The vigilantes are coming....
Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 5:40 pm
PALM BEACH, FL – Animal rights activists in many parts of the country are
proving the adage that paranoia doesn’t necessarily mean dog owners are crazy.
Cities and counties that have enacted repressive ordinances targeting dog
owners are increasingly using volunteers as a major tool to enforce the law.
Not surprisingly, only animal rights activists are likely to be accepted as
volunteers. Many of these activists are opposed to the private ownership of
animals in any form, and most of them are willing to accept what they term animal
“guardianship” only under strict government regulation.
The vigilantes are coming!
That is true in Los Angeles, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. It also is
true in several states where volunteer animal rights activists are routinely
sent undercover to investigate allegations of animal cruelty and even to check
out people who advertise a litter of puppies in local newspapers.
But Palm Beach County, Florida, has made vigilantism into an art form, and
Los Angeles may be preparing to carry it to the nth degree.
Volunteer activists in Palm Beach County have been sworn in, given badges
and uniforms, and granted the authority to enter private homes to check for
violations of a new mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, animal cruelty and other
possible dog law violations.
These members of the “Palm Beach County Citizen Animal Patrol” are
empowered to issue formal written warnings for noncompliance and turn in the
information to regular animal control officers for official investigation and
prosecution.
According to a county announcement of the program, search warrants are not
needed for these volunteers to inspect private homes or privately owned pets.
The county’s official position is that “The hobby breeders who have a permit
from the county have already given implied consent to these people to enter
their homes by signing the permit.”
That is the little known fine print of dog and kennel licenses in almost
every state: If you buy a license, you sign away your right to privacy. If you
don’t buy a license, of course, you are breaking the law and can get busted.
Catch 22!
In many other areas of civil law, such as with zoning and building permits,
obtaining a license has been viewed in court as prima facie permission for
government officials to inspect private property. This precedent is now being
extended to dog laws, and citizen patrols to “rat out” noncompliant neighbors
are being seen as important enforcement tools.
Spying on their neighbors and intimidating dog owners is only one part of
the job description of the Palm Beach County Citizen Animal Patrol. Other
duties include answering newspaper ads placed by people who advertise puppies for
sale, contacting dog clubs for breeder referrals, and even setting up
surveillance at dog shows.
If they see anything they consider suspicious or a possible violation of the
law, they are told to report the information to animal control to start a
full investigation.
In the world of crime, they would be called snitches. In the world of animal
law, they see themselves as on a mission to save helpless animals from
exploitation.
According to an article in the Palm Beach Post newspaper, citizen patrols
will help increase enforcement without adding to municipal costs.
Local officials stress the “public education” aspect of the citizen
patrols, but are noticeably quiet about the surveillance and enforcement aspects of
the volunteer positions.
This pattern is apparent in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, which passed
draconian pet sterilization ordinances within the past year. Volunteers are
being actively recruited in those Texas cities to help “educate” people about
the new laws. As in most places, these citizens groups are comprised almost
entirely of animal rights activists, and each application must be approved by a
quasi-official advisory board that consists of animal rights activists.
People who advocate the right to own dogs need not apply.
Dog owners are convinced that these volunteers also will be used to find and
turn in people who do not follow the laws.
Los Angeles appears to be adding its own twist.
The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, directed by animal rights
extremist Ed Boks, has set up a program of Directors of Animal Welfare,
nicknamed DAWs. The city has been divided into 86 different “neighborhoods,” and
thus far a reported 44 of the positions have been filled. According to an
announcement from Boks, some of these appointees do not live within the City of Los
Angeles.
The DAWs website profiles the backgrounds of many of the appointees, and
they read like a who’s who of the animal rights movement in Los Angeles. Many of
the profiles tout the appointees’ close ties to the radical Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS) and the ultra-radical People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA). Many of the profiles also tout radical vegetarian
activism, opposition to the use of animals in circuses and other darling causes
of the animal rights elite. Overall, it is clear that the vast majority of
these people oppose the private ownership of animals, and are totally opposed
to the right to breed dogs.
Please read some of the profiles for yourself: _http://www.dawprogram.org/_
(http://www.dawprogram.org/) .
The DAWS Board also has several committees, including an “Animals Are Not
Property Committee,” whose members are listed as Andrea Boyington, Adele
Langdon, Tina Reynolds and Patti Sugarman. Each of these people has published ties
to radical animal rights groups.
None of the profiles indicate that the appointees breed dogs, show dogs,
compete with dogs, or belong to any organization that works to protect the
rights of dog owners. Not one.
A very ominous sign is that DAWs has gone underground since Los Angeles
passed an exceedingly restrictive spay and neuter mandate this year. The DAWs
meetings used to be advertised on their website, agendas used to be published,
and minutes were displayed online.
Since August, all public accountability and openness have been removed from
the DAWs website.
In addition, the DAWs volunteer manual has been withdrawn for complete
revision, and is no longer available to the public.
An announcement from Boks called the DAWs appointees “the eyes and ears for
the animals in their areas.”
In other words, being snitches is one of their duties.
The DAWs mission statement says: “DAWs provide a voice and a form of
political representation for nonhuman animals.” That line is straight out of the
PETA textbook.
Perhaps the most common use of animal rights activists as volunteers has
been for undercover work and surveillance in animal cruelty investigations.
Because these volunteers have no official designation, the use of them is not
subject to constitutional protections against searches without warrants. They go
under cover as private citizens, and then file complaints with animal
cruelty police officers. They work with the officers, and their identities are not
revealed. The officers use these “complaints” as legal grounds to obtain a
search warrant.
The most famous use of undercover volunteers occurred at a California
slaughterhouse that was highly publicized this year and led to a complete overhaul
of federal and state inspections.
A large percentage of animal cruelty cases in several states rely on animal
rights activists to go undercover into private kennels and dog events, and
their observations and opinions are relayed as “semi-anonymous complaints” to
humane police officers in order to obtain search warrants. “Semi-anonymous”
means that these people’s identities are known to the officers and judge, but
are not revealed to the public or the person who is accused.
A common tactic is for these activists to pose as puppy buyers when
responding to advertisements in newspapers or online, or to appear at dog events as a
spectator. This tactic is so common that virtually anyone who advertises
puppies for sale in many areas of the country can expect to be visited by
undercover activists pretending to be looking for a puppy. Usually they are easy to
spot. They are mostly college-aged people who know little about the breed of
the puppies that are for sale.
Sometimes it gets much more organized. For example, the toll of animals from
Hurricane Katrina has led to the formation of many “disaster rescue groups.”
They raise money locally to rescue animals from disasters, and sometimes
get contributions of tax dollars.
Fortunately, disasters are rare in most places. But these programs allow a
well-funded team of animal rights activist/volunteers to perform organized
surveillance work. For example, a Venango County, PA, disaster rescue group
received newspaper coverage this year for playing the key undercover role that
led to the animal cruelty prosecution of a “puppy mill” in West Virginia.
Another Pennsylvania situation that we reported this year was how animal
rights activists have begun to take over local zoning boards, in order to
require people who seek a permit to build a kennel to meet impossible demands. In
one case that would be amusing if it hadn’t harmed a person who wanted to
build a kennel, these activists required an applicant for a kennel permit to
promise that none of his dogs would be mated naturally.
What can we do about it?
The first thing that dog owners must do is to understand that there is a
planned takeover of local boards and commissions by animal rights groups, and
that this has been happening behind the scenes for many years.
Thus, vigilance is the first step. Find out what official or quasi-official
groups have been created in your town and county that work on animal issues.
Animal shelter or animal control advisory boards are common examples.
Then, learn the names of the members of these boards and committees. These
names should be public records, and also may be found by looking up the group’
s website. Chances are an Internet search will yield many connections to
animal rights groups.
The next step is educating public officials about the real agenda of animal
rights groups such as HSUS and PETA, and, if possible, showing verified
connections to members of local boards. Letters to the editor of local newspapers
are another good approach, if you have documentation.
However, the most important thing you can do is to volunteer to serve on any
board, commission or committee in your town or county that deals with animal
issues. Let your elected officials know that you want to serve on these
boards, and volunteer to fill any current or future openings.
Our goal should be to have as many dog owners and people who support the
rights of dog owners as possible on any board, committee or commission. It is
vital for us to be able to begin to reverse the animal rights strategy of
taking over local boards.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance will assist local dog owners in any way
possible to accomplish this important goal.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and
professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We welcome
people who work with other breeds, too, as legislative issues affect all of us. We
are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and
to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains
its rightful place in American society and life.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can
continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership,
participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are
funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.
Please visit us on the web at _http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org_
(http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org/) . Our email is _asda@csonline.net_
(mailto:asda@csonline.net) . Complete directions to join by mail or online
are found at the bottom left of each page.
PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS
Have You Joined Yet?
The American Sporting Dog Alliance
_http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org_
(http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
proving the adage that paranoia doesn’t necessarily mean dog owners are crazy.
Cities and counties that have enacted repressive ordinances targeting dog
owners are increasingly using volunteers as a major tool to enforce the law.
Not surprisingly, only animal rights activists are likely to be accepted as
volunteers. Many of these activists are opposed to the private ownership of
animals in any form, and most of them are willing to accept what they term animal
“guardianship” only under strict government regulation.
The vigilantes are coming!
That is true in Los Angeles, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. It also is
true in several states where volunteer animal rights activists are routinely
sent undercover to investigate allegations of animal cruelty and even to check
out people who advertise a litter of puppies in local newspapers.
But Palm Beach County, Florida, has made vigilantism into an art form, and
Los Angeles may be preparing to carry it to the nth degree.
Volunteer activists in Palm Beach County have been sworn in, given badges
and uniforms, and granted the authority to enter private homes to check for
violations of a new mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, animal cruelty and other
possible dog law violations.
These members of the “Palm Beach County Citizen Animal Patrol” are
empowered to issue formal written warnings for noncompliance and turn in the
information to regular animal control officers for official investigation and
prosecution.
According to a county announcement of the program, search warrants are not
needed for these volunteers to inspect private homes or privately owned pets.
The county’s official position is that “The hobby breeders who have a permit
from the county have already given implied consent to these people to enter
their homes by signing the permit.”
That is the little known fine print of dog and kennel licenses in almost
every state: If you buy a license, you sign away your right to privacy. If you
don’t buy a license, of course, you are breaking the law and can get busted.
Catch 22!
In many other areas of civil law, such as with zoning and building permits,
obtaining a license has been viewed in court as prima facie permission for
government officials to inspect private property. This precedent is now being
extended to dog laws, and citizen patrols to “rat out” noncompliant neighbors
are being seen as important enforcement tools.
Spying on their neighbors and intimidating dog owners is only one part of
the job description of the Palm Beach County Citizen Animal Patrol. Other
duties include answering newspaper ads placed by people who advertise puppies for
sale, contacting dog clubs for breeder referrals, and even setting up
surveillance at dog shows.
If they see anything they consider suspicious or a possible violation of the
law, they are told to report the information to animal control to start a
full investigation.
In the world of crime, they would be called snitches. In the world of animal
law, they see themselves as on a mission to save helpless animals from
exploitation.
According to an article in the Palm Beach Post newspaper, citizen patrols
will help increase enforcement without adding to municipal costs.
Local officials stress the “public education” aspect of the citizen
patrols, but are noticeably quiet about the surveillance and enforcement aspects of
the volunteer positions.
This pattern is apparent in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, which passed
draconian pet sterilization ordinances within the past year. Volunteers are
being actively recruited in those Texas cities to help “educate” people about
the new laws. As in most places, these citizens groups are comprised almost
entirely of animal rights activists, and each application must be approved by a
quasi-official advisory board that consists of animal rights activists.
People who advocate the right to own dogs need not apply.
Dog owners are convinced that these volunteers also will be used to find and
turn in people who do not follow the laws.
Los Angeles appears to be adding its own twist.
The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, directed by animal rights
extremist Ed Boks, has set up a program of Directors of Animal Welfare,
nicknamed DAWs. The city has been divided into 86 different “neighborhoods,” and
thus far a reported 44 of the positions have been filled. According to an
announcement from Boks, some of these appointees do not live within the City of Los
Angeles.
The DAWs website profiles the backgrounds of many of the appointees, and
they read like a who’s who of the animal rights movement in Los Angeles. Many of
the profiles tout the appointees’ close ties to the radical Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS) and the ultra-radical People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA). Many of the profiles also tout radical vegetarian
activism, opposition to the use of animals in circuses and other darling causes
of the animal rights elite. Overall, it is clear that the vast majority of
these people oppose the private ownership of animals, and are totally opposed
to the right to breed dogs.
Please read some of the profiles for yourself: _http://www.dawprogram.org/_
(http://www.dawprogram.org/) .
The DAWS Board also has several committees, including an “Animals Are Not
Property Committee,” whose members are listed as Andrea Boyington, Adele
Langdon, Tina Reynolds and Patti Sugarman. Each of these people has published ties
to radical animal rights groups.
None of the profiles indicate that the appointees breed dogs, show dogs,
compete with dogs, or belong to any organization that works to protect the
rights of dog owners. Not one.
A very ominous sign is that DAWs has gone underground since Los Angeles
passed an exceedingly restrictive spay and neuter mandate this year. The DAWs
meetings used to be advertised on their website, agendas used to be published,
and minutes were displayed online.
Since August, all public accountability and openness have been removed from
the DAWs website.
In addition, the DAWs volunteer manual has been withdrawn for complete
revision, and is no longer available to the public.
An announcement from Boks called the DAWs appointees “the eyes and ears for
the animals in their areas.”
In other words, being snitches is one of their duties.
The DAWs mission statement says: “DAWs provide a voice and a form of
political representation for nonhuman animals.” That line is straight out of the
PETA textbook.
Perhaps the most common use of animal rights activists as volunteers has
been for undercover work and surveillance in animal cruelty investigations.
Because these volunteers have no official designation, the use of them is not
subject to constitutional protections against searches without warrants. They go
under cover as private citizens, and then file complaints with animal
cruelty police officers. They work with the officers, and their identities are not
revealed. The officers use these “complaints” as legal grounds to obtain a
search warrant.
The most famous use of undercover volunteers occurred at a California
slaughterhouse that was highly publicized this year and led to a complete overhaul
of federal and state inspections.
A large percentage of animal cruelty cases in several states rely on animal
rights activists to go undercover into private kennels and dog events, and
their observations and opinions are relayed as “semi-anonymous complaints” to
humane police officers in order to obtain search warrants. “Semi-anonymous”
means that these people’s identities are known to the officers and judge, but
are not revealed to the public or the person who is accused.
A common tactic is for these activists to pose as puppy buyers when
responding to advertisements in newspapers or online, or to appear at dog events as a
spectator. This tactic is so common that virtually anyone who advertises
puppies for sale in many areas of the country can expect to be visited by
undercover activists pretending to be looking for a puppy. Usually they are easy to
spot. They are mostly college-aged people who know little about the breed of
the puppies that are for sale.
Sometimes it gets much more organized. For example, the toll of animals from
Hurricane Katrina has led to the formation of many “disaster rescue groups.”
They raise money locally to rescue animals from disasters, and sometimes
get contributions of tax dollars.
Fortunately, disasters are rare in most places. But these programs allow a
well-funded team of animal rights activist/volunteers to perform organized
surveillance work. For example, a Venango County, PA, disaster rescue group
received newspaper coverage this year for playing the key undercover role that
led to the animal cruelty prosecution of a “puppy mill” in West Virginia.
Another Pennsylvania situation that we reported this year was how animal
rights activists have begun to take over local zoning boards, in order to
require people who seek a permit to build a kennel to meet impossible demands. In
one case that would be amusing if it hadn’t harmed a person who wanted to
build a kennel, these activists required an applicant for a kennel permit to
promise that none of his dogs would be mated naturally.
What can we do about it?
The first thing that dog owners must do is to understand that there is a
planned takeover of local boards and commissions by animal rights groups, and
that this has been happening behind the scenes for many years.
Thus, vigilance is the first step. Find out what official or quasi-official
groups have been created in your town and county that work on animal issues.
Animal shelter or animal control advisory boards are common examples.
Then, learn the names of the members of these boards and committees. These
names should be public records, and also may be found by looking up the group’
s website. Chances are an Internet search will yield many connections to
animal rights groups.
The next step is educating public officials about the real agenda of animal
rights groups such as HSUS and PETA, and, if possible, showing verified
connections to members of local boards. Letters to the editor of local newspapers
are another good approach, if you have documentation.
However, the most important thing you can do is to volunteer to serve on any
board, commission or committee in your town or county that deals with animal
issues. Let your elected officials know that you want to serve on these
boards, and volunteer to fill any current or future openings.
Our goal should be to have as many dog owners and people who support the
rights of dog owners as possible on any board, committee or commission. It is
vital for us to be able to begin to reverse the animal rights strategy of
taking over local boards.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance will assist local dog owners in any way
possible to accomplish this important goal.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and
professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We welcome
people who work with other breeds, too, as legislative issues affect all of us. We
are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and
to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains
its rightful place in American society and life.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can
continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership,
participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are
funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.
Please visit us on the web at _http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org_
(http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org/) . Our email is _asda@csonline.net_
(mailto:asda@csonline.net) . Complete directions to join by mail or online
are found at the bottom left of each page.
PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS
Have You Joined Yet?
The American Sporting Dog Alliance
_http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org_
(http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org