themselves. They still wind up dead. :(
Lis, I’m with Tom. There is no evidence that PeTA could produce that I would accept. They have a long history of creating and manipulating “evidence” to tell the story that serves their agenda rather than the truth. It is a shame, but PeTA brought this level of distrust on themselves.
I guess we can be thankful that the USDA and the lab itself disagree with you and Tom. :) They thought the video was sufficient evidence to permit the release of 200 animals.
Rinalia please point out where I said that in this particular case no abuse took place.
PeTA has been caught lying through video tape for decades, including staging abuse for political gain. That PeTA has a video means nothing. Of course, all allegations of abuse, even by PeTA need to be investigated and if after independent investigation abuse is found, then all of those involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
By all those involved, I include the PeTA videographer(s) and those at PeTA who knew about this particular case and kept it to themselves for over 9 months as animals suffered. What is the difference between them and the people shown on tape doing the abuse in this particular case? There is no difference.
It’s impossible to say how I would react to witnessing such abuse as is on the videotapes if I was the undercover filmmaker. Having a guess, I imagine myself running breathlessly to authorities after witnessing the first incident of abuse. Perhaps, if I somehow managed to steel myself, I might be able to stick around long enough to document a second incident of abuse although I highly doubt it. The idea that I would punch in every workday for 9 months of this environment? Not a chance. I don’t know what sort of person could manage that.
Well, to be fair, often just one case of abuse could be waved off as an isolated incident, so showing proof of an ongoing environment of cruelty is helpful, legally.
I can understand that – with my head. My feet however would be pounding the pavement to the nearest authorities to report the one thing I had witnessed and demanding an immediate SWAT team deployment. Good thing I’m not the undercover cameraman.
Well, to be fair, I can understand videotaping for several days. Depending on the circumstances, I can even understand videotaping for a week. Beyond that, at what point does it become the responsibility of the witnesses to say something to someone who has the power to put a stop to it? A month of abuse, 2 months, 9 months? Seriously, at what point does the videographer become complicit in the abuse by his or her silence? Which then leads to the question, was it about the animals, or the politics of what you could do with the images.
“Did PETA do anything to stand up for the bunnies – like offer to rescue them or find a rescue willing to take them or anything at all?”
Why would they? They instead want to be ‘kind’ to the bunnies, and there’s only one way for PETA to be ‘kind’.
(Hint: Not one hypocritical killer who is a PETA member would want to be treated with such ‘kindness’.)
Plus, they want to outlaw companion animals or pets, whatever term suits you. :o)
So they are probably happy that the bunnies died.
PETA are a bunch of businessmen/women, in “Animal Welfare” clothing (that is…. when they are actually wearing clothing, which isnt often).
Their business is DEATH. They are “Murder Inc.” It is safe to say that PETA is glad that the poor Bunnies were killed. If the Bunnies had lived, PETA would have put a contract out on the poor Bunnies’ heads.
The Bunnies never had a chance, which is why we need to put PETA out of business, if their members ever get the courage to peacefully overthrow the current regime (refusing to give donations to them until they become No Kill is a good way).