The so-called 'humane' diet (vegan)

I've seen a lot of articles, posts, and responses all over the internet regarding veganism and how 'humane' it is. Because veganism does not kill, harm, or exploit animals (so they say), it is the 'humane' way of life.

Really? Then why aren't more farmers vegan?

Simply put, because most farmers understand Nature far better than most vegans do. Every time a field is plowed, the farmer is destroying wild rabbit nests and babies, wild bird nests and eggs or babies, wild mouse nests and babies, killing worms and other invertebrates, bugs, insects, and the list goes on...

Those animals killed are food for other animals, like fox , fishers, coyotes, etc. Every acre plowed for your food is depriving another species of its food. Food that is often consumed while it is still alive.

Ever think of that as you munched on your watercress, brown rice and tofu? Where exactly do you think that stuff comes from, anyway?

Fact is, there is no such thing as a 'humane' diet. Every animal on the planet deprives another animal of its life or its food. That is the natural order of things. If you want to follow a truly humane diet, starve yourself to death. It may cause your family and friends untold agony, but hey, some titmouse out there somewhere will thank you for it. Oh, wait - no they won't. Because they don't know or care.

My response to Amy

Definitely vote for Julie and Lauren if this kind of backstabbing is what you want in your club officers. I will not discuss what went on in the BOD, because it is supposed to be a private list, and while I feel sometimes there are reasons for sharing its discussions, my fellow officers disagree, and I will honor their feelings.

As for the UARC being a carbon-copy of the NARBC, I have no idea what Amy is talking about.

That's it, folks. I do think the first comment on Amy's post says everything that needs to be said. It's been an honor to serve you, and I hope you keep Lisa Rodenfels, Tina Vance, and Charlotte Schweikart in office, They have served the club and honorably, and would like to continue to do so. I'd also like you to vote for Jenna Leonard as President, as she will continue to keep our club running smoothly.

Since I can't post to Facebook...

Yes, Facebook has disabled my account for no apparent reason, and is mum about why they did it, they don't even acknowledge my existence, and I've been rather creative in contacting them. So, now begins a re-post here of the latest shares I made on my wall, to see if I can figure out just what it was that got me the ax. So, if this blog suddenly disappears, you know why. ;)

 Oh and, please feel free to share my blog posts on Facebook. ;)

 Anyway, one of the last posts I shared was regarding Monsanto and the things they are doing to eliminate the competition, apparently with the full blessing and cooperation of the US .gov. It's a long video, but well worth watching and sharing:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0khstYDLA

 Enjoy!

Tara:

Since I can't post this on the MeatRabbit Yahoo group, I'm posting it here: You know, Tara, I think we all 'get' that you have a problem with Mary and SRPS, which previously you claimed not to know much about. What I don't get is where you came up with this bunch of incomprehensible stuff that Mary supposedly said. You see, being the secretary of SRPS, I do know quite a bit about it, and about what Mary says, and these are deliberate misrepresentations of topics she has written about. This type of confrontational stuff is why you are no longer welcome on the SRPS list. Besides being inflammatory, it is not factual.

Stop SOPA!

The Politics of Rabbits Pt 4

After the events of the last ARBA Convention in Indianapolis, I've been thinking very long and hard about how I was going to address what happened there. Specifically, regarding the Standards Committee and the Broken English and Broken Satin Angora presentations, although I do know the Jersey Wooly and Lionhead breeders have similar issues.

Basically, our presentations, which had been gone over by experienced breeders and some notable ARBA judges, got disqualified for truly ridiculous reasons.

The Broken English Angoras went up first. The Standards Committee, showing a true lack of knowledge of - the SOP (you know, that document they're supposed to be the ultimate authoirity on?) - tried to DQ the Broken English because one pedigree had a Chocolate Tort coming out of two Fawns. Well, in Angoras, this is entirely possible. Fawn is not a dilute color in Angoras. But not in Netherland Dwarfs, so the Standards Committee tried to say the the SOP for Angoras was wrong, and therefore the DQ.

So, let me clarify that a bit for you. The Standards Committee said that IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT THE ANIMALS MET THE CURRENT SOP, they were DQ'd because the current Standards Committee did not agree with the ESTABLISHED SOP for Angora Colors. Essentially, they tried to impose another breed's color definition upon us. They made no mention of any other reason, we have lots of witnesses.

I took it upon myself to go to the ARBA General Meeting, and waited patiently until the meeting was opened to questions from the floor. I raised my hand, introduced myself, and asked if the Standards Committee had the authority to impose one breed's color standards upon another breed. I was assured that this was certainly not allowed. Well, I responded, they just did, and I gave the details. I was assured that it would be looked into.

When the presenter of the Broken English went back to dispute the ruling, the color issue wasn't even mentioned. Instead, a brand-new, never before-mentioned DQ, that of the junior doe being cow-hocked, was raised. The presenter grabbed said doe and demonstrated that she was not cow-hocked, just a bit pinched, but the Standards Committee denied her appeal and that was that.

Does that seem right to you?

On to the Broken Satins. The Standards Committee went from trying to find a genetic impossibility to trying to create one. They said that a Broken Tort was really a Broken Copper. Now, said Broken Tort was out of another Broken Tort and a Broken Black. Those of us who know genetics know that that isn't possible. In fact, the rabbit in question had no eye rings and no ear lacing. The rabbit did have what could be called rings when its wool was blown into, but they were not true rings, the experienced eye could see that the young rabbit simply had a new coat growing in behind the old one. This is typical of breeds that are pluck-able, especially among young angoras, pluck-able or not.

Another NARBC member kindly consented to having her true Copper rabbit presented to the Standards Committee to show them what a real Copper looks like, but when the presenter of the Broken Satin Angoras went back to appeal, she was denied, in spite of showing them in the SOP that the rabbit did in fact meet the Tort color definition. The excuse was that this particular rabbit didn't look like her other Torts - well, of course not, they were older and their coats looked different! We never got the chance to bring the copper doe up.

So, not only do presentation rabbits have to be good to excellent representatives of their breed, now they also have to be identical as well. No difference between juniors and seniors, apparently.

Does that seem right to you?

I won't go into who these warped ideas come from. Everyone who was there and saw what went on, and saw just who could waltz in and out like they owned the place, despite not actually being on the Standards Committee, knows of whom I speak.

I think it's time the members of ARBA took back their club. It is OUR club, it does not belong to an elite few, and abuses of power cannot be tolerated. We need to either clean house, or better yet, exercise our veto power. What veto power?

Well, we can create it:

ARTICLE IX

Alterations—Amendments—Resolutions

Section 1. Any alteration of, or amendment to, the Constitution to be offered at any annual or special meeting of this Association shall be made by Resolution, in writing, signed by one hundred (100) or more members of this Association in good standing. The Resolution must be received by the ARBA Executive Director not later than 1 May, so that the signatures can be verified. Once verified by the ARBA Executive Director, a copy of the resolution must be forwarded to the ARBA Resolutions Committee no later than 10 May of the year, if it is to be
presented at the annual meeting. All resolutions are to be confined to one subject. All resolutions shall be published in the ARBA Bulletin at least forty-five (45) days in advance of the annual or special meeting at which they are to be considered, in order that members may have the opportunity to form an intelligent opinion on their
merits. The Constitution may then be amended by an affirmative two-thirds vote of all members casting votes at a regular or special meeting of the Association for a Resolution, provided that the notice of the purpose of any special meeting has been stated in the call for such special meeting.

Section 2. Any proposed change in, or amendment to, the Constitution may be submitted to the members of the Association at any time by mail ballot, to be voted upon, and the ballots counted, in the same manner as is provided for balloting for the election of officers. An affirmative two-thirds majority of the ballots cast shall be
required for passage of any proposed change or alteration.

Section 3. A Resolution adopted at an annual or special meeting of the Association shall take effect on January 1st following such annual or special meeting. Any change or alteration voted by mail ballot shall take effect sixty (60) days after the date of certification by the Election Committee.

So, we can pass a Resolution giving the membership veto power over the decisions of the Standards Committee.

Thoughts?

Show Rabbit Protection Society group

The SRPS now has its own Yahoo group where you can ask questions and get answers regarding the Society's purpose, goals, and how you can help.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/showrabbitprotectionsociety/

Support Debe Bell!

> I have the official word to let anyone/everyone know about the hearing on
> the 21st, Judge Green courtroom 1 at 9:30 am. Our attorney figures that
> several house rabbit society people will be there, animal control and
> foothills as well as a lot of DA's to try to show me as a wacked out
> hoarder, etc. So, we need lots of bodies. Call and/or email anyone that
> is interested in supporting our agricultural rights. Full scale,
> facebook, whatever....the more the merrier!
> Thanks
> Debe
>

Even if you don't live in Colorado, please forward this to any you know that
lives in the area and might be interested in supporting Debe.

Even if you don't own rabbits, if you live in the Denver area and support our right to breed animals, PLEASE SHOW UP AND SHOW SUPPORT!!!

God Bless the USA

http://youtu.be/tNqUORIFV4I

Show Rabbit Protection Society

http://showrabbitprotectionsociety.webs.com/

Show Rabbit Protection Society first formed in response to the heartbreaking case of Debe Bell of Colorado, who had a sudden raid on her farm while away at work, with a tip phoned in anonymously to a reward hotline offering $2,000 dollars cash for animal abuse tips. Debe has no idea who the person was, and there are other obvious problems with the case as well. But in any case, her 193 rabbits were removed by Animal Control and House Rabbit Society to the animal shelter. Debe was then informed that the cost of keeping the rabbits in the shelter would be $5.00 per day per rabbit until her case was decided. This was over a month ago now, and she still has not been to court or convicted of anything at all.

It would have cost Debe $815.00 a day to keep her beloved rabbits x minimum of 30 days so far= $24,450.00 per month. Considering Debe is not a rich person and also was encumbered with the expense of hiring an attorney, she did the only thing she could do...turned over ownership of her beloved pedigreed show stock, grand champions as well, that she has been working with for 28 years to Jefferson County Animal Control who packed them off to House Rabbit Society among others. Debe has now watched all of her beautiful beloved show stock neutered/spayed and put up for adoption to who knows what kind of homes on Petfinder.org.

I got to thinking this is a situation in which the accused is sentenced prior to ever entering the courtroom. She will never see her bunnies again, has lost the stock she loved the most, her reputation is destroyed, her privacy invaded by strangers, but most of all, considering the number of rescues performed by rabbit rescuers from their own foster homes and adoptive homes, Debe has no way of knowing if her precious rabbits will be abused, neglected, starved, dropped, suffer injuries or turn out well. And what an excruciating ordeal for any rabbit owner who finds each and everyone of their own bunnies coming up for adoption to who knows where on Petfinder.org when they themselves have not even been tried, charged or convicted of anything simply because the impound fees are so enormous.

I have no intention of arguing the correctness of the charges, whether or not Debe Bell raised her rabbits properly or not. She has already been tried in the court of public opinion and for some she is innocent and some she is guilty.

My intention is to try and make it possible for show rabbits to be held in trust by experienced breeders, at no charge to the accused, until their case is resolved. If guilty, no harm has been done to the rabbits, they can continue their career after their foster home adopts them out to other show rabbit homes still intact, still able to produce. If innocent, the poor breeder can have at least their stock back. It will be up to them to repair the trauma, the reputation loss and so, but at least the rabbits will be well cared for in the show manner they are used to and not packaged up incorrectly by well meaning but completely inexperienced volunteers from some newly formed rescue group.

Whether people want to face it or not, more abuse of rabbits occurs within foster homes of rescue societies than it does anywhere else. The foster homes are emotionally pressured into taking way more rabbits than they legally, financially or physically can have, and the foster homes are only inspected by each individual society they belong to anyway, thereby skirting any intervention by legitimate animal control.

Not many show rabbit breeders I know want their beloved rabbits in those types of hidden hands.

So we have formed our charitable association to solicit funds, tax exemptions pending our 501c3 status, to help pay breeder impound costs. We have formed to create a network of experienced show rabbit breeders that are members of ARBA to care for the rabbits in the manner show rabbits are cared for and to hold the rabbits in trust until the final disposition of the accused breeder's case.

We operate completely independently of any other animal group, either for or against animal rights, for or against farms, breeders. We tried to solicit the interest of active dog breeders and other rescue societies, only to find ourselves bogged down in a disgusting swamp of political maneuvering, propaganda, infighting, power plays, gossip, demands we become vegans, demands we support PETA, arguments over which species was most important, and calls for Obama's birth certificate all wrapped into one blathering Tower of Babel. After we were called Nazi's by both sides of the animal rights equation, we decided to simply maintain our integrity, reject all propaganda for or against the preservation of show rabbit stock and domestic animals period, abandon all other pro breeder/animal rights radical groups as emotionally disturbed and keep our eye very simply on protecting show rabbits in trouble.

We promise to do what is within our legal area to do to keep the rabbits unsold, unaltered, and show ready until we either return them to the breeder if allowed or put them up for adoption ourselves.

Won't you support us in this fight to end the devastation of overly severe financial care costs to show rabbit owners and breeders and the trauma to the rabbits in inexperienced hands?

Contact us for a foster application

or

Join us on Facebook.

Plausible Deniability

So, re: The Debe Bell Debacle:

I contacted Colorado Crime Stoppers, complaining about the way the Debe Bell case was handled. This is the response I got:

larry wieda

To jansgiants@hotmail.com

Good Morning. Not sure why you sent this to Colorado State Crime Stoppers? We do not pay rewards or reveive tips. What Crime Stopper program are you talking about? Please advise.

---

From: jansgiants@hotmail.com
To: board@coloradostatecrimestoppers.com
Subject: rabbit seizure in Colorado
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:03:22 -0400

Hello,

I'm emailing you to voice my concern about how your program was used to falsely accused a successful and highly respected breeder of show rabbits in Jefferson County, Colorado.

First allow me to introduce myself. My name is Janet Gruber, and I am President of the United Angora Rabbit Club. I am also a Director of the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club. I am also someone who has in the past been falsely accused of animal abuse myself. Fortunately for me, my local sheriffs are farmers and know proper animal care when they see it. Nothing ever came of it for me.

Unfortunately that was not the case for Debe Bell. When the House Rabbit Society (which is not an animal welfare organization, it is an animal rights organization, entirely different goals altogether) showed up at her property and were allowed entry by a roommate, the first thing they did was to turn off the air conditioning to her barn. Then they started removing perfectly healthy rabbits, in fact the 'technicians" involved even remarked about how healthy they seemed. A neighbor called Debe at work when she saw what was going on, and Debe rushed home. Upon arrival, she was threatened and intimidated into signing the rabbits over to HRS. After a couple of hours of no air conditioning, they then took the temperature with a faulty thermometer that Debe had lying around, and it showed 84 degrees. Not only is this not too hot for the rabbits, but witnesses say that it was actually not that warm at all.

The long-haired rabbits have since been shaved down to the skin, supposedly because HRS says they were matted and dirty, witnesses say they were not, At any rate, the evidence has been tampered with and now Debe can't prove they weren't. They are now in totally inappropriate conditions, double up in dog crates, sitting in shavings and their own excrement instead of on wire floors like they should be. They are also being fed an entirely inappropriate diet, which will sicken and possibly kill them, and the HRS will use that as proof that they were sick to begin with. The media took the HRS' word for the "deplorable" conditions, which did not in fact exist. Debe's rabbits were housed in spacious cages with wire floors, all their droppings fell into pans under the cages, they were not present int he cages themselves, contrary to the news report. Those of us familiar with the situation are pretty sure she was 'turned in" by a jealous fellow rabbit breeder, we know who it was but we just can't prove it. This person has been trying to make trouble for Debe for years now.

In short, no crime was committed until Crime Stoppers created one. An innocent person's right to unreasonable search and seizure was violated, she was blackmailed, her rabbits stolen from her, and her good name maligned. She now has to screen her phone calls and is being harassed.

I understand that you were warned this would happen. Well, shame on you! I wonder, how much did you pay this anonymous tipster? Now that this has happened, what are you going to do to prevent it from happening again? And why on Earth did you get the House Rabbit Society involved?

Needless to say, I think you should be sued. I hope Debe pursues this, and I wish her luck. There is talk about creating a legal fund for her. She is not in this alone.

Sincerely,

Janet Gruber

I responded that this was given to me as the address responsible for the program, and got no further response.

Today, I contacted the Colorado Attorney General because clearly, Debe's Constitutional rights had been violated. Here is the result, I have yet to hear back from my response:

The local DA is ignoring the violations and is pressing charges based on illegally obtained evidence. Who, then can she turn to if not the CO Attorney general? Are you essentially saying that there is no oversight of local law enforcement?

Funny, CO CrimeStoppers also denies any responsibility, even though it was an anonymous CrimeStoppers tip that started all of this. Funny how no one wants to help the little guy here.

Janet Gruber

---

From: Attorney.General@state.co.us
To: jansgiants@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Violation of Debe Bell's Constitutional Rights
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:21:06 +0000

The Office of the Attorney General has no authority over local law enforcement or Colorado’s locally elected sheriffs. You need to contact your local district attorney’s office.

From: Janet Gruber [mailto:jansgiants@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 4:09 PM
To: Attorney General
Subject: Violation of Debe Bell's Constitutional Rights

Debe Bell, a long-time and well-respected rabbit breeder in Colorado, had her climate-controlled barn raided because of an 'anonymous tip'. It seems her barn was '4 degrees above the ideal' and she had some butchered rabbits in the freezer. OH MY!

http://www.9news.com/news/article/209235/339/200-rabbits-seized-from-deplorable-conditions

Sheriffs entered her property illegally, she was not there to give them access, and proceeded to trample all over her rights. Yes, 4 cages out of 184 were dirty, but she and her 4-H kids were going to address those cages that weekend, I believe this, because if she wasn't keeping up with things, there would have been a lot more than 4 dirty cages. The House Rabbit Society, a notorious ANIMAL RIGHTS organization, led the raid. The HRS is allied with PETA, a group that has been placed on the terrorism watch list by the USDA.

This has gotten national attention, and needs to be investigated. The sheriffs involved need to be disciplined. Animal Rights organizations cannot be allowed to dictate what proper livestock care is.

Janet Gruber

I also emailed (via a website contact program) the governor's hotline and the local Jefferson County Internal Investigations. I have heard nothing back from either.

It seems that nobody wants to take responsibility for the violation of Debe's Constitutional rights. I guess Debe, an ordinary citizen simply living her life and wishing everyone else would do the same, is somehow unworthy of protection? If so, how would the rest of us fare? This makes me very sad, and very fearful for our country.

Pics of Six Bells Rabbitry

Try this Facebook link to an open group and see if you can scroll through the pics. One of the Jefferson County pics is there, of a dirty cage with a litter in it, also there is the one pic they let Debe take before they threatened to ‘haul her away’, and the rest she took after the raid. Notice in all but the one JeffCo pic, the cage floors are clean.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=129276657167682&set=o.125157017579447&type=1&theater

Now I understand that there are those who might not keep that many rabbits, who might find even these pics objectionable, but you’d also find most dairies objectionable within a hour after milking and cleaning. Personally, I find it remarkable that 184 cages look this good. I think it’s a testament that Debe is a good caretaker and her 4-H kids do a good job helping her out. What a shame that all their rabbits were stolen, and 30 years of Debe’s work has been for nothing, all for 3 dirty cages, when a simple warning and follow-up inspection would have prevented this.

This Means War follow-up

I am simply amazed at the willingness of some so-called rabbit breeders to accept at face-value a VERY FEW photos taken by the HRS, claiming to be representative of Debe Bell's rabbitry, when Debe herself was threatened by deputies from taking her own photos. Why would they prohibit Debe, and the local news station from going in and taking photos, but not the HRS, an un-abashed Animal Rights organization?

And why did the local news stations ignore a subsequent invitation from Debe to take video footage?

Debe did not have access to her own barn until late that night, after all the rabbits had been seized and everyone left. So, people who wonder why she didn't clean the food and water bowl out have, and have had, the answer, she wasn't allowed to, but they ignore that. WHY??!!

I am simply flabbergasted that some people actually think that because 3-5 cages out of 184 had poop piled up in them, that this makes the breeder abusive. Never mind that the rabbits in question had the entire rest of the cage to hang out in, never mind that the rabbits inhabiting those cages were happy, bright-eyed, and healthy. Never mind any of that. Those very few cages were not in perfect condition, so therefore she must be guilty.

I'm ashamed, embarrassed, and fearful for my hobby.

This Means War!

http://www.khow.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=fullshow_boyles&selected_podcast=08172011PETE6A.mp3

Above is the link to Talk Radio 630's Peter Boyle's interview with Debe Bell regarding the recent raid of her rabbitry. There are 3 parts, and I believe discussion and calls continue into the next show. Anyway, it's very educational, and it points up the fact that the animal industry is in danger of being outlawed, and if we don't do something, we are all at risk.

What we need to do, collectively as rabbit breeders and enthusiasts, is to educate the public regarding PROPER rabbit care, and to educate our local law enforcement as to Constitutional Law. Yes, it is a challenge, but the alternative is to give up our hobby/livelihood.

This goes beyond breed loyalties. We ALL need to band together and declare war on all those Animal Rights idiots who seem to loathe Humanity's very existence, and make it clear that Humans have the right to breed and harvest animals to feed and clothe our families. There is nothing illegal, immoral, or unethical about it, and those who try to make it illegal are in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States of America, which guarantees an individual's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not to mention protection from illegal search and seizure.

I have taken my website down. I'll still keep my blog, but from this point forward I will not, under any circumstances, ever sell any rabbit to anyone I don't know personally. No one I don't know personally will ever visit my barn, which has been moved to a secure location away from my home. So don't even ask.

It's a dirty, rotten shame that I have to go to such lengths to protect my animals from people who claim to love animals. But look what happened to Debe's babies. Sickening. Disgusting. Wrong. Then there's the fact that 12 of the animals seized, spayed/neutered, and being sold, actually belonged to 4-H kids. Then photos were posted, narrowly cut to show 3 cages in their worst possible light. No information on if those cages was occupied by, say, litters of 8, no mention that litters like to poop and pee in their food and water dishes. Those of us who breed rabbits know this, the public doesn't, and that's what these folks are counting on. Lack of knowledge and experience. No mention that some of the rabbits shown were recent rescues, dropped off on Debe's doorstep. No mention that a white angora can look like that after one night in a transport cage (or in a dog crate sitting in its own urine and feces, like these rabbits were kept in after their seizure). No way to know when or where these photos were actually taken. No redness, no matting shown that prevented urination and/or defecation like the authorities claim.

We're being sold a package of goods, and those of us who lack knowledge, experience, and/or skepticism are falling for it.

About so-called 'Rabbit Rescues'

I don't know about you all, but this has been bothering me for some time now. These so-called rabbit rescue groups, who literally steal perfectly happy, healthy rabbits from breeders, then beg money from the public and ultimately 'adopt' (read: SELL) them out to the public - assuming for one moment that these rabbits actually did need 'rescued' (and from recent events that is indeed a pretty big assumption); wouldn't the money that is begged, borrowed, and stolen in order to support said rabbits in even worse conditions from that which they were 'rescued' from, be better spent on hungry children? Wouldn't the humane butchering of these supposedly 'thousands' of homeless bunnies, and the distribution of the extremely healthy meat thereof to hungry children, make a lot more sense?

Or are bunnies more important than children?