Welfare groups say they're not activists

[Animal 0]

Welfare groups say they're not activists
http://www.producer.com/News/Article.aspx?aid=29601


By ROBERT ARNASON, Brandon Bureau
25/11/2010 12:00:00 AM

Animal welfare groups want producers to know that welfare isn't the same as
rights.

The distinction is important because welfare groups want to work with farmers
rather than against them, says Geoff Urton, animal welfare co-ordinator with the
British Columbia SPCA.

"Anything we can do, (we try) to communicate to producers that we're actually on
their side," Urton said.

"Ultimately, we're trying to make sure they understand the seriousness of some
of the consumer perceptions out there and helping them be proactive in
preventing consumer perception problems down the road."

He admitted farmers might be shocked to be told that SPCAs are their allies,
partly because farmers and the general public don't understand the difference
between animal rights and animal welfare.

"It's not easy for Joe Public to pick up on the subtleties," Urton said.

Radical positions and extreme actions have blurred the line between the two
movements, he added.

"So much damage (was) done by certain people in the past, whether they were
animal rights or animal welfare, (because) they took too aggressive an
approach."

The distinction between animal rights and animal welfare is clear to Bill
MacDonald, executive director of the Winnipeg Humane Society.

Animal rights groups want to generate headlines and public sympathy, while
animal welfare organizations work directly with government and industry to
change policies.

"There are off the wall groups, like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals), who pull what I would call stunts, where they spill blood on people..
I peg that as an activist," he said. "Whereas the humane society, we are
advocates or lobbyists.. We get in the room with the lawmakers."

While the line is clear to him, MacDonald agreed with Urton that most farmers
probably don't make a distinction between animal advocates and activists.

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies program director Shelagh MacDonald said
she has learned firsthand about the public's misperception of animal welfare
organizations.

About a decade ago, MacDonald and other lobbyists initiated a campaign to
modernize the section of the criminal code that pertains to cruelty to animals.

MacDonald's efforts ultimately failed, butshestillrecallsthereactionfromfarm
groups when she launched the initiative.

"Frankly, I've been here 18 years and I was actually shocked that many of those
people and groups thought that we were animal rights," Mac-Donald said.

The point of creating a new section for animals was to reflect Canadian values
by treating cruelty cases as crimes that cause unnecessary suffering to animals,
she said.

"We didn't want the criminal code to be used to prosecute farmers for doing what
they are currently doing," she said.

The proposed changes prompted hostile reactions from producer groups. Following
the outrage, Mac-Donald realized her organization had to communicate more
effectively with livestock groups.

"We are not a vegetarian promoting organization. We promote the humane treatment
of animals."

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