“The Hypocrisy Of Our Love Of Dogs,” by Kristof in NY Times + more 8/4/24

Yes, as numerous folks let me know today (thanks Lew Regenstein, Carole Hamlin and Karen Rubio), Nicholas Kristof has done it again! Before I share his extraordinary column comparing the way human society treats dogs vs pigs, let me thank all of you who responded to the Los Angeles Times article on the dangers of deep sea mining and share the two letters printed in response, one by marine ecologist Dennis Lees who expressed concern about how little we know about the potential impact on the “critters” of the sea, and one by Linda Nicholes who notes that animals flee deep-sea mining areas and that battery minerals are recyclable at a 95% rate so we should “leave our precious oceans alone.”

The Los Angeles Times also printed a superb letter by activist extraordinaire Patty Shenker, in response to the announcement that the rodeo is coming to town, stressing that our opposition is “about cruelty to innocent, defenseless animals.”

Letters to the editor that speak for animals let legislators and other decision-makers, as well as newspaper readers (in the world’s entertainment capital in this case) know that animals matter to the public. Letters matter, and I am profoundly grateful to all who write.

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Today’s, Sunday August 4, New York Times column by Kristof is titled, “The Hypocrisy Of Our Love Of Dogs,” and it includes:

“Just as today we wonder how people like Thomas Jefferson could have been so morally obtuse as to own and abuse slaves, our own descendants will look back at us and puzzle over how 21st-century humans could have tolerated factory farming and the systematic abuse of intelligent mammals, including hogs.”

And it includes:

“In a nutshell, we indulge dogs and abuse hogs. A dog is neutered by a vet under anesthesia. A pig in an industrial hog barn often has his scrotum slit without anesthetic by a farmhand who then yanks out each testicle.

Someone mistreats a dog and we’ll call 911. But if a company tortures millions of hogs as a business model, we dine on its products, invest in its shares and honor its executives.”

And:

“These are the moral contradictions we live with, and I think we tolerate them only because we don’t reflect on them. So let’s reflect.”

Most importantly, at the end of the piece we read:

“The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com ”

I will share this gift link from DawnWatch to the piece in case you choose to honor the paper’s desire to “hear what you think” about it.

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In other recent major media animal news, which I have shared to the DawnWatch Facebook page:

A fascinating article from the Associated Press, printed in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, revealed the extent to which Turkey’s stray dog situation has become political. It noted:

“The new legislation requires municipalities to collect stray dogs and house them in shelters to be vaccinated, neutered and spayed before making them available for adoption. Dogs that are in pain, terminally ill, or pose a health risk to humans will be euthanized.

However, many question where cash-strapped municipalities would find the money to build the necessary extra shelters.

The CHP, which won many of Turkey’s biggest municipalities in elections earlier this year, has said it will not implement the law. However, the newly passed bill introduces prison sentences of up to two years for mayors who do not carry out their duties to tackle strays, leading to suspicions that the law will be used to go after opposition mayors.”

And The Guardian reported on the Australian government’s “deep disappointment” with Japan’s decision to expand its commercial whaling target list.

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch