Breeders
I hope day 2 of Be Kind to Animals Week is treating you well. This one’s a wee bit controversial, but I thought it would be a good time to address the issue of purebred animals, especially given some of the surprising comments I’ve been seeing from so-called “responsible” breeders on a recent entry about some landmark legislation that’s being pushed through in California to help cats and dogs. PETA’s position on “responsible” breeding is that there just ain’t no such thing, because every animal that a breeder sells means an animal in a shelter who won’t find a home. The harsh reality of the situation is that, with 6 to 8 million animals handled by animal shelters in the United States every year—3 to 4 million of whom won’t make it out alive—deliberately breeding cats and dogs is about as irresponsible (and frankly, cruel) as it gets.
Anyway, without getting too preachy here, one great way to celebrate Be Kind to Animals Week is, if you or anyone you know is thinking about getting a pet, be sure to adopt them from a shelter. And if you happen to be running a breeding operation, frickin’ stop it.
Here’s a link to some more info on the topic. And here’s a link (this one kind of dates me) to the only good kind of Breeders. Kim Deal rocks.