HSUS - Sterilize All Pit Bulls

"Requiring the sterilization of pit bulls does not have the same problems as traditional breed-specific legislation".

Pam Rogers, The Humane Society of the United States, July 2006 Letter To Louisville Metro Council

Oh really? My, my, my - what a tangled web HSUS weaves. 

I have come to admire the HSUS - they are quite the marketers.  And they adhere to the Golden Rule of Marketing - which is "Know Thy Audience".   HSUS is a strong believer in market segmentation, tailoring their messages to specific audiences. 

So to one group of people - meaning the animal-loving public - HSUS purports to oppose breed-specific legislation, however to another group of people - meaning municipal legislators, HSUS actually proposed breed-specific legislation.

Now what do you call telling one group one thing, and going behind their backs and telling another group something completely different? Two faced liars?  Good ole spinmeisters?  Back-stabbing betrayers?

In my view, you either support or oppose breed-specific legislation. 

You either support discrimination against a group of dogs - and the people who own them, or you oppose discrimination against a group of dogs - and the people who own them.

Breed-specific legislation is not just breedist,  it's elitist.  But breed-specific legislation is also inherently racist. 

Because in the minds of the public, and local legislators, driven by the media, the only people who own such dogs are criminals, gangmembers, drug dealers and dogfighters. Gee - I wonder where they got that idea?

HSUS - A Little Bit Racist?

You can't be a little bit pregnant or a little bit racist - there's no in between, is there?

You either are pregnant or you aren't.  You either are racist or you aren't. You either support BSL - or you don't.

I don't see HSUS cranking open the door to their anti-breeding agenda with Yellow Labs or Golden Retrievers, do you?   Maybe doing do might negatively impact their white, female donor base, dontcha think?

And cracking open the door to advance an agenda by using race- or class-based spin, not to mention innocent dogs, isn't quite ethical, is it?

So if BSL is inherently racist, and HSUS supports BSL, then that would make HSUS, in my view, not just breedist, not just elitist, but oh so racist.

HSUS - Pitbull Owners As Drug Dealers, Gang Members

While the rest of us are out fighting to stop BSL to save innocent dogs, HSUS has been  going behind our backs, to actually proposing  BSL .

In her letter to Louisville Metro Council in June 2006, Pam Rogers, Legislative Coordinator for HSUS writes, Download Louisvillemulti-topicfinalletter.doc ,

"Pit bulls – There is no doubt that pit bulls are in bad shape in America right now. They are likely the most popular dog in the country, but unfortunately, they are also the dogs of choice for drug dealers, gang members, and anyone else who is looking for a dog to be a status symbol".

Houston - we have a problem.    Here is HSUS pointedly, deliberately, portraying pitbulls as the dogs of criminals.

And I must say that I take umbrage with anyone or any entity that would portray me as a criminal. 

See - no one wants to include Low Life, Drug Dealing, Dog Owner Of a Baby-Killing Pitbull in their Mahjong group, do they, even if I have a set of 8 MM pearls and a membership to the club.

HSUS - Exploiting Hidden Racism -

Gee - Mr. Media Ethics Professor!  Are all criminals black?  Are all blacks criminals? Are all gang members black or Hispanic? And if so - they must all own pitbulls.

Ooops - maybe HSUS skipped that media ethics course.  Or.......... maybe, HSUS knows exactly what it's doing in terms of talking points, huh?

Article "The Pitbull Problem" - July, 2006, the St. Petersburg Times, Adam Goldfard, HSUS "Issues Specialist", is quoted saying about pitbulls, "They are the dog of choice for drug dealers, gang members and anyone else who wants a tough-looking dog."

In Feb. 27th, 2007, HSUS spokesperson, ADdam Goldfarb,  in the Houston Chronicle, said of pitbulls, "They are seen in the hip-hop culture. They are symbols for gang members. 

BTW- in PR land - the title "Issues Specialist", as in Adam Goldfard, HSUS Issues Specialist"  means a public relations role - someone to talk to the media, someone to consistently push stories, talking points or a position to the media on a particular issue.

Now, one must ask if HSUS isn't using hidden racism to drive fear and legislation by repeating the mantra that pitbulls are the "dogs of choice for drug dealers, gang members"

Just who are these pitbull-owning drug dealers and dog fighters, these crackheads and criminals?  What picture has the media painted for you of drug dealers and dog fighters?

Does the media paint drug dealers and dog fighters as white, affluent soccer moms?  Or does the media paint drug dealers and dog fighters as black urban youth in inner cities ,  or Hispanic youth out in the cornfields in the middle of the night? White trailer trash? 

Is HSUS deliberately inferring that pitbull owners are dogfighters and drug dealers (code words for Black or Hispanic or White Trash) ?  And if pitbull owners are criminals, drug dealers and dog fighters, doesn't that mean that pitbull owners will rob you blind, steal your car, kill your children and rape your wife?

HSUS - Delivering A Consistent Brand Message

Does HSUS have a brand manager?  You know, someone to train all of their people on the talking points.  If so - then they deserve a raise and lots of praise for helping an entire organization to stay on point.

Thanks to HSUS' consistent brand messaging on pitbulls, they've effectively branded anyone who owners a pitbull as criminal, dangerous, mentally unstable.

HSUS consistently criminalizes pitbull ownership as a message point in almost every letter or interview they give by deliberately linking pitbull ownership with dog fighters and drug dealers , crackheads and criminals.   

HSUS' Pam Rogers went on to say,

"Legislation banning pit bulls or requiring strict regulation will not solve the problems created by dangerous dogs".

If that is the case, then why is HSUS proposing breed-specific legislation? ...................

HSUS - Requiring Sterlization Of Pitbulls - A Benefit To The Breed

Ahhhh - so let's get to the bottom line, HSUS said,

"However, because pit bulls currently flood animal shelters in Louisville and across the country, legislation requiring their mandatory sterilization could be a benefit to the breed and to all dogs in the community".

"Requiring sterilzation of all pitbulls could be of benefit to the breed?"  Oh, yeah?  Maybe in Kory Nelson's world.

HSUS - Sterilization Of Pitbulls Will Negatively Impact Criminals

"Additionally, the mandatory sterilization of pit bulls would negatively impact those individuals who use pit bulls for fighting, guarding locations used for illegal activities, and the backyard breeders who so recklessly add to the dog overpopulation".

HSUS blatently suggests that sterilizing pitbulls will negatively impact dogfighters and criminals. 

Apparently, the Humane Society of the United States  quite comfortable doing away with the teensy problem of due process, happily skipping right over the duty of law enforcement, and profiling the owners of pitbulls as criminals.

I resent that.

But would they even dream of suggesting the same approach for Golden Retrievers or Yellow Labs?  Would the owners of Golden Retrievers and Yellow Labs have a hissy? 

Or.... are the owners of Golden Retrievers and Yellow Labs perceived as being white, or affluent or soccer moms?

HSUS also suggests that breed-specific legislation is an effective means of law enforcement - so don't bother actually enforcing local dogfighting laws.  HSUS tells LMC -  hey -don't bother going after drug dealers - basically because through breed-profiling, you can profile criminals.

There are lots of other things in this world that would negatively impact criminal behaviour, but in this society, we don't jail everyone do we?  Unlike tyrannical regimes in North Korea, or China, not to mention Iran, we actually punish those responsible for their crimes.  It's called a D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y.

HSUS - Sterilization Of Pitbulls Does Not Have Same Problems As Traditional Breed-Specific Legislation

OK - then HSUS said that,

"Requiring the sterilization of pit bulls does not have the same problems as traditional breed-specific legislation. This does not punish responsible pet owners, as truly responsible owners already have their animals sterilized".

Are you freaking kidding me? That  has to be my favorite part - the HSUS Plan B for BSL. 

HSUS was betting that the back door approach to BSL would not encounter the same public objections from all those adoring dog lovers out there.

HSUS - Sterilization & Extermination Of Pitbulls As Responsible Ownership

But make no mistake - in the realm of DogPolitics, nuthin' says luvin' like a plan to exterminate a breed.

The Humane Society of the United States  is no different than gangbanging, crackhead, drug-dealing criminals who rob, steal, and con their way through life. 

Only they do it with a suit and tie, and a poster boy from Yale with a Miss America Smile and Handwave and shiny shoes, and try to justify thier blatent discrimination against a group of dogs and discrimination against the owners of these dogs as "responsible ownership".

HSUS - Stealing Your Reputation, Taking Your Civil Rights Hostage

Pitbull and Rottweiler owners take note:  HSUS  won't hesitate to steal your dignity,  slander your reputation to criminalize you and your dog. 

HSUS won't hestitate to marginalize you and your dog to the press, the public and politicians as a means pass legislation that discriminates against you and your dog.

In the end, this means that HSUS has no problem taking your civil rights hostage with  in order to facilitate their own agenda.

HSUS uses the same fear, racism, and opportunism as every other two-bit local politician with racist wet dreams of re-election by ridding the town of pitbulls and the people who own them.

How Do You Spell R-A-T?

So if in the words of our favorite pitbill-hating animal rights activist, Ingrid Newkirk, "A boy is a dog is a rat", then we could feel quite confident making a similar analogy, which is to say, "Kory Nelson is PETA is Best Friends is HSUS is a Rat".

One could then shorten this analogy to say that, "Ingrid Newkirk  is Wayne Pacelle is Rat". And if, as they say, HSUS is PETA is a suit, that would make HSUS one big rat.

Time to call in an exterminator.

Comments

[priscilla]

I agree with you. They are WRONG. I am a caucasian woman with 3 kids and a fiance. we both have dedicated jobs, and we also have 3 pitbulls. as i told a friend, the day i am told i have to "sterilze" my 3 woderful pitbulls, i will fight it. and becuse of my legislative rights i will not let it happen to mine. and i am not a criminal, drug dealer, or dog fighter. so these dummies that classify pitbulls and their owners are pittiful ignorant fools whose mama's are ignorant also for raising them so. thank you for allowing me to speak my piece. i wish more people would fight for them.

[kathleen]

this website is ok it could be better but aleast some bodies speakin there mind,pitbulls are damn good dogs and so is any other dog, people get dogs as a pet and to protect their home not because your a durg dealer, crackhaed,criminal,gangmember, ect. Its stupid if u gonna ban pitbulls u should ban every other dog too, and it aint fair if u gotta a pitbull and u treatin it right and the HSUS take it, it aint right

[Caitlin/ pitbull mommy]

OK I know that pittbulls have a bad name but this website is shit.. Its not the breed its the damn deed.. i cant belive that someone would acually make a web page like this. Pitbulls and any other dog are like people. Pitbulls are loyal dogs they do anything for there owners. i have one myslef. I am in a organation against fighting pittbulls and animal cruelty. It people like you who made people so affraid of them.. 2 people out of the whole world have been killed by pitbulls. How many people have killed them selves by ciggaretts, or guns, or drugs? Millions. I dont see websites for those kinds of things.. you should be a ashamed of yourself and hated for this i know i hate you right now.. Your wrong and sick in the head. I have three kids, four dogs My pitt loves people and other animals. I have met many pitts that love people and animals. Mabe you need to take the time and acually look up facts about pittbulls befor you start running off at the mouth about them. Hows that for support? I think the people who fight pitt should be punished not the dog. its not the dogs fault that you have some sick twisted asswholes in this world. You need to rethink what you do. How would you like it if someone walts in your world and killed your family or you kids and laughed about it and got excited? I dont think youd like it very much. I am apauled at this website and i hope people read this and follow me to the right road. This web page needs to be deleted if not I hope nothing good comes to you!!!!!

[Caveat]

"I have to imagine if they are involved with an ILLEGAL sport, they wont care much if their dog is illegal. This will only have a negative impact on responsible owners."

Bingo, you have just summed up BSL and why it's a complete failure.

Oh, and they are bringing in breeds that are traditional fighting dogs in countries where it is legal - and they don't look at all like the breeds you mention. Surprise, everybody!

It is specious reasoning in the extreme to believe that because dogs may be owned by criminals, that the dogs are the problem and that elminating them will solve that problem.

Also, 'pit bulls' (by which I mean all the breeds and mutts that are called 'pit bulls' by the ignorant) are not the way they are portrayed by the media. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the intense repeat reporting of items featuring 'pit bulls' either correctly or mistakenly. You may see 50 or more reports of a 'pit bull' incident however minor, leading people who don't study the issue to believe there have been 50 attacks in a week. That's just one example.

There is NO breed or shape of dog that is any more or less dangerous than any other - that is what is supported by the evidence.

Most people will get dogs from their area, usually mongrels. The most popular shape of dog in the US, purebred and mixed, is hands-down the bull and terrier type. There are an average of 50% more purebred APBTs (just one breed) registered annually in the US than the next most popular breed, the Labrador retriever.

Given this popularity, it is inevitable that there will be inexperienced owners with unrealistic expectations ie, more dogs, more people, more bites. Popularity is very bad for a breed or type for that reason.

Surprisingly, though, all the breeds, lookalike breeds and mixes lumped into the 'pit bull' category are actually under-represented in bite databases.

Go figure.

[Gabrielle]

While I agree HSUS is full of shit when they say that required sterilization of all pit bulls is not as bad as "traditional" bsl. You keep accusing them of saying all pit bull owners are criminals when I don't see them saying that anywhere. They said they are popular with criminals, (because of their reputation), isn't that true? Isn't it irresponsible owners who caused this whole problem in the first place. If you say all pit bull owners are decent law abiding citizens then that would definitely make Pit Bulls out to be the unstable vicious dogs that the media portrays. I'd also like to add that HSUS is full of shit when they say it will "negatively impact those individuals who use Pit Bulls for fighting..." BULL SHIT. Even if it were true that all pit owners were criminals, they would just move on to the next breed of dog, a Tosa Inu, maybe a wolf hybrid. That is if they actually cared that owning an unneutered Pit Bull was against the law. I have to imagine if they are involved with an ILLEGAL sport, they wont care much if their dog is illegal. This will only have a negative impact on responsible owners.

[Julie]

They are not bad dogs if you treat them right. if you terrorize them of course they will be mean to you and this lady needs to stop back stabbing all of us who are trying to help these dogs get out of trouble and stop them from being banned.

[Eric dominguez]

i luv pit bulls fuk who ever trying to get reads of them

[Sandra Werner]

I believe 100 percent in EQUAL RIGHTS FOR PITBULLS. I've had three and I love them all too much. What I would like to say is that, as much as I love them, have had them professionally trained, and NEVER encouraged any type of agression - my mother&daughter pits who live w/me have broken my heart and tried to kill eachother more than once. They've been separated for five years because of the traumatic things they have done to eachother. I brought a little frenchie (male) into the home so both girls could have someone to play with while they were "out" and after four months of mothering, snuggling and playing. . . my mother dog(8 yrs old) who's always loved cats, lizards, etc. killed my frenchie over one piece of kibble.
I don't think other breeds are exept from this behavior. I do think that pits have the capacity to do life-ending damage to another dog in a fraction of the time of other dogs.
I fell in love w/the breed and did much research, but nothing prepared me for what has happened in my family. S. WERNER

EDITOR"S NOTE: Dear Sandra - I am sorry to hear about your Frenchie. You are correct - Dog-n-Dog aggression is not uncommon. Any of hte bully breeds may be dog aggressive or have a high prey drive. Remember - ANY large dog has the capacity to hurt or kill smaller dogs, not just pitbulls. Dog owners need to be aware and understand this, and never leave dog-aggressive dogs alone with other dogs, and crate them for safety while you are at work. I am glad you are a fan of the breed.

[Pitbulls - Arland]

HSUS and PETA frankly are very screwed up. They wouldn't know what the right to do would be unless it bit them in the butt. Maybe all HSUS proponents should be sterilized so we can slowly reduce them to extinction.

[Jennifer]

I am not a drug dealer (don't even do drugs, not a convict (never been arrested, and certainly not a gang banger (that scares me! I am a professional teacher with a Master's Degree in Education, single woman and just simply love dogs. I am educated, not looking for a status symbol from a dog. My pit bull is my best friend and is 5 years old. I have raised her from 11 weeks and I can't imagine not having her in my life. I spayed her at my choice but I certainly do not agree with mandatory sterilization! I have never met a mean Pit Bull!

[Caveat]

My last comment sounded a bit egocentric.

By 'I'm fighting BSL' and 'to the best of my ability', I meant that there is a small hard core group of people across the continent who are fully engaged in the battle.

The 'I' should have been 'we'.

Sorry about that, DP and others!!!

[Caveat]

HSUS, according to a friend of mine, is actually responsible for cruelty to dogs. Apparently, over a decade ago the last time they were trying to stop dogfighting, they released statements and literature describing how fighting dogs were treated.

Of course, it was all bulls**t, they were probably strung along by some kid playing with their heads.

Problem was, the morons who get a kick out of watching animals fight but have no love for dogs followed HSUS's recipe and started abusing their dogs. Vicious circle.

Nice work, guys.

The 'dog overpopulation' meme got old with me a long time ago. I don't believe it. Prove it.

There are more people now, folks, so there are more dogs. There will, unfortunately, always be dogs looking for new homes, it's a sad fact of life. Go to your shelter and take a look. Most of the dogs around here, SW Ontario, are 8 - 10-month old male pups who were cute when tiny and were mishandled and encouraged to do stupid things. Suddenly, they are large bundles of energy who are knocking the kids over, biting the leash, counter-cruising, etc, so it's off to the shelter.

Even some 'pit bull' rescues support s/n of 'pit bulls', playing right into the hands of the AR hypocrites.

'Pit bull' bans are supported as the first step down the road to the elimination of pet dogs.

I wish more people could see it.

By the way, if 'pit bulls' are the most popular dog in the US (and they are, both purebred and mutts, by a huge margin), then are they saying that this demographic is composed of bottom feeding criminals?

Sounds like a serious social problem, in that case. Dogs are irrelevant.

Since everyone knows that criminals are a tiny minority, I fail to see what difference the shape of their dog makes. They're going to be lowlives whether they own dogs or not.

I just wish all the dog owners, whether they drive a Rolls and keep fancy show dogs or take the bus and own a scruffy little mutt, would stand up and make some noise.

It's getting lonely out here and if the AR whackjobs have their way, it's going to get a lot lonelier. There won't be any dogs, folks. I firmly believe that, which is why I'm fighting BSL to the best of my ability.

Just hope 'the best of my ability' is good enough.

[Bryan]

They say that pit bulls are likely the mos popular breed of dog in the United States and then say it is a problem that they are popular with criminals.

Isn't it to be expected that large numbers of criminals would own the most popular breed of dog in the United States?

Editor's Note: What if Al Gore & other environmentalists consistently & repeatedly made statements that gas guzzling Hummers were driven by gang members, to the point wehre most members of the public viewed anyone with a Hummer as a criminal.

Would you expect the government to then enact a laws that restrict people from owning Hummbers or ban Hummers?

And then - would you pull over the drivers of those Hummers, especially if they are black, Hispanics, etc.?

[pitbullEmily]

HSUS and all their acolytes in the pit bull rescue world... throwing away the rights of people to choose whether or not to s/n their pets... and, dare we suggest, risking the health of their dogs (at risk from consequences of early s/n), all in the name of "helping" the breed.

Because nothing is more important than reducing the numbers of pit bulls in shelters..

Destroying the village in order to save it.