Category: Editorials

Editorial: Examining the odds for an end to horse slaughter

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2013:

Editorial feature: Examining the odds for an end to horse slaughter

Either pending legislation or ongoing litigation could bring the resumption of horse slaughter within the U.S. for human consumption this winter,  or close off the possibility.  Which might happen is anyone’s bet.  It is even possible that court decisions will allow horse slaughter to resume for a time,  only to be again stopped by Congress,  as it was in 2007. Read more

Editorial #2: Time for a new national wild horse policy––covering all wild horses

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2013:

Editorial #2: Time for a new national wild horse policy––covering all wild horses Kim Bartlett [Photo credit: Kim Bartlett ] Data showing how many horses have been sold to slaughter per year,  nationwide,  can be extrapolated from readily available public records going all the way back to 1850.  Throughout this time,  coinciding with the advent of railways that enabled brokers to transport animals long distances to slaughter,  the overwhelming majority of horses sold to slaughter have been either those at the end of their working utility to humans,  or the unwanted surplus from speculative breeding.  Speculative breeding rose rapidly as a source of horses sent to slaughter as employment of horses for transportation declined. Read more

Editorial feature: Successful neuter/return must recognize reality

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

By Kim Bartlett and Merritt Clifton

 Playing at Parcul Tei in central Bucharest,  Romania,  four-year-old Ionut Anghel and his six-year-old brother on September 2,  2013 wandered briefly out of sight of their grandmother,  through a hole in the park fence,  into a large vacant lot that offered dirt piles to climb and access to the marshy edge of the Danube river.  They might have mistaken for friendly the six dogs who rose to attack them.  The six-year-old, though injured,  escaped to tell his grandmother that Ionut Anghel was dead.  Rushing to the scene,  the grandmother and other Parcul Tei visitors found the dogs already devouring the remains.

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The science of how behavior is inherited in aggressive dogs

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July-August 2013:

by Alexandra Semyonova

 Probably most people recognize that every dog breed results from human manipulation of inherited physical traits.  Until recently,  most people probably also recognized that much dog behavior is also a result of manipulating inheritance:  if you want to do sheep trials,  you get a border collie.  If you get a beagle,  he will likely become instantly deaf to your calls if he picks up a scent to track.  Read more

Editorials: Asian dog & cat meat trade could be on the way out

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July-August 2013:

Editorial feature: Asian dog & cat meat trade could be on the way out 

By Kim Bartlett & Merritt Clifton

Recent developments signify that dog and cat meat industries of Southeast Asia,  South Korea,  and China may be approaching the beginning of their end,  if current campaigns sustain present momentum.  The dog and cat meat industries are vulnerable to eradication through a combination of factors,  including rising education and affluence,  the increasing popularity of keeping dogs and cats as household pets,  and democratization of traditionally oligarchic and patriarchal societies,  so that women and younger people––who are more likely to be sympathetic toward animals––have more say in what goes on.  

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Editorial feature: Horse doctoring & the ethical evolution of veterinarians

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2013:

By Merritt Clifton & Kim Bartlett

The American Veterinary Medical Association,  150 years old this year,  has from the beginning pitched a broad tent.  The AVMA is at once a trade association representing the economic concerns of veterinarians;  a professional body setting veterinary standards;  an umbrella for ongoing efforts to advance veterinary science;  a provider of continuing professional education to vets;  a disaster relief agency;  a provider of public education about animal issues;  and an entity which seeks to influence public policy. Read more

Editorial feature: Gun control, “boomers,” & the future of hunting

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2013:

Editorial feature:  Gun control,  “boomers,” & the future of hunting   by Merritt Clifton & Kim Bartlett

 

“In the matter of gun control,  our main concern is rightly for the human victims of mass shootings,”  wrote veteran journalist Dick Meister on January 18,  2013 for California Progress Report.   “But what of the other defenseless animals who die at the hands of humans?  What of the hunting rifles that are cited as legitimate simply because they are not rapid-fire weapons,  the guns that are used by hunters to kill so many of our fellow beings in the name of sport?   Read more

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