As revolting as the revelations about some HSUS officials are, those who
recently resigned or were let go did at least bring farmed animals as
individuals with feelings and intelligence into mainstream focus for the
first
time in HSUS history. This is not to excuse anything, but to say that a
change
in HSUS leadership and workplace conduct may not mean that the organization
will
now show more progressive leadership on behalf of farmed animals and
veganism. I
worry it will revert to its more traditional programs and attitudes even if
the
offensive office behavior is eliminated.
As for sexual harassment of women and worse, while women rightly object to
being
treated as objects whose bodies may be physically assaulted and
disrespected by
men, this experience, magnified a trillion times over, is precisely what
chickens and pigs and cows and all farmed animals, “laboratory” animals,
aquatic
animals, “entertainment” animals and others endure endlessly at the hands
of our
species.
If we are outraged that certain male employees in our movement have
disrespected
their female colleagues physically and professionally, we had better stand
up
and be counted for our nonhuman animal victims for whom interspecies sexual
assault and every form of intimate, repulsive violence perpetrated by human
beings against them and their bodies is their experience of being alive in
the
flesh. Veganism is not a superficial “food choice.” It is ethical activism
on
behalf of the most profoundly, helplessly victimized beings on the planet.
Animal agriculture is now, and always has been, rooted in violating the sex
organs, mating choices, and reproductive processes of helpless animals.
Humans
“breeding” animals – the very word breeding – is an obscenity. We cannot
claim
to care about animals while obscenely consuming their muscles, their nursing
mother’s milk and their eggs, or suggesting to others that these
obscenities may
be practiced “humanely.”
As animal advocates, we must amplify the animals’ voices and be their
Voice: “ME
TOO!”
For a comprehensive look at interspecies sexual assault of farmed animals
for
business and pleasure, please see and share my article Interspecies Sexual
<http://www.upc-online.org/turkeys/170613_interspecies_sexual_assault-a_moral_perspective_full_article.html>
Assault: A Moral Perspective
<http://www.upc-online.org/turkeys/170613_interspecies_sexual_assault-a_moral_perspective_full_article.html>
.
Karen Davis, PhD
President
United Poultry Concerns
—
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes
the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
Don’t just switch from beef to chicken. Go Vegan.
http://www.UPC-online.org/ http://www.twitter.com/upcnews
http://www.facebook.com/UnitedPoultryConcerns
View this article online
<http://upc-online.org/alerts/180205_animal_people_and_sexual_misconduct.html>
Exposing the Big Game 
Excellent points by Karen Davis.
I wonder in which direction the HSUS will go under a new director. Will it take PETA’s more “radical” policy of promoting veganism and risk losing members or continue without change?
No organization can totally win the members/morals choice. PETA is the most hated animal group because of its “extreme” mission. But the HSUS has many haters among the hunters and other exploiters.
Just waiting to see here . . .
Reblogged this on The Extinction Chronicles.
Yes, it’s worrisome what will happen next. I always liked that Wayne Pacelle was able to reach the mainstream very well – not everybody was happy, but I think he did bring these issues to people very well.
I certainly think that sexual assault, harassment and hostile work environments are serious matters, but I don’t want to see things devolve into a ‘people are more important than animals’ view.
What bothers me most is that the chargers were never more than allegations, and we are destroying lives and careers without due process. Not good.
Most of these type of allegations going around can’t easily be proven, but when the accused step down for their job or position, it seems like an admission of guilt, or at least that know they can’t beat the “rap.” It must be hard to step down from an almost $400,000. a year salary; not a step to be taken lightly.
Sadly, for all the good that Wayne did at the HSUS, there was quite a bit of devolving for the animals going on for the animals there at the same time–especially lately. A lot of major compromises in hopes to win more members’ donation dollars.
For example, a few years back, in Washington, HSUS started a campaign to ban cages for egg-laying hens. They asked members who had worked on their past successful efforts to ban hound hunting, bear baiting and trapping in WA to help gather signatures to get a new bill in the state. As much as I hate going around gathering signatures on something I knew most people in my small town didn’t care about, my wife and made special trips to the local farmers’ market (where animal exploitation in the name of organic “farming”was a common sight) and endured hearing people’s bad attitudes to come up with a few hesitant people’s signatures.
But before we could send in our hard-earned petitions, the HSUS had decided to compromise big time for the chickens and agree to drop the WA campaign in exchange for getting a few more inches of room in the chickens cages and some plastic “enrichment” attached to the bars of the cages (as though the millions of chickens were someones pet parakeet who were let out once in a while to ride around on their shoulders).
So, as much as I feel badly for the HSUS’ former CEO, I can only hope that the HSUS will find a president who cares enough for the right of others (all animals) that these kind of things won’t happen in the future.
The actor James Franco is going through the same thing. I read today that his high school is taking down a painting he had done when he was a student because of similar allegations! That kind of thinking is waaaaaay over the top, and it isn’t unique.
Karen, you are an eloquent voice for the animals.
The new acting President Kitty Block has a video up – I feel better now having watched it.
Good to hear.
I don’t so much see his resignation as an admission of guilt as something agreed to be done to do the least amount of damage to the organization. When the Board decided to keep him, 7 members/lobbyists quit, NOW freaked out, and they probably figured many would withdraw their support.
I really, really resent the intrusion of this upon the mission of the HSUS.
It’s not even really being reported anywhere except the Big Ag publications, who I feel have been given a gift by ignorance.