Ever since reading that the Metroplex Animal Coalition raised $25,000 to pay for a HSUS "assessment", whatever that is, I've been nosing around to see just how many self-righteous, We Know Better groups, coalitions, commissions and similar we have here in Dallas.
So far, I've counted up a whole bunch of them. Besides MAC, we have:
Dallas Animal Advocates
Companions For Life
The Animal Shelter Commission
Dallas Animal Cruelty Alliance
Southern Dallas Initiative (allegedly to reduce numbers of loose dogs in this area)
Quality of Life Commission*
Animal Cruelty Task Force Group (this one morphed into the Dallas Animal Cruelty Alliance later - you'd think they would have the sense to call themselves the Anti-Cruelty Alliance)
Dallas Animal District Board*
* I noticed these mentioned in various Animal Shelter Commission minutes from 2009. I have no idea what they actually do, who are members of them, or if they've accomplished anything.
I came up with all of these after looking through 1/3 of the published minutes for the Animal Shelter Commission's 2009 meetings.
Two common denominators struck me:
1. None of the folks in these groups actually get their hands dirty. They don't go out and do TNR, they don't clean shelter cages, they don't help set up mobile adoptions. Instead, they sit on their collective asses and dictate legislation. They also seem to spend hours constructing crappy Web sites and blogs, many with identical information. Copy and paste reigns.
2. A lot of the same people are in more than one group. Do they have too much time on their hands, or just really overblown egos? If they care so much about animal welfare, why don't they do some proper volunteer work - the kind where you might actually come into contact with an animal that needs help?
However, the worst thing about many of these groups is that the city of Dallas allows these layabouts to actually set rules for the rest of us, especially those who are actively rescuing animals. I'll have more information about this in my next post.
5 comments:
Quality of Life Commission is a Dallas City Council sub-committee. It's like a council appointed board that is responsible for all things perceived to be in it's purview, and then they advise the full council on those matters. It is, in fact, part of the City Council of Dallas.
The HSUS assessment is pretty much a fund raiser for HSUS and rubber stamp for the shelter, bought and paid for. There are other organizations that do real assessments for much lower prices and are done by people with years of hands on animal experience.
I thought I would provide a link to an agenda for the Quality of Life Commission, as that might better describe their scope and responsibilities.
http://www.dallascityhall.com/committee_briefings/agendas/QOL_agenda_08122008.pdf
For the membership of and credit to the council member responsible for appointing them to the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, please see the link below.
http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/cso/pdf/boardmembers.pdf
In reference to PJ's comment about the pending HSUS "evaluation", here is the link to an article.
http://www.examiner.com/x-7641-Dallas-Animal-Rescue-Examiner~y2010m2d23-HSUS-begins-assessment-process-by-asking-the-public-for-comments-on-Dallas-Animal-Services
Hope this helps some!
Am I understanding this correctly or is there something wrong with this picture?
Pay to be inspected by an animal rights group and get their stamp of approval to exist?
No, this can't be right...or is it?
If it is, it seems the first thing that needs to be done is set a fee rate for the inspection, maybe by numbers of animals and try to get an independent agency for those inspections.
I have always screamed police yourselves and help each other but that has never and might never work apparently with each group of animal owners in opposition of each other.
Sad really that the AR groups have found a way to get on property and learn things that are none of anyones business.
But, the AR group is not charging the government a fee so the most economical choice when there are so many other ways this can be accomplished. Force them to make a choice of who will do the inspecting.
Seems to me, to fix this, would be to propose a separate entity for inspections of experienced animal owners, rescuers, lawyers and veterinarians who remain AR free...set the rules and make sure that the guidelines are simple enough to understand and follow. Those guidelines have probably already been set and even if those are followed, they might find another way 'in'.
If they want to find another way to dispose of the animal facility (ie: pawprints) they will!. However, I believe the zoning violation needs to be addressed by a lawyer and that won't be cheap if, you can find someone willing to even that it on (experience talking here). By having a bigger voice that is more qualified, it would make 'another way in' a bit harder to do!
So seems to me that the battle is at a crisis level and nothing is being done to fix it. Furthermore, little is being done to protect the animal owner who is being attacked. Everyone running in a different direction and hiding! When in truth, taking down another animal owner only gives them more power!!!
The smartest thing at this point would be for all the groups to ban together and each give money to the cause and secure someone, like yourself maybe, as a 'watch dog' and have a 'watchdog committee' of their own for reports and proposals to keep everyone and the animals safe. There also needs to be representation on their committees and you need to figure out the best way to do that and maybe even have someone undercover as they have done.
Police yourselves and help each other, it's the only way any of the animal owners and groups to survive.
If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone!
Check out the City of Dallas Memorandum to the Quality of Life Committee, 3/4/2010, a presentation on "The Relationship Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence" by Yolanda Eisenstein, of the self-appointed The State Bar of Texas AnimalLaw Group, of which Skip Trimble of THLN, is also a member, and several other A/R lawyers we've seen before...
Seems they are really trying to sell City Council that EVERYONE is an animal abuser, according to their nefarious standards, and therefore will kill a human being! The horror of it all! Glad to know Dallas, once again, is going to fall for this stuff! Idiots!
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