Animal Rights Edmonton

The Guzoo Disaster Part II

2011-06-08T20:23:00.001-06:00

Apparently my last post touched a nerve with the self rightious animal welfare hypocrites. According to some of these caring people I am just one step away from being another Stalin! At least I think that is the gist of their comments since most of them are apparently functionally illiterate since they can't seem to put together a coherent sentence. Some examples of the literary masterpieces I received are, "U R an ashole to suport Guzoo it is bad place for poor animels" and "I h8 U fag guzoo kills animals 4 fun". Needless to say the rest of their messages were even more delightful and well written and I am sure they will be shocked to find that they are not getting posted on my blog.

What seemed to bother a great many of the animal welfare hypocrites is the fact that I laid the blame for the deaths of the Guzoo animals on their doorstep with equal blame going to the spineless Minister of Sustainable Resources, Mel Knight and the rest of the members of the present Alberta government. They may be offended by this assessment, however, I stand by my original post. The animal welfare hypocrites were the ones who pushed for this and Mel Knight, unlike his predecessor, Ted Morton, gave into them. They gave no thought to anything beyond forcing the closure of Guzoo. As I stated in my original post true animal rights activists ensure that they have homes for animals they rescue or liberate before they enter in any action. Animal welfare hypocrites on the other hand go off on a tangent without any thought for the consequences of their actions. In this case the consequence of their actions is the deaths of the animals at Guzoo. While they would like to blame Lynn Gustafson, or me, or the supporters of Guzoo the reality is that the blame for the deaths of the animals at Guzoo can be placed directly at the feet of the Alberta Government, CAZA, Zoocheck and the assorted animal welfare hypocrites who pushed for the closure of Guzoo. The blood of these animals is on their hands and no on elses.

The animal welfare hypocrites are also upset that Lynn will not cooperate or have anything to do with Zoocheck (who suddenly is so concerned about what happens to the animals at Guzoo) or CAZA. Why would he have anything to do with either of these organizations who have slandered him and Guzoo at every opportunity. Neither Zoocheck nor CAZA have any credibility in this or any other matter. As I stated in my intial post CAZA is an industry group that offers accreditation to zoos who pay the assessed fees to achieve this accreditation. A shining example of how effective their accreditation program is can be seen at the Calgary Zoo where animals are killed by incompetent and negligent staff at a rate that far exceeds any other zoo. As for Zoocheck one of the members of one of their "expert" panels that visited Guzoo and slammed absolutely everything about it was David Leeb who is the head of Edmonton Animal Services (also known as the "pound"). Mr. Leeb presides over a department that, unlike every other animal services department in North America refuses to allow adoptions from its facility and gleefully kill thousands of animals each year. Mr. Leeb and his staff will claim that they send adoptable animals over to the Edmonton Humane Society but the reality is that this does not happen in a great many cases. Perhaps now that they are in the same facility as the EHS fewer animals will be killed but I doubt it. Several years ago I made the mistake of turning a stray cat over to Edmonton Animal Services and advised that I would provide it with a home if it's owners did not come forward. After a few days a message was left on my answering machine saying that the owners had not come forward and left a number to call if I was still wanting to provide a home for the cat. The message was left midafternoon and when I called them the next morning at approximately 11:00 AM I was told that they had killed the cat that morning. Anyone who is in charge of a department that does this is qualified to assess another facility?! Give me a break. Mr. Leeb is also the same person who when I inquired why Edmonton Animal Services, unlike every other animal shelter, refused to utilize volunteers claimed that volunteers were too expensive. The last time I checked volunteers provide their services for free. This is the caliber of "experts" that Zoocheck relies on.

No amount of righteous indignation on the part of the animal welfare hypocrites changes the fact that they are responsible for the deaths of the animals at Guzoo. The blood is on their hands and they must take responsibility for this

The Guzoo Disaster

2011-06-05T21:04:00.000-06:00

It has been far too long since I posted here but I have been really busy working on the book I am writing on a topic totally unrelated to animals and animal rights. The end is almost in sight for this project which will make my agent extremely happy since it has taken far longer than either of us had planned. With the end in sight I hope to get back to posting here on a far more regular basis since there is so much going on in Canada that impacts animals and the fight for their rights. As a result of feedback that I have received I have changed the name of the blog back to Animal Rights Edmonton.

There has never been a shortage of criticism of Guzoo Animal Farm in Three Hills and I was one of it's harshest critics until a few years ago when I visited the facility the first time and had the opportunity on that occasion and subsequent occasions to meet with both Bill and Lynn Gustafson. I was open with both Bill and Lynn about my beliefs which in most cases is enough to get chased out of just about any animal facility. Even asking questions about, for example, the University of Alberta is enough to get you labelled as a terrorist and an obligatory visit from CSIS (Thanks very much Harry Davis you cowardly piece of garbage). This was not the reception I received from Lynn who I met that day or Bill that I met on a subsequent visit. I was not, and never have been, thrilled with Guzoo. There are a multitude of improvements that can and should be made and Lynn never denied that this was the case. Guzoo was, however, not a large zoo with the budget of zoos like the Toronto or Calgary Zoo so Lynn and the staff were committed to making changes as finances permitted. I took them at their word and in subsequent visits (none of which I let Lynn or anyone else at Guzoo know I was planning) I usually saw at least some small improvements. My decision to support and work with Guzoo rather than against them rubbed certain members of the moribund "animal rights" community in Edmonton (for the record the only "animal rights" group left operating (?) in Edmonton is an animal welfare group that protests the Shrine Circus and the Canadian Finals Rodeo while ignoring the massive slaughter of animals occurring at the University of Alberta and other labs in Edmonton, but I digress!) the wrong way. This resulted in certain members deciding that they would notify the Edmonton Police that I was planning a violent attack against a particular target which prompted a less than pleasant visit from the police. Naturally nothing was found and no charges were laid after the "interview" because, in fact, I had no such plans. Ironically there are some members of the animal welfare group in Edmonton that operated a "rescue" which could legitimately have been criticized for many of the same things that they were so willing to criticize Guzoo for. Just because you call yourself a rescue does not make it so and sorry but cages of animals in a house does not constitute a rescue. On a positive note this particular "rescue" noted on it's website that it was ceasing operations due to illness in the family. I can only hope that whatever affliction has befallen them is nothing trivial. Since members of this family have been known to read this blog and "respond" I offer this suggestion, don't bother to reply to this post and tell me how horrible it is of me to hate you there is no chance that it will be published and I don't give a damn whether your feelings are hurt. I know that you feel exactly the same way about me (as you have demonstrated so ably over the last few years) so let's not be hypocritical here ok.

The movement to close Guzoo finally achieved victory after a "photo manipulation artist" posted what he claims were undoctored photos of animals at Guzoo. For those unfamiliar with the term "photo manipulation artist" this is anyone who has enough knowledge of Photoshop to be able to modify a photo. Only the truly stupid actually believe that the photos he posted were actually unedited images. These images along with a sustained campaign of pressure on Mr. Knight who, unlike his predecessor, Ted Morton, has never shown that he has any backbone whatsoever, resulted in an "independent assessment" of Guzoo by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA). Herein lies the first problem - CAZA can hardly be considered "independent". CAZA is, in fact, an industry group which is funded in a large part by facilities that pay huge fees to become "accredited". One of CAZA's "accredited" zoos is the Calgary Zoo where incompetent and negligent staff have been killing off animals at a dramatic rate. While some of the deaths have been publicized a great many have not including:

A spider monkey was fatally crushed by a hydraulic door.
Another spider monkey died from frostbite complications after it was left outside in cold weather.
Four feather tailed sugar gliders were either crushed underfoot by zoo staff or by a door.
Several mule deer were killed or injured when staff tried to capture them for veterinary checks.
Dozens of Sebas and Pallas Bats died after hitting piano wire strung across their cages as part of their exhibit.
Woodland Caribou and muskox were repeatedly injured or killed either because of exhibit design or interspecies aggression. African wild dogs were also injured for the same reasons.

Guzoo would have seized on these autrocities to call for the closure of the Calgary Zoo but of course there was deafening silence. The hypocrisy on the part of the animal welfare brigade and CAZA apparently knows no bounds. No one should have seriously expected CAZA to push to have the Calgary Zoo closed since the Calgary Zoo is "accredited" by CAZA.

While the animal welfare contingent cheers the demise of Guzoo they conveniently ignore the fact that the closure of Guzoo is a death sentence for the vast majority of animals that call Guzoo home. This is because unlike animal rights supporters, who adhere to a simple guideline requiring that homes need to be found in advance of any action to remove animals from a facility, animal welfare supporters push for action without giving any thought to the consequences of their actions. These are the same people who declare victory when a restaurant chain agrees to kill animals in a humane manner. As a supporter of animal rights I believe that there should be no zoos at all. Having said this, however, it is not possible to shut down all zoos tomorrow without causing the deaths of vast numbers of animals which is obviously not what any person who cares about animals at all want to see happen. If Guzoo needed to be closed then it should have been done in stages. This would not be hard to do and would not result in the deaths of hundreds of animals. Initially Guzoo could be prohibited from acquiring any new animals and the animals presently at Guzoo could be removed as suitable alternative facilities for them could be found while those that, for whatever reason, could not be relocated could be left to live out their lives at Guzoo. This staged closing of Guzoo would also give Lynn and the rest of the staff the opportunity to make changes and possibly remain open. Irregardless this would ensure that a mass slaughter of animals whose only crime is to be living at Guzoo.

Even those who are clebrating the closure of Guzoo, and by extension, the death of the animals there should be disturbed by the manner in which the Alberta Government is handling the situation. The order that was issued by Mr. Knight's department is one that cannot be appealled. This is the very antithesis of democracy (remember democracy we used to have it in Alberta before Ralph Kein and in Canada before Stephen Harper) and should concern every Albertan. Decisions made by a government, such as this one, should always be subject to review by a court to ensure that proper procedures are followed and that abuse does not occur. While Mr. Knight and Mr. Stelmach may think that they have a God given right to govern and take whatever action they want to the reality is that they are elected representatives of the people of Alberta and not dictators with absolute power to do as they please. If there are such serious problems at Guzoo that it needs to be shut down immediately then the Government should bring the evidence to court and allow it to be adjudicated. Since the Alberta SPCA, which has the power to remove animals from places where they are in danger or are being abused has not taken any action in this regard it is relatively clear that there is no imminent danger to the animals there and consequently no need for the immediate heavy handed actions of Mr. Knight's department. It is also telling that the report of the alleged "independent review" has not been made public and probably never will. Simply stating that there were X number of deficiencies is useless. A deficiency could be something as simple as a barrier not being exactly the right distance from the enclosure to something as serious as an enclosure design that is hazardous to the animal in the enclosure. Every aspect of this decision to force the closure of Guzoo cries out to be reviewed by a court, however, the chances of that happening appear to be slim and it appears inevitable that the animals at Guzoo will pay the ultimate price as a result. Their blood is on the hands of those who are responsible for and celebrating this decision.

The True Nature of Vivsectors

2010-10-17T02:58:00.000-06:00

There are far too many people both inside and outside the animal rights movement who are horrified by the thought of vivisectors being hunted down and killed. What those who take this position fail to recognize is that vivisectors are sociopaths who have simply found a more "acceptable" outlet for their perverse and dangerous impulses. If we look at the criteria for identifying a sociopath it becomes obvious that vivisectors meet the criteria for this diagnosis and the reality is that there is no cure or effective treatment for sociopaths so the only real option is to either lock them up for the rest of their lives or kill them. Obviously the preferred method of dealing with these sociopaths that gravitate to vivisection is to eliminate them from the face of the earth so they can receive the reward that they so richly deserve and spend eternity in the darkest corner of Hell.
The criteria for declaring an individual to be a sociopath are
Glibness and Social Charm
Manipulative and Conning - They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming but they are covertly hostile and domineering and see their victims as simply and instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims. (This is the very definition of what vivisectors do every day of their lives)
Grandiose sense of self - far from playing God these demented freaks believe that they are God who can abuse and torment innocent creatures as they want to.
Pathological Lying - Vivisectors have absolutely no ability to tell the truth on a consistent basis. They can create and get caught up in a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. They can even pass lie detectors with ease.
Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt - A deep-seated rage is at the core of their being. They see those around them (including animals) as targets and opportunities. For them the ends always justify the means.
Shallow (or no) Emotions - when it appears that they may be feeling emotions it is always feigned and serves an ulterior motive. Since they are not genuine in any way shape or form neither are any promises they may make.
No Capacity for Love
Callousness/Lack of Empathy - certainly no person with any sort of normal emotions could do the twisted things that these disgusting slimebags do.
Parasitic Lifestyle - Vivisectors see absolutely nothing wrong with living off of taxpayer dollars that they obtain through the use of deceit.
Authoritarian
Secretive - This is why they relish the ability to hide behind the locked doors of their laboratories to engage in their despicable activities.
Paranoid - It is their paranoia that causes them to insist that "animal rights activists are out to get them and their lives are in danger as a result" It is time that we take this from being just their paranoia and move it into the realm of reality.
Seeks out Situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned or admired. This makes institutions like the University of Alberta ideal places for them to work since the University hires people like Harry Davis to run interference and defend their indefensible conduct.
Goal is enslavement of their victims - Vivisectors demand and get total control over the lives of the animals they torture and destroy. It is not unusual in torture chambers for food and water to be withheld from the captives that are held there. Along with this goes total despotic control over every aspect of their victims' lives.
Extreme Narcissism and grandiose - They believe that they and only they are able to find cures for a wide variety of diseases and that any disruption of their torturous rituals will ultimately put sick individuals at risk. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of the "research" they do is simply rehashing what has already been done by others they insist that they are just a short distance away from curing whatever disease they have chosen to attach themselves to.

It should be obvious that these "people" fit the definition of a sociopath to a T. It is therefore a great day and something to celebrate when one of these vile freaks dies or is killed. Even better when their death is prolonged and painful. There is no downside to the death, no matter how it is caused, of a vivisector or those that protect them and allow them to continue torturing and killing innocent animals.

The Only Solution

2010-10-09T03:30:00.001-06:00

“I don’t think you’d have to kill -- assassinate -- too many [vivisectors] ... I think for 5 lives, 10 lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, 2 million, 10 million non-human lives.”

I wish that I could take credit for the above quote and I am sure that Harry Davis would not even think twice about attributing it to me the next time he makes one of his calls to CSIS! The reality, however, is that while this is probably my favorite quote in regards to the fight for animal rights it is a quote from a speech given by the great Dr. Jerry Vlasak, a man who is not done justice by calling him simply a legend in the animal rights movement. While other giants in the animal rights movement such as Stephen Best write extensively Dr. Vlasak has been on the front lines of the fight for animal rights and has been persecuted and attacked for his sacrifice.

The use of violence in the fight for animal rights is one of the most hotly debated topics amongst not only those who are involved in the fight for animal rights but among the general public as well. Within the animal rights movement there is a highly misguided dedication to pacifism by many activists. Those who advocate non-violence exclusively often explain their opposition to violence by claiming they do not want to sink to the level of the opponents and believe that educating the general public is a more effective strategy. Unfortunately the animal rights movement has been using these tactics for over 40 years now with precious little to show for it. Those who exploit and abuse animals see these tactics as nothing but a minor annoyance and they simply laugh off those activists who protest peacefully or sign petitions. In short they take peaceful protests as evidence of weakness. They go on exploiting and torturing animals because there are no real consequences for their actions. While vivisectors will wail at length about how they need to operate behind locked doors in secrecy because their very lives are in danger from animal rights activists they are only too aware that this is simply a propaganda tactic to allow them to torture and kill more animals. Law enforcement is only too willing to shill for these disgusting excuses for humanity by making outrageous claims such as the one made by the Federal Bureau of Intimidation to the United States Congress that animal rights activists were the number 1 domestic terrorist threat in North America today. Both the vivisectors and law enforcement know that this is anything but true but it serves each one's purpose to make these outrageous statements. For law enforcement it works to allow them to get more tax dollars to fight "animal rights extremists" and for the vivisectors it allows them to continue to operate in secrecy. Of course when they are asked for evidence of the great danger that supposedly exists they can't provide it because it simply does not exist. If their lives were in danger the way they claim there would be scores of dead vivisectors (this would be wonderful if it was true). In reality there has never been a vivisector killed or even seriously injured by animal rights activists. The closest one of these pieces of garbage ever came to being killed happened many years ago when Brian Cass of HLS was attacked as he walked to his car. Unfortunately he was not killed and walked away with only a few stitches. It is time to start making the claims of vivisector's lives being in danger a reality.

Dr. Vlasak is quite right when he says that there would not need to be too many of these worthless excuses for humanity killed in order to save the lives of millions of animals. It is virtually a guarantee that once 2 or 3 or them were killed there would be a mass exodus of "researchers" because while they like to pretend their lives are in danger and portray themselves as selfless human beings who put their lives on the line each day to try and make things better for mankind the reality is that they are sadistic cowards who will run at the first sign of real danger. If they had to legitimately wonder every time they turned the key in the ignition of their car if it was going to be the time they were blown into a million pieces they would soon find a new career. Likewise if they had to legitimately wonder when the phone call would come to tell them that their spouse or children had been kidnapped or killed it would not be long until the thrill of torturing and killing animals would be long gone. There will be those who are legitimately horrified at the very idea that the families of these sadistic killers could be targeted but they would be perfectly legitimate targets. Unlike the families of serial killers or other criminals the families of vivisectors know exactly what the vivisector does and they willingly accept the benefits that the blood money these pieces of garbage bring home.Vivisectors show no concern or mercy towards the animals they torture and kill on a daily basis so they are not worthy of any mercy.

While not all activists are able to engage in violence against vivisectors those who do resort to violence need to be supported and revered for the heros that they are.

Why would the piece of filth that did this to this poor creature deserve any sympathy or mercy?

The Abyss

2010-09-30T03:42:00.000-06:00

Several months ago I announced that I would be shutting down this blog. I made this decision during a particularly dark time in my life and certainly the lowest point of my involvement in the fight to save animals. For several years I attempted to get information out of the University of Alberta regarding the animals that are tortured and killed in their "labs" in the name of "research" In light of the horrific ways that animals are tortured and killed by sadistic, subhuman "researchers" at this institution it came as no surprise that the University refused to provide me with any information. Since this barbaric institution's "research" is funded to the tune of nearly HALF A BILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS I appealed their refusal to provide the information to the Privacy Commission of Alberta which turned out to be a complete waste of time because, as I found out, in the undemocratic province of Alberta there is no way to win a case based on the argument that the information is a matter of public interest. No matter what argument I made the privacy commissioner sided with the University of Torture. Apparently citizens have no right to know what their tax dollars are going to fund and after all why should they - it's only the public's money!

The University was forced, when I filed my appeal with the Privacy Commissioner, to defend their refusal and I was provided with a copy of their submission. I cannot even begin to describe the anger and hatred that I felt as I read the submission that Harry Davis, the "Privacy Advisor" submitted. To call it a hatchet job would be far too mild but it is the best description I can come up with. It comprised 2 volumes most of which concerned how much of a danger I was to the University. Simply by making a legal request for information I was, as far as the University of Alberta was concerned, a "terrorist" who might attack the University at any time! Harry Davis quoted at length from posts on this blog which he claimed backed up his claim that by providing me with information on the horrors taking place behind closed doors on this publicly funded campus would put the safety of the institution and researchers at risk. This is the same tired justification that every institution and lab puts forward to keep the horrors in their labs secret. It is always that vivisector's lives are in jeopardy from the horrible animal rights activists. The fact that there has never (unfortunately) been a vivisector seriously injured or killed by an animal rights activist makes no difference to them, In fact the closest a vivisector has ever come to receiving the punishment that they so rightly deserve was when a number of brave activists attacked Brian Cass of HLS as he was walking to his car several years ago. Unfortunately Cass was not killed and he went right back to running the HLS torture chambers. Apparently I should find a new way to describe the "facilities" at the University of Alberta and other institutions since Harry Davis used this terminology to justify his allegations of my dangerousness. I wasn't aware that accurately describing facilities was part of the profile of a terrorist but apparently it is. One of the aspects of my blog that offended and horrified Mr. Davis was my posts on the sadistic youths who decided it would be a lot of fun to break into a house and then torture and kill the family's pet cat by putting it in the microwave and then turning on the microwave. As was revealed in court Princess, the cat, screamed in agony for 10 minutes before she died. I stated in several posts on this blog, as well as elsewhere, that these pieces of garbage should be publicly identified and not allowed to hide behind the anonymity that the law in Canada provides them with. I also stated that they deserved to die for what they did. I was hardly the only person to express these sentiments and I stand by them. Mr. Davis was, however, appalled that I felt this way and had expressed it. I obviously offended Mr. Davis' extremely delicate sensibilities. Personally I would be far more worried about someone who defended and sympathized with these sadistic, unfeeling pieces of garbage than I would be about someone who felt that they should pay the ultimate price for the horror that they inflicted on a defenseless animal. In Mr. Davis' world, however, believing this and expressing it makes me a terrorist and a threat to the University. Mr. Davis and people like him are apparently unable to differentiate between a threat and an expression of an opinion. At no point did I say that I wanted to kill or injure the cat killing freaks but I certainly will not shed any tears if someone else does or if they do the right thing and end their miserable useless lives themselves. I will definitely celebrate if this happens to them, however and I will not apologize for that. Mr. Davis was even more upset at one of my posts were I said that those who were opposed to animal rights or my stand could call me a terrorist or anything else because I got called that regularly by opponents. While I did put this in one of my posts it was actually paraphrasing the great Keith Mann who has made this comment on several occasions.
Mr. Davis was so appalled at my posts and my request for information that he or someone else at the University decided that I should be reported to CSIS. They couldn't report me to the police because I had not broken any laws or even threatened to break any laws but just the suspicion of a person being a "terrorist" is enough to get CSIS interested. It never fails to amaze me how pathetically stupid some people can be. If I was planning to attack the University or the torturers that are employed by this foul institution I would certainly not have openly requested information. It is not like it is particularly difficult to find out where the labs are located at the University if I, or any other person, intended to attack them. All anyone would have to do is spend an afternoon at the University and speak to some students. They will quite happily point you in the right direction.
I have deleted a number of posts from this blog not because I don't stand by what I wrote (I stand by everything that I have ever posted here) but because it was time to start fresh. Since I posted that I was not going to be posting here any longer I heard from a number of you who read my blog encouraging me to continue posting. I actually didn't realize that there were as many that followed my postings as there were. I will post here again on a semi-regular basis as time allows, however, I do have a life outside of animal rights and there are only so many hours in a day. I have changed the comments settings so that anonymous comments are no longer allowed. I have done this because the majority of anonymous comments were from those who disagreed with my writings and were quite often abusive. I have no problem with people disagreeing with what I write but if all you want to do is fire off a string of obscenities or making threats then I have no interest in reading them. To those of you who encouraged me to come back and post again I thank you and I look forward to hearing from you regarding my future posts be the comments positive or negative.

As for Harry Davis it is my fervent wish that you, and the vivisector slime that you defend and support, rot in the darkest corner of Hell for all eternity after enduring a prolonged and painful death from any one of the multitude of diseases that are out there.

A Clear Message

2008-10-17T12:12:00.003-06:00

The recent attacks against oil pipelines in Dawson Creek BC give us hope for the future after a rather disappointing federal election. While the police investigate these attacks and the news media wring their hands over them none of them will consider the most important question, "What drove someone to commit these acts? No one wakes up one morning and decides to undertake the heroic but extremely risky step of engaging in acts such as we have seen this week in Dawson Creek. The individuals who undertook these actions no doubt tried to use legal means to achieve their goals, however, they no doubt found, as all of us who are working on a cause find out, that it is impossible to achieve anything by working within "the system".

For years those of us in the animal rights movement have taken the so-called high road and confined the bulk of our activities to peaceful non-threatening tactics in the hopes that we could somehow achieve our goals through a "peaceful revolution". Pacifism became revered in both the animal rights and environmental movement as well meaning but naive leaders and individuals (as well as those who were just cowards by nature) tried to achieve change through peaceful means. Most of these individuals based their belief in peaceful revolution on the ideas of Mahatma Ghandi. While it is true that Ghandi believed in the use of non-violent means of protest he was not so naive as to believe that violence had no place in a struggle. Most of those who preach pacifism today either have not taken the time to truly study Ghandi or they have elected to willfully ignore a pivotal aspect of his philosophy. Ghandi acknowledged that non-violent protest would only be effective IF those who you were fighting against respected these tactics. As has been demonstrated time and time again the opponents of animal rights and environmental protection have no respect and do not respond to non-violence. Those who are involved in animal abuse and exploitation as well as those who are involved in the destruction of the environment are violent by nature and are motivated by one thing and one thing only - the almighty dollar. These people do not respond to anything unless it threatens either their profits or their physical safety. All of the non-violent action and hand wringing in the world is not going to change that.

It is equally delusional to believe that changes can somehow be made by petitioning the various levels of government to enact legislation that will protect either animals or the environment. Governments, particularly those in capitalist countries, are motivated by the same thing as the individuals and corporations that abuse and exploit animals as destroy the environment - once again the almighty dollar. The politicians depend on the funds they receive from the corporations in order to get re-elected and the corporations demand that the politicians do their bidding in order to continue to receive the funding that they need. This vicious circle ensures that the only change that will ever occur is that which benefits the politician's masters - the corporations. If this were not the case the United States Congress would never have even entertained the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act let alone actually passed it into law and it would not have taken over 100 years to get stricter animal cruelty legislation passed in Canada (something which has still not been done). Only in a system where politicians are bought and paid for by corporations would it be considered acceptable to have no legal guidelines for the treatment of animals in laboratories and instead rely on voluntary standards developed by a non-governmental agency stacked with lackeys of the vivisection industry as we do in Canada. Only in a corrupt system would our politicians take it as a sign that things are just fine when this same agency has never, in its 40 year history, imposed any economic sanctions on a laboratory in Canada. These are just a few of the examples of why it is foolhardy to believe that protesting and trying to work with governments are ever going to achieve anything. Add to this the fact that the media has become so beholden to their own corporate interests that they no longer investigate and report on issues that might lead to ramifications from their corporate sponsors. Small wonder that the only regime in the 20th century that ever enacted meaningful animal protection legislation was a totalitarian regime that took control of the corporations.

The time has come for everyone involved in the animal rights movement and the environmental movement to stop asking governments and corporations to stop what they are doing and to instead tell them you will stop what you are doing or you will suffer the consequences. You will stop torturing animals in your labs or your labs, your vehicles and your homes will be burned down. You will stop exploiting and destroying the environment simply because it suits you or your equipment, your office buildings and your developments will be turned into rubble. If you do not stop then you and your families will be targeted and, if necessary, killed. If you want to go out onto the ice flows in the spring to brutally kill seals then you will die out there when your ships are sunk or you are beaten to death. This may sound harsh but it is the only way that the fight is going to be won. Dr. Jerry Vlasak was quite correct when he said, “I don’t think you’d have to kill -- assassinate -- too many vivisectors,” Vlasak said, “before you would see a marked decrease in the amount of vivisection going on. And I think for 5 lives, 10 lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, 2 million, 10 million non-human lives.” When one woman in the audience disagreed, saying that Vlasak’s approach was no different from that of abortion-clinic bombers, Vlasak was undeterred. “Absolutely,” he countered. “I think they had a great strategy going.” While people may disagree with the methods used by those who bombed abortion clinics and killed abortion doctors there is no doubt that they had at least some of the effects that those who carried them out wanted. It is an indisputable fact that a great many doctors today refuse to do abortions because of the risk it could present to their own safety. Whether you agree or disagree with abortion the effect that was desired by those who committed the bombings and murders was achieved.

More On The Camrose Cat Killing Freaks

2008-07-31T14:08:00.003-06:00

Recently some of the little pricks that tortured and killed Princess, a pet cat, in a microwave after breaking into a house over the Christmas holidays pleaded guilty to the crime. With their guilty pleas more information about the events of that tragic day have emerged. Contrary to what a significant number of people believed Princess did not die quickly and did suffer greatly before she died. It has now been revealed that it took over 10 minutes for Princess to die trapped inside the microwave and that she screamed for nearly the entire time it took her to die. In 10 minutes not a single one of these sadistic freaks reached over and pressed the button on the microwave to stop it or even had the smallest attack of conscience to suggest to the others that they should let Princess out or suggest that maybe what they were doing was wrong. Instead these degenerate freaks stood there and enjoyed the spectacle of Princess slowly being cooked alive. I doubt that there are more than a hand full of people that could stand to listen to an animal scream in pain and terror for 10 minutes without doing anything to help it. These little bastards, however, not only stood there and listened to the screams they all enjoyed the show. With the evidence that is out there now there cannot possibly be a thinking person out there who still thinks that these pathetic freaks are simply kids who made a mistake. They do not need treatment or understanding or sympathy or anything else that the bleeding hearts have been claiming they need. What they need is to receive the only appropriate punishment that there is for this horrific crime: extreme suffering and death.

It is obvious that the "justice" system is not going to do anything to punish these killers. As is typical with cases involving abuse or mistreatment of animals the police grudgingly make an arrest and the prosecutors go through the motions of prosecuting the perpetrators and then the bleeding heart judges give them a slap on the wrist and tell them not to do it again. In this case, much as they did in the Daisy Duke case, the police and the rest of the justice system has gone out of its way to protect these killers while coming down like a sledgehammer on anyone who dares to even print the identities of these disgusting freaks. Now the judge has thrown a wrench into the sentencing of the freaks that pleaded guilty by ordering a psychiatric evaluation of them. The last time I checked it was the job of these little bastards' lawyers to put forward a defense and do what they can to get them as light a sentence as possible not the judge or the prosecutor. To top it all off the prosecutor is already saying that he is not going to be seeking a jail sentence for these pieces of garbage. So these little bastards are going to get away with torturing and killing Princess although they might actually have to do some community service. This is an incredibly unfunny joke. Is there anyone with an IQ bigger than their shoe size that actually believes that these pieces of shit are going to learn anything from this other than they can get away with anything without suffering any consequences? Clearly this is what the parents of these degenerates told them and are no doubt still telling them. If they had any morality or sense of decency they would have disowned their spawns of Satan but no they are still telling them that they won't have to take any responsibility for their actions.

There is only one punishment that is appropriate for these little bastards and that is DEATH. Whether they are killed in jail or outside or harassed so badly that they kill themselves makes no difference. It would be even better if they were raped for a few weeks while the guards looked the other way but as long as they end up dead at the end of it all justice will have been done. Until they are killed or kill themselves their identities should be plastered all over the internet and any town or city that they move to since according to the reports they have moved out of Camrose because they were being harassed. They should not be able to hide from what they have done by simply moving into a new place and pretending that they didn't brutally torture and murder an innocent animal. Considering that the house that these killers broke into, twice, belonged to a family that at least some of the freaks knew the people who have to live near these pieces of shit in the new cities they move to should know that they better keep a close eye on their pets and make sure that their children have nothing to do with these freaks. Any parent who is raising their children properly and not like the pieces of garbage that spawned these useless freaks certainly would not want their children anywhere near them. Nor would they want to have anything to do with the abject failures who don't have the moral fiber or guts to do the right thing and are still protecting the unrepentant killers they have "raised".

A number of people have suggested that part of these killers "sentences" should be to work in an animal shelter because somehow this will allow them to develop empathy. In the first place putting these little freaks in an animal shelter to develop empathy makes about as much sense as putting a pedophile in a day care center to see how children act. I find it hard to believe that any animal shelter would even let these freaks darken their doorstep and any shelter that would doesn't deserve to operating. Of course I'm sure that PETA would be only too happy to "help" these freaks considering the way they allowed Michael Vick to take "education" courses so that he could get a lighter sentence on his dog fighting charges. More importantly if these freaks were able to stand there and listen to a cat screaming for 10 minutes as it suffered one of the worst deaths imaginable nothing is going to get them to develop empathy.

The so-called justice system is not going to do anything to punish these killers and anyone who thinks it will is living in a fantasy world. These freaks need to feel fear like they have never felt before in their life. They need to spend whatever is left of their miserable lives looking over their shoulders and wondering whether the person who is right behind is going to cut their miserable throats. Both they and their "parents" need to be on edge every minute they are in their house wondering if the next car that passes by is going to firebomb the house and wonder if they next time they start up the car it will be the last time because someone has wired a bomb to the ignition. Does this sound harsh? It should. These killers and their families who are protecting them deserve to never have a moment of piece and they deserve to pay the ultimate penalty just as much as the killers themselves. The judge who is doing everything that she can to insure that these killers face no real punishment deserves to, at the very least, be removed from the bench and never be allowed to practice law again. With any luck having everything taken away from her would push her over the edge as well and she would be found after she kills herself. As for the prosecutor he has done such a pathetic job of this case should never be allowed to prosecute anything more than a traffic ticket for the rest of his miserable career. If this guy is the best that the prosecutors office can come up with then it is time for the government to raise the salaries of prosecutors so they can attract some people who didn't graduate at the bottom of their class at clown college.

There should be no mercy and no sympathy for these killers and when the are killed or kill themselves there should be celebrations in the street. Let's all hope that the day when we can celebrate the world being free of these freaks comes sooner rather than later.

Questioning Zoocheck's Criticism of Guzoo And Other Facilities

2008-03-23T01:13:00.002-06:00

For those who are opposed to Guzoo and other private zoos critical reports from Zoocheck Canada form a large part of their opposition. While the Zoocheck reports do present some valid criticisms of various facilities and Guzoo in particular they are not the "Holy Grail" that they are made out to be by some opponents. In spite of the valid criticisms that are outlined in the reports there are also serious concerns about the reports but more importantly some of the individuals involved in evaluating the facilities. One of the greatest weaknesses of the reports is that they are exclusively focused on the negative aspects of the facilities they evaluate without even the slightest acknowledgment of the positive aspects or acknowledgment of the improvements that have been made in the interim between evaluations and reports. This raises the very real possibility that these evaluations are agenda driven rather than objective evaluations of the facilities. Whether it is true or not the reports give the distinct impression that the conclusions were arrived at prior to the facilities being visited at all.

Far more troubling that the actual reports are some of the individuals who have participated in the evaluation of Guzoo and other facilities. One individual who has participated in these evaluations towers above all the others in their complete lack of suitability to be involved in evaluating any facility. The individual in question is David Leeb. David Leeb is the director of Edmonton's Animal Service Department and is in charge of Edmonton's pound facility. The Edmonton pound is one of the worst, if not the worst, pound facility in North America. Unlike nearly every other pound and humane society shelter in North America the Edmonton pound does not utilize volunteers in any capacity. Not only does it not utilize volunteers it actively opposes the use of volunteers on the grounds that it would be too expensive to utilize them. It is a bizarre twist of logic that concludes that utilizing individuals who willingly donate their time is to heavy a financial burden to bear. While other facilities encourage the public to visit and view the animals that are in the pound or the humane society's care the Edmonton pound refuses to permit the public any access to the facility where the animals are housed. Of course every other pound and humane society in North America puts a concerted effort into returning lost pets to their owners and finding homes for those that are unclaimed. In order to find new homes for as many unclaimed animals as possible other facilities operate adoption programs. The Edmonton pound moves against the tide in this regard being one of, if not the only, facility in North America that steadfastly refuses to allow adoptions from it's facility. While the pound does transfer some unclaimed animals to the Edmonton Humane Society for adoption in 2006 it killed 52% of the cats and 12% of the dogs that it admitted. In some cases animals are not transferred to the Edmonton Humane Society because they do not have room in their shelter but often there is no legitimate reason for killing the animals that they do. Individuals who turn in stray animals to the pound can request that they be allowed to adopt the animal if it is not claimed, however, the pound fails to put any real effort into getting these animals into new homes often killing the animal before the person who has expressed an interest in it has had a chance to contact the pound. I experienced this when a cat that I turned over to the pound was killed less than 24 hours after a message was left on my answering machine telling me that the cat had not been claimed. This is the department that David Leeb has been in charge of for the last several years. In spite of numerous opportunities for him to make changes to the operation of his department he has steadfastly refused to change anything preferring to preside over the unnecessary and indefensible killing of thousands of innocent animals every year. Prior to taking control of Animal Services Leeb was in charge of the Valley Zoo in Edmonton for a period of several years in which the zoo stagnated and deteriorated. It is only since he left the Valley Zoo that substantive changes and improvements have begun to be made. This is not to say that the Valley Zoo a facility that Edmonton can be proud of now just that there are at least some improvements being made.

It is under David Leeb's watch that the Edmonton pound is involved in clandestine transfers of unclaimed animals to labs to be used for research. In light of the fact that David Leeb sees no need to change the policies and practices of his department and accomplished absolutely nothing when he was in charge of the Valley Zoo it is unconscionable for any organization to deem him acceptable to evaluate any other facility. For Zoocheck to involve David Leeb in the evaluation of Guzoo or any other facility indicates either that Zoocheck is not particularly concerned about the quality of individuals who conduct evaluations for them or that they are only interested in involving individuals who will produce the evaluation that they are looking for.

I have not visited most of the facilities that have been evaluated by Zoocheck but I have visted Guzoo. On my most recent visit there I specifically looked for the deficiencies outlined in the Zoocheck reports and while I was able to find some of them I was unable to substantiate the vast majority of them. It is possible that all of the deficiencies were there at the time of the Zoocheck evaluations but it is equally possible that the individuals doing the evaluations were biased and either misstated or fabricated the deficiencies. In light of the stark contrast between what Zoocheck alleges in it's reports and my personal experience with Guzoo I no longer consider Zoocheck to be a reputable source of information on any animal rights related issue nor will this be an organization that I financially support any longer.

A Disturbing Trend

2008-02-24T02:55:00.002-07:00

A recent release from a prisoner support group announcing the withdrawal of support for an imprisoned activist has been widely circulated in animal and environmental rights circles. The release cites several reasons for the withdrawal of support for this activist including the decision by the activist to abandon a vegetarian diet. This is certainly an acceptable reason to withdraw support for the activist the release indicated that this was not the primary reason for withdrawing support for him. The primary reasons for the withdrawal of support was the activist's alleged "racist" and "sexist" statements and beliefs. While many of the statements that he is alleged to have made are reprehensible they do not negate the fact that he sacrificed his freedom to the cause of the environment. Unlike many members of the environmental and animal rights movement this activist did not turn in other members of the cell that were involved in the action he was arrested for (at least there is no mention of this anywhere that I could find). Activists who turn on other activists to save their own skin are the ones who deserve to have any support withdrawn. Activists who inform on other activists either because they are too cowardly to accept the consequences of their actions or simply because they want to "get back" at activists who have done or said something that they disagree with deserve far more than just to have support for them withdrawn. Individuals who do this deserve nothing less than to pay the ultimate price. Activists who inform on other activists ultimately hurt the animals and the environment they are supposedly committed to helping.

Until I read the release issued by the prisoner support group I had never heard of the activist in question nor do I know if the content of the comment attributed to him in the release are accurate or taken out of context. His decision to eat meat, if in fact he has elected to eat meat, makes him undeserving of support from the animal rights community at any rate. The condemnation of him for his beliefs, however, points to a disturbing and damaging trend within the animal rights movement as well as the environmental movement. This trend is the decreasing lack of tolerance for divergent views on topics directly related to or, in some cases, far removed from the movements themselves. There are a growing number of individuals within the animal rights movement who insist that there must be complete uniformity across the movement on certain topics. Although they are still a minority in the movement there is an ever increasing number of activists who arrogantly proclaim that their view, opinions and beliefs are right and only those who agree with them escape their wrath. They operate with complete tunnel vision and only associate and work with those who hold exactly the same views as they do.

The self-proclaimed moral superiority of these individuals does not limit itself to only those issues which are directly related to animal rights it encompasses every possible issue. While they will loudly proclaim how "progressive" and "tolerant" they are this tolerance is limited to those who agree with them on issues. They have no tolerance for any diversity or differences unless it fits into their narrow world view. The closed mindedness of these individuals and the viciousness with which they go after anyone who disagrees with them holds the movement back from achieving as much as it could or growing the way that it could. In order to turn the dream of rights for animals into reality it is vital that as many people as possible from a variety of walks of life are brought into the movement. Some level of concern for animals is an almost universal trait of people as is evidenced by the visceral reaction of the general public to extreme and high profile cases of animal cruelty. The huge outcry at the recent torture and murder of Princess the cat in a microwave is a perfect example of this. The majority of the people who have set up Facebook groups, protested at the courthouse and written letters to the papers are not animal rights activists but their concern about animals, even if it is just cute and cuddly animals, presents an opening for bringing them into the animal rights movement. Most of these people have never been shown what goes on behind the walls of a slaughterhouse or the closed doors of a laboratory nor have they been educated about the lies of the animal abuse industries. Unfortunately the vast majority of these people won't get educated or accepted into the animal rights movement because they are not a single homogeneous mass.

The animal rights movement needs a variety of people with a variety of talents and that means that some people are going to hold views on certain topics and issues that others will find repulsive. What a person's opinion or belief on gay rights or the war in Iraq or AIDS in Africa or Christianity or Islam or any other issue should not preclude them from being a part of the fight for animal rights. If they want to go and stick pins in voodoo dolls or stand around a burning cross in robes and hoods or go to Star Trek conventions when they are not working on animal rights then let them. As long as they are committed to the cause of animal rights what they do otherwise should not be an issue any more than it should be an issue to a person's employer what that employee does outside of work.

I would much rather work with a person who is dedicated and trustworthy but who holds differing (or even offensive) opinions on other issues than with someone who agrees on everything but has no loyalty or worse is a coward.

Another Arrest in the Camrose Cat Killing Case

2008-02-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

A fifth piece of garbage was arrested in connection with the brutal torture and killing of the cat, Princess, over the Christmas holidays in Camrose. According to the prosecutor this latest slime was "very much on the periphery" which is already playing into the hands of the defense. How is it possible to be "very much on the periphery" of something that happens when you break into a house with a group of sadistic cowards? Just because this freak that was just charged wasn't the one who actually stuffed Princess into the Microwave and turned it on does not mean he is any less responsible for Princess' death. Naturally the defense is going to use this to their maximum advantage during the trial of this slime and who could blame them? In this case it will be impossible to blame the defense attorney (other than to question why he would have any of these degenerates for clients) since he is obligated to give his client the best defense that he possibly can. If he were to just ignore the moronic statement of the prosecutor then he would be derelict in his duty.

An issue which is looming large in this case is the conduct and the attitude of this prosecutor. It is his job to put these freaks in jail where they belong not to help the defense make their case. He is supposed to be representing "The Crown" or, in other words, the public. He is supposed to be making the case to put these degenerates in jail for the longest possible period of time. Instead he is spending all of his time and effort in protecting these pieces of garbage and making the defense's case for them. He has wasted time and money trying to get the public barred from the courtroom so that no one will know who these sadistic little freaks are and never misses a chance to lament the fact that people are posting their names in various places. His latest crusade is to go after a poster who posted details of a bail hearing for one of the slime! She didn't post their names or addresses she simply posted details of the prosecutor's arguments to keep one of them in jail until the trial (the only logical thing he has done so far in this case!). Not having read the post I can't say what was written but I have to assume that his problem is that he gave a pathetic performance. Now he is going to waste his time (and our money) having the police go out and arrest this woman so he can put her on trial. It is hardly surprising that he is doing this since from the outset the court, the prosecutor and the police have been more worried about protecting these freaks than they have been about putting them behind bars. Why are any of these sadistic scum out walking around anyway? How many other animals are they going to torture and kill before they are finally put away? Meanwhile this prosecutor and the police go around protecting them and giving their defense lawyers their arguments for them.

Naturally the bleeding hearts are ecstatic at this since the prosecutor and the police are showing "understanding" and working on getting treatment for these poor misunderstood angles who really just need a big hug to make everything all better. Some of these pathetic bleeding hearts are even starting to say that they feel sorry for these sadistic freaks. There are lots of people that deserve sympathy and understanding but degenerates like these are not worthy of anything but revulsion and disgust.

Misplaced Concern For Camrose Cat Killers

2008-02-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

While it is expected that the police and other members of the "justice" system will worry more about the useless slime that figured that torturing and killing a cat in a microwave would be an entertaining way to spend an afternoon than the animal and her family it is puzzling that a certain segment of the general population would also espouse this misplaced concern. These people live in a fantasy world where all that these degenerates need is some love and counseling and everything will suddenly be fine. A certain columnist in The Edmonton Journal devoted an entire column to explaining why we should all have sympathy and understanding for these little darlings because of their age and how horrible it is that many people feel nothing but disgust and anger towards these pieces of garbage. I even received a comment on my last post about these monsters that complained because I said that they deserve to be somewhere where they will be raped and beaten everyday. Of course the individual didn't sign their name and somehow figured that by taunting me that I would post their comment. I have no problem with posting comments of those who disagree with me but threats, taunting or name calling ends up getting the comment deleted.

Back to the topic at hand it does not matter whether the disgusting individuals who committed these heinous acts were 13 or 23 or 33 or 43 or any other age they deserve to pay the price for their disgusting fun. The "justice" system in Canada, and to a lesser extent the United States, has been inundated with the bleeding hearts of society who figure that the purpose of the system is to coddle offenders rather than punishing them. To these bleeding hearts it makes perfect sense to give a driver who has mowed down two RCMP officers in 10 years killing one and injuring the other so badly that he never returned to work again a "conditional sentence". It is because of these types of sentences that fewer and fewer people have any faith in our so-called "justice system". Everyone knows that the degenerates who tortured and killed this cat will receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist from the moronic, bleeding heart judges who will blindly conclude that these freaks just need some understanding and "help". Their slimy lawyers will claim that they are really good kids who just made a mistake and the cowardly prosecutors will go along with this. Outside of the "justice" system the public knows that these are not misunderstood kids or kids that made a mistake they are barbaric and sadistic killers that should never be allowed to walk the streets again. There are times when the adage "an eye for an eye" is appropriate and this is one of those cases. They are not going to learn from being coddled by bleeding heart lawyers, judges and social workers, They are going to learn from living in fear of what is going to happen to them and to feeling just a fraction of the pain and terror that their victim felt.

The bleeding hearts love to throw out that those who want to see these cowardly sadists receive a punishment that is commensurate with their conduct are somehow no better than the slime who tortured and killed this poor cat. Aside from being offensive this is completely nonsensical. The revulsion and anger that most people feel regarding the actions of these degenerates is completely justified as is the desire to see them punished in the most extreme way. It is called taking responsibility for one's actions which is a foreign concept to the bleeding hearts among us. They chose to take the life of an innocent creature in one of the most horrific ways possible and then to taunt the victim's family with a note saying, "Nice cat. Look in the Microwave". There is no possible way that they could not have known that what they were doing was wrong and they had no remorse since they didn't bother to turn themselves into the police. Is there anyone out there who doesn't believe that after they had tortured and killed this cat they left the house laughing and celebrating? There was no guilt when they committed the horrific acts that they did and by going home and acting as if nothing happened they showed that they had no remorse for their actions whatsoever. The only thing that they are sorry about is the fact that they have gotten caught. Justice demands that they receive an appropriate punishment and the only appropriate punishments are being locked away for the rest of their useless, miserable lives or being killed.

There have been a lot of well-meaning people who have suggested that it would be appropriate for the courts to order these disgusting sadists to do work in an animal shelter. The prevailing theory of this punishment seems to be that it will somehow enable the killers to develop some empathy for animals. While this may be a laudable goal it is simply not appropriate in a horrific case such as this. The idea of letting these individuals work in an animal shelter to develop empathy for their victim is as logical as letting a convicted pedophile to work in a daycare to develop empathy for his victims. No one in their right mind would think this was a good idea and it makes no more sense to allow these individuals to be around animals in any capacity. These pieces of filth should never be allowed to have pets or be in contact with animals for the rest of their lives. Those of us who love animals know what a privilege it is to be able to share an animal's world with them. These degenerates forfeited their ability to experience this privilege when they committed the heinous acts that they did. In addition they forfeited their right to freedom and sympathy. Let them rot in jail until the day they die when they can rot in Hell.

Camrose Cat Killers Unworthy of Sympathy

2008-01-14T03:01:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time before the bleeding hearts came out of the woodwork to stand up for the sadistic freaks that thought it would be fun to murder a helpless cat in a microwave and leave a taunting message for the cat's owners. While these pathetic idiots preface their cries for understanding with "what they did was horrible, but ..." they do everything they can to minimize the horror of what these degenerates did. These are the same moronic bleeding hearts that go out of their way to ensure that no one ever has to take any personal responsibility for anything that they do.

The demented pieces of garbage in this case tortured and killed this poor animal in one of the worst possible ways that they could. The cat would have been terrified to begin with after being captured by a number of strangers. Her (I believe it has been confirmed that it was a female cat named Princess) terror would have increased as her captors shoved her into the confined space of the microwave oven and shut the door. If it was a fairly new microwave it would have had a revolving plate in it which would have begun to turn as soon as the sadistic freaks started the microwave. We can only imagine the horror that this poor animal was feeling at this point. She would have finally died when either her heart or her lungs exploded from the effects of the microwave. Then not satisfied with having tortured and killed a completely helpless and innocent creature they choose to torment the family that were the guardians of this cat by leaving the message, "Nice cat. Look in the Microwave." This was a day of fun for these pathetic cowards.

The freaks who committed this horrific act are not worthy of sympathy from anyone. There are absolutely no mitigating factors in this case. The cowards who committed this crime are not "sick", they don't need help what they need is to be locked away for the rest of their miserable, useless lives where they will hopefully be raped and beaten on a regular basis, preferably every day. There should never be a day where they do not suffer for what they did to this cat and her family. Their ages should not be used as an excuse to give them a lesser punishment. If anything the fact that they are committing these kinds of acts at their young ages makes it worse. There is no rehabilitation or redemption for 13 and 15 year olds that commit these kinds of heinous acts. They are not going to become productive members of society after they have been given treatment. If they are not going to be killed then the only thing that can be done with them is to lock them up for the rest of their lives.

Anyone who figures that these pieces of garbage deserve sympathy need to get their heads out of the sand and realize that not everyone can or should be saved.

A RETURN TRIP TO GUZOO

2007-07-22T22:31:00.001-06:00

On Saturday I had the privilege of revisiting Guzoo with a friend and her son. For those not familiar with Guzoo it is a private zoo located near Three Hills Alberta that has been unfairly maligned by irresponsible activists and groups for years. A little over a month ago I decided to visit Guzoo and assess the facility for myself. After reading the reports that had been produced I expected to find a literal hell on earth for the animals that resided there. Instead of a hell hole I found a facility that, while it had room for improvement, was more than acceptable. I also had the opportunity to speak with Lynn Gustafson, the owner of Guzoo and found him to not only be passionate about the animals but also open to suggestions for improvements. I was quite open with him about being an animal rights activist. In spite of him being unfairly maligned by a number of animal rights activists and certain organizations he was not at all defensive with me and readily agreed with most of the deficiencies that I spoke to him about. After entering Guzoo with extremely negative expectations I left with a great appreciation for both Lynn Gustafson and Guzoo. I decided after my visit that I would do whatever I could to improve the conditions for the animals at Guzoo. I wrote to Lynn with my offer and he was more than receptive to this.

After finding the reality of Guzoo far different from the portrait that had been painted by certain other activists I wrote a review on my website as well as posting it on an animal rights board. While most of the responses that I got were positive and indicated that most activists at least attempt to keep an open mind about animal rights issues one particular activist went on the attack against me. When she was unable to get me to give in and take the same position that she does regarding Guzoo she resorted to personal attacks and questioning my commitment to animal rights. It is because of this that I decided to start this blog and to post my opinion of Guzoo and work that I do with it as well as other animal rights issues. I have been involved in the animal rights movement for over 15 years and I'll be damned if I'm going to let one activist, no matter how much of a pain in the ass she is, shut me up or stop me from working for animals. I will have plenty to say about my experience with this activist and my opinions of her but that is for other posts.

I was completely overwhelmed when I visited Guzoo this time. Lynn and his staff greeted me and my guests like we were old friends. Prior to arriving at Guzoo I asked the people who were visiting it with me to be completely honest with me afterwards and to judge it with a critical eye in case I was seeing it the way I wanted to see it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that every single item that I had mentioned had either been remedied or is in the process of being remedied.

Prior to returning to Guzoo I had spent a day at the Valley Zoo in Edmonton in order to reacquaint myself with the conditions there since it is a fully accredited zoo. What I found was a zoo that was more aesthetically pleasing than Guzoo. In regards to the enclosures and enrichment for the animals was comparable, in many ways, to Guzoo. When it came to the primate enclosures Guzoo actually had the edge over some of the enclosures at the Valley Zoo. While the primate cages at Guzoo are smaller than those at the Valley Zoo all of the primates at Guzoo have access to the outdoors and have appropriate enrichment items available to them. The Valley Zoo, on the other hand, has at least one group of monkeys in a glassed in, concrete tank from which they had no apparent access to the outside.

One of the concerns that I had mentioned after my first visit to Guzoo was the condition of the Camel enclosure as well as the enclosures for a number of other animals. On my first visit the enclosures were essentially mudholes which I felt could have resulted in injuries or broken bones to the animals because of the ruts and deep indentations. On this visit to Guzoo I found all of the enclosures had been smoothed out and a large portion of the enclosures had a grass covering. On my first visit I had seen buffalo in a narrow, muddy enclosure which I thought was completely inappropriate for these animals. On this visit Lynn pointed out that the area that I had thought was the entire Buffalo enclosure was only a small portion of it. The Bison have a large enclosure which is roughly 95% grass covered. In the case of the Bison enclosure I assumed rather than asking about it. All of the fencing surrounding the enclosures was appropriate and in good repair and all of the enclosures are separated from the visitors by a second fence. In addition, the bear enclosure has an interior electrified fence which prevents the animals and visitors from coming into contact with each other. As with my first visit all of the animals appeared healthy and content. All of the animals had adequate food and fresh water.

One of the complaints that certain individuals have harped on incessantly about is the conditions that the rabbits are housed in. As the proud owner of a number of rabbits and consequently very sensitive to any sort of inappropriate care of rabbits I would be the first one to criticize if the conditions were inappropriate or dangerous in any way. All of the rabbits at Guzoo had impeccably clean enclosures, plenty of food and clean water. The rabbits themselves all had clear eyes and glistening fur and none of them showed any signs of ear mites or snuffles. I would have had no hesitation in housing any one of the rabbits from Guzoo with my rabbits including my purebred French Lop. In fact there was one black lop that was the most gorgeous rabbit I have seen in a very long time and I would have loved to have bundled up and taken home with me!

By this fall there will be a larger and more appropriate lion enclosure and other improvements are planned as finances allow. Guzoo is not perfect but Lynn and his staff are reasonable people who truly care about and want to do the best for the animals. As long as this continues to be the case they will have my support and any assistance that I can give them.

A RETURN TRIP TO GUZOO

2007-07-22T22:31:00.000-06:00