Category: Education

Posted on

Companion Animal Welfare’s Trolley Problem

Those engaged in companion animal welfare in South Africa face an ethical dilemma, which can be expressed as a Trolley Problem. If you don’t know what that is, read here:

http://www.trolleydilemma.com/

The short version is that the driver of a trolley on a railway track sees that there are five men working on the rail. He tries to stop but the brakes do not work, and he then has to make a choice, since he sees that he can switch to another track, where there is only one man working. Does he switch or remain on his current track?

Everyone who commits their time, energy or money to our companion animals has a choice as to how they will apply those resources to the animal welfare crisis. When we examine those choices, we see that they are not easy and that in each case we give up something; there is an outcome we trade off against the outcome we have invested in.

Triage situation

Triage, n:
1. the process of sorting victims, as of a battle or disaster, to determine priority of medical treatment, with highest priority usu. given to those having the greatest likelihood of survival.
2. the determination of priorities for action in an emergency.

For those who are unaware, we have a crisis in companion animal welfare in South Africa. An optimistic estimate Continue reading “Companion Animal Welfare’s Trolley Problem”

Posted on

The Damage of ‘Dog Whispering’

The Damage of ‘Dog Whispering’
Rachel Garner

If you care about animal welfare, please read this.

I’ve now been training dogs for a decade. I find Cesar Millan’s training theory and advice appalling. As a scientist, its obvious that his factual statements and derived conclusions are entirely wrong. As a trainer, I can tell how stressed and unhappy – not cured – the dogs portrayed on his show are. It’s covered up by rhetoric, the soundtrack and a voiceover. Tens of scientists, trainers and behavioral science organizations have spoken out against his theories. I’ve seen dogs mistreated by well-meaning owners who took his advice unquestioningly. Whether you’re an owner, a trainer or just someone who likes dogs, please read this. It’s important to be educated in the science behind training theories before espousing or applying them.

This paper has been written as a cumulative work for an intensive independent study last year on canine cognition and applied training theory. It aims only to represent logical conclusions as drawn from scientific sources and professionals in the field. You’ll notice the sources cited are credible books and web-sites – this is intentional. The goal was to write a paper with information taken from sources directly available to the common layperson. I’m happy to suggest scientific sources for more reading. Continue reading “The Damage of ‘Dog Whispering’”

Posted on

Jeff Young on the overpopulation crisis

(Jeff Young understands the ‘macro’ picture better than most, and he makes some points I have been making for a reasonably long time, the key one being that we cannot solve the crisis by rescuing and rehoming…)

Humane Societies, Animal Rescue Groups and Veterinarians May Cause More Pain and Suffering Than They Alleviate

My name is Jeff Young, and I have been a veterinarian for over twenty years. I have been on numerous humane society boards, have been an animal control officer, and I speak and consult on companion animal overpopulation issues all over the world. I have done over 165,000 surgeries in the last twenty years, and have established full service training hospitals in Bratislava (Slovakia), and Merida (Mexico).

I have trained over 300 veterinarians in more efficient, safe surgical techniques.

From the time I graduated veterinary school, I have had one simple goal: to reduce the population of unwanted dogs and cats around the world. As a veterinarian, I can reduce companion animal over-population by simply providing and promoting low cost spay/neuter. Over the last two decades, we have seen some difference in overpopulation with the rise of educational groups like Spay USA, mobile spay/neuter clinics like the Montana Spay Neuter Task Force, and the construction of mega sterilization clinics like the Las Vegas spay/neuter clinic.

Each year, we will kill over a billion dogs and countless more cats all over the world, simply because Continue reading “Jeff Young on the overpopulation crisis”

Posted on

Letter to KUSA: A member tells it like it is…

I have been a member for over 15 years and I am sorry to tell you the efficacy and image of KUSA is severely tarnished in the public eye.

You have breeders who are “puppy farming ” to the nth degree, breeders selling dogs to pet shops and puppy brokers and yet as the national governing body you do nothing?

I have personally sent you 2 names of abovementioned examples and they are still carrying on – bragging the dogs are registered with papers and they are! Open the junkmail gumtree, olx  and see for yourself…

If KUSA wishes for the dog world to increase in value and stature you need to stop being a toothless tiger and do something. Disbarr them, they will not be able to show (not that they are) nor charge the exorbitant prices they are for the puppies! (Which fyi is the reason they breed!!)

You also can control the number of litters registered per breeder per year that way you will see who is in it for the breed or greed. its the breed lovers that you need not the money makers!!

Or is KUSA enjoying their name dragged through the mud and the breeds destroyed by indiscriminate continuous litters? Continue reading “Letter to KUSA: A member tells it like it is…”

Posted on

Will the ‘Ethical Breeder’ please stand up?

Why is there a certain group of people who are let off the hook, because they are “registered” show breeders, who breed for only one purpose “breeding the perfect animal for the show bench” (which is a total nonsense, because judging is subjective and the breed standard is a bunch of crap based only on somebody’s desired view of what the outside of the animal should look like – and which ignores 99.75% of the genome – and which breed standard can be changed whenever it suits the show scene).

The other group of people are those who do not register or show their animals, but who do exactly the same thing – they mix and match, crossbreeding or not, but they are known as “backyard breeders” and people say they must be stopped. Why must they be stopped?

Very often the difference between a “registered breeder” and a “backyard breeder” is merely that the registered breeder is driven by competition and ambition to breed to excess (sometimes 30-40 females and several studs) in pursuit of the “perfect specimen”, while the other breeder has one or 2 females and breeds a couple of litters a year.

What makes registered show breeders special? A look at the state of pedigreed animals reveals that they certainly cannot be “improving the breed”, because many of the breeds are physically and genetically in a mess and have deteriorated over the 130 years that the breeding game has been played. Why is it OK for them to breed and nobody else? What are their qualifications, and are any required before joining the “registered breeder club”? Why the double standard? Continue reading “Will the ‘Ethical Breeder’ please stand up?”

Posted on

Just for SHOW

“The time has come where we’ve just got to give up this kind of “master race” mentality that we have about dogs. Our system of breeding dogs, of isolating small populations called breeds and then practicing eugenics, generation after generation after generation, all of those dogs are inbred beyond belief. It’s not good genetics and it’s not good dog breeding.” ~ Ray Coppinger (author of Dogs – A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour and Evolution) in Dogs and More Dogs (Nova, 2004)

There is a common call, among animal welfare workers, for breeding of companion animals to be regulated, because there are too many animals and not enough homes, and that this should be achieved through legislation prohibiting breeding unless done so by ‘registered breeders’, and by this they mean breeders who are registered with one of the breed associations or ‘kennel clubs’. The intention is that breeding should be the province of experts who have the necessary expertise to do the job in a manner that is beneficial to the animals and the community. In principle, I agree with this ethic.

Download the full PDF version here (31 pages, 700Kb): Just_for_Show

The difficulty I have with linking ‘ethical breeding’ with the breed associations and the pedigreed breeding community is that there are significant problems with the mindset and practices of the ‘purebred’ syndrome.

Watch this movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Hfqv0uCrg (Pedigreed Dogs Exposed)

And this one on cats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YUksJvEcsY (The Insanity of Show Breeding)

Note: The issues highlighted in this article apply equally in breed-specific terms to cats as well as dogs.

Early dog breeding mimicked natural selection, in that dogs were bred to work; the dogs that could herd sheep or cattle, or that could defend against intruders, etc., were the ones that were bred to produce the next generation. This process over time produced the modern breeds. However, with the advent of dog showing in the middle of the nineteenth century, the focus shifted away from function to aesthetics.

The Show Ring has also been largely responsible for the decline of breed purpose, working ability and temperament in a great many breeds, notably sporting breeds, herding breeds and sled dog breeds. The quick and easy gratification of blue ribbons and gilt trophies all too readily supplants the hard work necessary to preserve and advance canine working abilities. Continue reading “Just for SHOW”

Posted on

Beware, Corporate Body Bullies!

(Download the pdf version of this here: Beware_Corp_Bullies)

In recent times, there has been a development in policies of residential complexes and retirement homes that has had a significant effect on many people’s relationships with their companion animals. In many cases the tactics employed by Corporate Body Bullies are underhanded, illogical and prejudicial.

This document will give people a cleat understanding of the variables involved and some strategies for dealing with these dubious tactics.

The Law.

Firstly one needs to establish whether the scheme within which one resides is a sectional title scheme, a homeowners association or possibly even, the now outdated, shareblock scheme, as each of these have specific laws, rules and regulations.

In most cases, residential complexes are bound by the Sectional Titles Act. In addition, Municipal By-Laws will apply, and it’s a good idea to have an understanding of both before deciding to buy or rent in a given complex.

Sectional title schemes are established under the Sectional Titles Act of 1986, as amended, and within this Act are prescribed management and conduct rules, the latter of which [annexure 9 of the Act] deals with pets.

The Sectional Titles Act (ST) includes the following clauses relevant to this discussion:

35 (3) Any management or conduct rule made by a developer or a body corporate shall be reasonable, and shall apply equally to all owners of units put to substantially the same purpose.

35 (5) (a) If the rules… …are substituted, added to, amended or repealed, the body corporate shall lodge Continue reading “Beware, Corporate Body Bullies!”