Animal
Rights Activists Get Official Roles
In
City and County Dog Law Enforcement
Undercover
Surveillance, Vigilantes, Uniforms and Badges
by
JOHN YATES
American
Sporting Dog Alliance
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.
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.
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