Puppy Mill Propaganda

When we were first asked to look into the puppy mill issue in Pennsylvania by a very good friend of ours, we thought ... "Sure. It shouldn't take long." Never, in our wildest dreams did we think we would be taken on such a ride. As we write this first report, we are still unraveling the web we found. For those of you that liked to play "connect the dots" as a child, you may want to follow these reports. We're going to show you a whole new way to play the adult version.

A & N Research
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The Shame of Pennsylvania - Puppy Mill Propaganda & Power 101
Part One of a Series ...

Puppy Mill Propaganda

Governor Rendell is on a mission to eradicate puppy mills in Pennsylvania. What are puppy mills? How do they differ from top-notch breeding facilities? They don’t. Not to the animal rights crowd anyway, and this is where the problem begins.

There is a difference between genuine animal welfare and hard core animal rights beliefs and agendas. Breeding facilities that are not properly run and administered diminish the welfare of animals, and this problem should be addressed – with common sense.

However, animal rights activists do not believe dogs should be bred period. They have no first hand knowledge of a professional dog breeding operation and therefore, are not qualified to make blanket judgements regarding them. To them, all dog breeding facilities are “puppy mills.”

Interestingly, the term “puppy mill” was coined by the animal rights movement and they have cashed in on this propaganda, big time. “Puppy mill” has become such a hot-button, emotionally-charged concept, that donations to help the cause, i.e. shutting them down, began to flow into their coffers. That kind of money buys people of great power and influence.

The animal rights movement operates on manipulating public opinion and they are masters of the art. Keep in mind that these groups are non profit, tax free organizations. Shutting down animal related businesses is their one goal and they have the time and money to focus on their causes. In contrast, animal-related businesses focus on the care of their animals. Breeding and raising animals takes dedication, hard work and money that must be earned. Profits, if any, are taxed and reinvested into the business.

Our very country was founded upon the principal that those who are taxed must have representation. America fought and won her independence from England because they were taxed without representatives in Parliament, and the spirit of that principal should still apply. Why are non profit agencies permitted to dictate laws to politicians and the public which cripple our system of free enterprise?

Due to the actions of two animal rights groups, Main Line Animal Rescue (MLAR/MLR) and United Against Puppy Mills (UAPM), Pennsylvania is now called the Puppy Mill Capital of the East. This is actually libel and slander on a big scale, and every citizen who pays taxes in Pennsylvania should stand up and tell their legislators Enough is Enough! Has anyone taken the time to look behind the $500 a month billboards erected by Main Line Rescue to see how they are supported? There are other organizations that have erected billboards, such as Last Chance for Animals, as well, and Main Line is now asking other states who believe they have a puppy mill in any area to begin the "erect a billboard" campaign. All of these billboards promote the web site of the advertiser along with the H$U$ web site.

This nonsense has been going on for several years now and it is time that people connect the political dots.

In early 2005, the Keystone Golden Retriever Rescue (KGRR) filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and its Bureau of Dog Law. They claimed that the Bureau of Dog Law was not properly enforcing PA statutes. Ultimately, the controversy would lead to grandstanding by Gov. Rendell, who dismissed all 14 members of the dog law advisory panel.

A former chief inspector for the HSUS, and who is now consultant to the ASPCA, admitted that the laws were good. Of course he would say they were good since he helped to write the 1982 dog laws. He claimed, however, that "if the existing laws were adequately enforced, there would be an 80% improvement in kennel operations." In many states, HSUS-affiliated humane societies contract with cities and receive large amounts of money for various services such as writing studies on how to improve already existing city-run shelters; for becoming the city’s official shelter, for licensing cats and dogs; for spay neuter services etc. They would like to take away state authority to write, monitor and enforce laws and give it to themselves while at the same time making a non-taxable profit!

Can you say... Conflict of Interest?!?!?

The Dog Law Advisory Board included fair representation including animal welfare group members, animal researchers, dog breeders, farmers, police, county treasurers, veterinarians, sportsmen and pet shop owners. All these people were directly involved with animal welfare issues. Nonetheless, they were fired with short notice while an ad hoc committee was formed that would help the administration develop a “response to puppy mills.”

And just who has been appointed to the ad hoc committee? For starters, none other than Bob Baker, former chief inspector of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and current consultant to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Baker hired an undercover animal-right investigator to produce a video inside an alleged puppy mill. The animal rights people have been known to doctor photos and videos before.

Interestingly, the video and the PA Puppy Mill story are featured on the Animal Rights Liberation (ALF) net site. ALF has been named one of the top 10 U.S. terrorist organizations by the FBI. Numerous witness testimonies have been presented before the U.S. Congress concerning the AR terrorists and the harm they have done to individuals and businesses.

United Against Puppy Mills (UAPM) is a group of so called, "concerned citizens" who claim to be no more than 'normal everyday housewives, evidenced by their "occupation" listed on their political donations which they undoubtedly do NOT get from the cookie jar in the kitchen. This group is associated with Save-A-Pet, yet another Pennsylvania animal rightist group. UAPM started a petition in Pennsylvania to have the Dog Law Enforcement Bureau removed from the "jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Agriculture." They claim that this will protect the companion animals from competing with farm animals. They further petitioned that the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement become the Dog Law Commission and report only to the Governor. In between wash loads and picking up the kids from school, this creative bunch of concerned citizens has also been petitioning local zoning boards to deny kennel permits. While the housewives were busy with those issues, the Save-A-Dog group was promoting UAPM's word changes to Pa. HB 1476 regarding revocation, suspension or refusal of kennel licenses.
This group has gone as far as sending letters and providing a link to all 27 representatives on the Pa. Consumer Affairs Committee. They explain that "this is the committee who decides if the bill is passed or thrown out." They also, will pay for the postage to mail all 27 letters for you. It is imperative to note here that both of these groups are avid $antorum followers and are very aware of, and promote the PAWS bill on their web sites.

Main Line Rescue moved it's Animal Rescue of more than 150 dogs and cats from is original kennel in Valley Forge to a new, larger facility located in East Vincent Township. When they were forced to move their kennel from Dee Solitario's property due to eminent domain claiming the land for a new highway, they discovered, or somebody knew about the Pickering Hunt Club. The property was complete with 58 acres that was protected and could never be developed. They now have a temporary kennel on the property and a new kennel will begin construction in the fall. Interestingly, there are some permit issues regarding the 'purchase' of said property. It would seem that all the "interested parties" are many and the property is not actually going to be 'purchased.'

One needs to wonder how a small rescue organization could afford such an exorbitant expense. Enter SAC, a Pa. Non Profit Civic Action organization that helped Main Line Animal Rescue obtain the Hunt Club. It's interesting to note that Main Line claims to work closely with other rescue organizations and SPCA's. They claim that they take in dogs from all of Pa., NJ, NYC, St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and several other states, including Florida. These animals are sent to Main Line when others have a space limitation or if the animal needs special medical needs or if the animal is scheduled for euthanasia. Main Line arranges all the transport of these animals and boasts that over half of their dogs and cats come to them from other shelters. By now, you must be asking yourself...if there are so many puppy mills in Pennsylvania creating such an overpopulation of animals, why would they need to transport animals from other areas to their facility? As per Pa. law, it is illegal to transport animals into the state without proper paperwork, but then again, we are dealing with yet another non profit organization.

Can you say....discriminatory?!?!

Power 101

Long ago, power had some personality. It had a face. It walked among us all ... but those days are long gone. So, where is power? Who has it? Most importantly, who wants it? The Enron incident, and several others, created a change in the thought processes of those that had, wanted to have and wanted to flaunt their power. Those that were in the limelight realized that the old trend of getting together the night before and having a nice dinner, sitting back to smoke the best cigars your money could buy, while sipping favorite drinks at the local country club, and then going into a rubber stamp meeting were gone. The faces of power disappeared. They no longer walked amongst us. The Board of Directors still maintain the power to an extent, but they realize that they are under intense scrutiny these days...or they should. The old adage that if you wanted to get somewhere you had to reach the top, no longer holds true. The face of Power, today, is in the nodes, hidden in the networks. It's not at the top. It's not at the bottom. It's not lurking in the throngs of mass movements. It's somewhere in the middle where the links come together. That's where the action is, buried deep in the dark, in a spiderless web, exactly the way a real spider operates. It builds its web and it sits in the middle surrounded by its hard work. It waits for its prey - still sitting in the middle - waiting for its web to do its job.

Today, power means being connected. The most powerful person is the faceless individual who has the most connections to others within that dark endless web. The spider with the most elaborate web wins another season of survival just like the power players with the most board seats win. These power players are easy to identify if you look for them. Their 'spider in the middle' is also easy to identify...that's the one that never has to be anywhere in particular, never really does anything concrete and never returns phone calls which means that, suddenly, power is unseen, unheard, and unavailable but ready to strike at a moment's notice. Power is not leadership. Power is working through others from a distance.

Next Issue - We enter the web ... "24" style !!
Politicians - People - Wealth and Influence