By Dr. Al Grossman

In 1993 I wrote the following as an introduction to Patti & Rod Strand’s book THE HIJACKING OF THE HUMANE MOVEMENT.

“ There comes a time when one must draw a line in the sand and say NO MORE!

“The time has come for all people who sincerely have the welfare of animals and society at large to declare to those misbegotten souls of the animal rights movement that we have had enough.

“We laughed when they began their escapades and chortled when they dressed in those funny costumes. We coughed a bit when they began to throw blood on those wearing furs. We became downright angry when they burst into research laboratories, freeing animals to a somber fate and destroying valuable research records. Our anger knew no bounds as they spray painted and firebombed their way into the public consciousness.

“Then came the legislative campaigns to malign, hinder and demean breeders of purebred dogs and cats. This coupled with their attempted takeovers of Humane Societies and the well-planned mail campaigns to gather funds for their so-called legitimate activities.

“We as concerned breeders/exhibitors began to feel the gorge rising as we realize we, the public, have been cleverly duped by mass media campaigns and the support of a few misguided stars of the entertainment world.”

Today we show fanciers are bearing the brunt of the legislative drumbeat instigated by the fanatics of the animal rights movement. They are known by a number of names. Their leading exponents are PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) ALF (Animal Liberations Front) and the like.

In order to understand the movement, it’s helpful to understand who they are and where they come from and what their goals are and why they have had some success in the legislative area.

First off, who are they? They have all the trappings of a cult and behave as such with many interrelated parts. To understand them one needs to understand what a cult is and how it functions.

Instead of looking at their members as aggressors, lets look at them as victims, as they certainly are. However, they can be as dangerous as their leaders. An animal rights leader feels they are not accountable to any authority except their own. They are always one hundred percent in control. The followers should never have the opportunity to think independently.

HSUS is strongly anti-meat, anti-hunting, anti-animal research, and anti-pet. They keep no animals, run no shelters and have no connection to ANY group that does and uses millions collected from a gullible public to pass anti-animal legislation.

PETA is the organization much in the news and the FBI considers its brethren in ALF a terrorist organization. They are the lightning rod for many affiliated groups across the country and are the ones whose tactics smell of dishonesty and chicanery.

The cult leaders create their own morality which is defined solely on what’s good for them and what will perpetuate the cult. External laws are irrelevant. The leaders make the subjects believe it is in their best interest to do what they tell them - or what they suggest. Cult leaders are masters at getting their message across (who else would believe the ranting of Ingrid Newkirk of PETA) in subtle ways, so that even if they are caught, as so many ALF adherents are in a wire tap, their comments won’t incriminate them specifically. But the subjects understand the shorthand of the message. For you old timers, remember the decoder rings of Dick Tracy and Jack Armstrong. You couldn’t decipher the message without the special ring.

The leaders polarize issues and create conflicts. Veganism, spay/neuter, anti-breeder, etc. It’s them vs. us, black and white. The cult is right and anyone who is not in the cult is against them and out to destroy them.

The leaders do not allow any dissent. They will take extreme views, and outrageous views like Newkirk of PETA and Pacelle of HSUS, and wait for a subject to question them to test their loyalty. The leader tends to select vulnerable people (disaffected youth from well-off families) and play on their insecurities. They look for loners and replace their non-supportive families with one that makes them feel special and included. It is important to the leader that his subjects see them as sources of support and nurture.

It is on the legislative front that they have made great inroads. Their well-financed legislative campaigns appeal to politicians who see a bandwagon to ride. Unfortunately, politicians seek the limelight and often choose issues much in the news and the animal rights adherents see to it that it is much in the news. They are able to hire talented PR and marketing people whose drumbeat can be heard incessantly. Hollywood glamour people (who are not necessarily known for their brains but the size of their busts) are easy converts. Publicity, publicity and even more publicity. Hitler and Goebbels proved that the great lie told over and over again begins to be believed. Look at the leaders of Iran and Venezuela, they shout their message to the rooftops and are believed by many of their own people as well as fellow travelers.

OK, what do we need to do at our end? AKC has made a beginning with the approval of its PAC. However, counterpunching alone will not win the battle. AKC along with the organizations that fought California AB1634 needs to introduce its own competing legislation. Lets get a bill before the Congress that spells out what we want and how we want it enforced. Lets leave the counterpunching to the boxers. This legislation will give the opponents of the animal rights movement in Congress a gold chip to bargain with.

Dr. Grossman, a long-time judge of Sporting Dogs, and publisher of Doral Publishing, is now the president of winningsolutions.info, a website devoted to developing the Professional Mentor concept via killer ideas and vital information for the breeder who wants to a high degree of success in his efforts. This information can be found at http://www.winningsolutions.info