The BC-SPCA responds to my open letter
| Posted in Go Vegan | Posted on 08-10-2009
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I received this response to my open letter to the BC-SPCA:
BC SPCA clarifies food policy position
October 8th, 2009. For immediate release. In response to Sarah Kramer’s posting calling on the BC SPCA to serve only vegan menus at any SPCA events, we like to clarify the society’s position. The BC SPCA is an animal welfare organization, not an animal right’s organization, so the policies of the organization will reflect a slightly different point of view than Sarah’s personal beliefs. Many of our staff, volunteers and supporters do choose to be vegetarian or vegan, but as an animal welfare organization we acknowledge that people in our world do eat animals for food. Our goal is to ensure that animals who are raised for food are treated as humanely as possible throughout their lives and are provided with the five freedoms outlined in our mission statement. To this end, the BC SPCA is a Canadian leader in promoting high standards of welfare for farm animals through its SPCA Certified Program and through extensive work at the local and national level increasing the codes of practice set out for producers. With respect to events, the BC SPCA has a policy that outlines that vegetarian (and where possible, vegan) options must be provided at all SPCA events and approved third-party events and that products meet acceptable standards of welfare.
We completely respect Ms. Kramar’s right to make personal choices and to offer her volunteer time and resources to an organization that most closely aligns with her personal belief system. However, there is a difference in philosophy between animal rights and animal welfare which she may not have been aware of when she signed up with the SPCA. The BC SPCA works regularly in partnership with animal rights groups and there is a mutual respect among the organizations with whom we work. Where we can agree on mutual goals we work together, and on other issues we respectfully ‘agree to disagree’ but still support one another’s efforts without imposing our philosophies on one another. At all times, we work with a shared passion for the benefit of the animals that we all love.
What a shame that the BC-Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals decided not to rise to the occasion and effect positive change but instead released a statement riddled with hypocrisy.
Their own vision statement says: To inspire and mobilize society to create a world in which all animals enjoy as a minimum, five essential freedoms: Freedom from hunger and thirst. Freedom from pain, injury and disease. Freedom from distress. Freedom from discomfort. Freedom to express behaviours that promote well-being.
Clearly one has to inflict pain, distress and discomfort on an animal to eat them.
This could have been a wonderful opportunity for them to not only set the bar high for other animal advocacy groups – but also effect positive change in the community by promoting healthy, thoughtful, compassionate eating. I still don’t understand why they won’t take the opportunity to access 100% funding for food from VegFund.org? It’s kind of bewildering.
So I won’t be helping the SPCA anymore … and I am stepping down from the Community Council – effective immediately and will focus my time, energy and $$ on advocacy groups who understand that when you dedicate your life to serving animals – that you shouldn’t “serve” them at a fundraiser.
Perhaps if the BC-SPCA hears from it’s volunteers/contributors … they’ll change their tune… so if you are unhappy with the BC-SPCA and their food policy position – Feel free to write them an e-mail: board@spca.bc.ca or info@spca.bc.ca
While you’re at it. Why don’t you let the media know how you feel as well:
Why, in order to “acknowledge that people in our world do eat animals for food”, must they serve meat at SPCA events? Can’t you acknowledge that people eat animals, yet still serve vegan food at the events? I’m not sure why the acknowledgement necessitates serving meat!!
And yes Sarah, I agree that farm animals have at best one of those “five freedoms”: the freedom from hunger and thirst. Some of them (e.g. poultry) are so free from hunger that they are fattened well beyond their capacity to endure it, and live their lives unable to stand under their own weight.
If the BC SPCA can find a way to serve animals that had all of the five freedoms that the organization claims to defend, then more power to them. But I’d like to see how they can free a pig from distress when it’s in line in the slaughterhouse waiting to be killed, its bladder and bowels emptying in fear while it sees what’s happening around it. And how they can free a cow from discomfort while it’s being hung upside down and pounded on the head to get stunned so it can be killed more easily.
Good for you Sarah! I completely agree: The BC-SPCA’s response is very disappointing and, as you succinctly put it, riddled with hypocrisy. And it is SUCH a lost opportunity to be an example! With the bounty of awesome vegan fare out there and VegFund.org funding available on top it, their position is truly puzzling. It’s sad, really.
Holly, very well said. My opinion is that they are hiding behind this “welfarist” position for a very simple reason.
The strategies employed by groups usually reflect their employees and especially their leaders’ attitudes. And because these leaders and the employees themselves aren’t able to switch to veganism nor open their minds to comprehend the concept of veganism (they like their meat and dairy too much you see), they have to justify somehow their meat eating habits (after all they work for an organization that has “animal protection” in the title!).
Their supporters are the perfect audience because they feel kind of guilty, but don’t really want to do much about it or they are simply speciest (they love cats and dogs but all animals are sub-animals).
At the same time buying “happy meat”, free range eggs etc., makes them feel like they’re doing something…”hey, we’re shopping ethically. We care!”. But they can’t look further than that to understand that the “happy meat” comes from the slaughterhouse and that the free range chicken will end up at the same slaughterhouse with the non-free range chicken were they will not have any of their “five freedoms”.
I think they should change their name to the Society for the Protection of Cats and Dogs – SPCD.
Hi Sarah,
I do agree in part with you that the SPCA serving animal products is some class a hypocrasy. That being said, to be fair to their mission statement and your response: one does not have to inflict pain to end life. There are many ways to end a life that is free of pain and pain inhibiting substances. Hypoxia is one such example.
I get what your saying and do agree with you but your point about pain and end of life is wrong. To eat anything it does have to die, even plants. To say that plants are ok and animals are not I don’t think is correct either, a point you and I may never agree on. Such a stance makes the assumption that just because an animal can express its pain or an emotional attachment to an animal should negate it from being food wrongly assumes plant life can not experience pain, distress or discomfort only because we do not understand or do not yet know the process in plants that is the same. We do not know that plants can not experience pain, discomfort or distress. Plant life is much much much more complicated than we’ve ever previously understood. In fact there is a growing body of research that indicates plants are communicatingto each other on much higher levels than expected.
Plants communicate through chemical signals passed to other plant life (even across species)messages that are as complicated as danger and harm are sent. Water and nutrients are also sent between species and individual organisms. If an animal is eating one kind plant, others in the area will go into a defensive mode even when there is no danger directly posed to them or being experience by them. Mushrooms are a common transfer organism but not always the medium. Most signals are chemical and harmonal sent both above and below ground. Mushroom were where Humans first saw these kinds of signals, it wasn’t until later that it was discovered other plants were doing the same thing or to the complexity.
In many cases plant communication is more complex (particularly in inter-species communication) than some animals to whom we’ve given greater value, in all sense of the word.
I know you and I will never agree on the choice to eat animals or animal products. In fact I have major problems with owning and keeping animals as pets, which is in fact raising a non human organism in human culture, something definately outside of an animals normal existance. My problems with a Vegan lifestyle are more deeply rooted than that, but that’s not what this letter is about.
Organisations like the SPCA are generally created to correct human behavior that reflects a lack of respect for life and tend not to aligh with larger issues or agendas. The SPCA will never have the organisational capacity to to push actual animal rights, they’re merely there to correct the greedy, ignorant and intentinally cruel (those that would voluntarily devalue another life). To actually address real issues they would need to have an exorbinant amount of control. The business interests invovled in animal based food production is so large that like oil we may never get away from industrial animal prodcution.
I urge you not to leave the SPCA or stop supporting them. Voices as powerful as yours need to be heard in these organisation or there will be no change. The SPCA seems to be rather terrible at forming strategic partnerships that would increase their capacity, influence and reach. If people as informed and intelligent as you Sarah leave organisations like these out of frustration, particularly over hypocrasy, the changes that you and I both would like to see will never come. I can make my point through a short and easy question; “Do you know or trust anyone else to be as informed and passionate as you to take your place once you leave?”
Sincerely,
Liam McLachlan
(formerly of the Joint, in case you forgot)
Sorry for all the typos, I’m noticing a few.
Liam, its not true that plants are sentient and communicate in a way that is comparable to animals, its been debunked for a long time. Plants have no nervous system and no pain receptors, while animals are vastly like us, so like us they deserve basic rights and freedoms. (http://www.skepdic.com/plants.html) You can say “well you can’t prove plants don’t have feelings”, but there’s absolutely no evidence that they do just like there’s no evidence that there isn’t an invisible unicorn sitting right next to me. Please research more carefully.
Sorry to hear that Sarah, I don’t know what to do now since five dollars of my pay check always goes to the SPCA. But you know what? I remember years ago the SPCA had a documentary on CBC in which they stated that as long as animals are only seen as property they can have no real rights and therefore no real protection. They acknowledged that for cats and dogs but hypocritically deny that to farm animals.
If I was eating my kittens, no matter how “humanely” it was you bet the SPCA would be on my ass.
Liam, Shy already responded to your plant comments so I won’t touch on that.
Regarding your plea for Sarah to stay – the message in the SPCA’s letter is very clear (apart from misspelling her name…how unprofessional of them), it says: “We completely respect Ms. Kramar’s right to make personal choices and to offer her volunteer time and resources to an organization that most closely aligns with her personal belief system.”
They’re basically dismissing her and saying they don’t want her (it’s too inconvenient for them, they like people who agree with them, not people who make them question their ways).
I love that with one quick sentence “If I was eating my kittens, no matter how “humanely” it was, you bet the SPCA would be on my ass.” you summed up the entire problem. Thank you Shy. :)
I’m going to be quoting you from now on … if you don’t mind.
Aw, what a disappointing response.
And their comment that they “acknowledge that people in our world do eat animals for food” is ridiculous and defeatist.
Why don’t they just get in some bullfighting, cockfighting and a dogfight and say “we acknowledge that people in our world do use animals for violent sport”?
Have they also forgotten that everyone in the world eats some sort of plants – so by having vegan they would be catering for everyone.
Sarah, there are plenty of other animal rights organisations out there that are abolitionists which you could help instead. I know in Australia I have Animal Liberation Victoria – have a google.
Liam, others have covered the plants thing already. But my point is – we don’t know for sure about plants suffering. But we DO know animals suffer. Your argument is a non sequitur. It does not follow that because we don’t know if plants feel pain we should eat animals.
Wow, I didn’t know that about the BC-SPCA (I’m from the U.S. so I wonder if SPCA are on the same side with this issue?)
I see their point … to an extent. I am happy that they take the effort (or claim to take the effort) to use animals that are free-range farm raised. However, in order to produce the meat, something is going to be under pain (like you stated.) I’m a new vegan, and only have come to realize the cruelty animals endure so humans can eat them.
I get why you are leaving. It’s like if I am pro-life but I still used Planned Parenthood to get my birth control, or gave money to an organization who could give that money to someone that does embryonic stem cell research. A person ends up inadvertently supporting something they are completely against!
Though, I hope you find other ways to stand up to them and make them “covert” or “see the light.” Liam has a point there, but staying with the SPCA isn’t the answer.
The SPCA is not perfect; however, they do help a lot of animals. It is upsetting to read that people are going to be withdrawing their support for the BC SPCA because this will cost animals their lives. There are other ways to get your point across. There are staff and volunteers who have stuck it out at the BC SPCA for years, working to help improve the work this organization does. To volunteer at the Victoria SPCA for almost a year, and then decide to create a whole lot of bad publicity for this organization is only going to do more harm than good. All I can say is that I hope this helps to sell a lot of books, because that appears to me to be the motivation behind this whole production.
Dear Allen
You don’t know me very well if you think this is about selling books … and by the way The SPCA embarrassed themselves – I just held a mirror up so everyone could see.
The most surprising response to my post is that I was implying that because plants may feel, we should eat animals. I can’t see where I was saying that nor do I advocate for it. I’m not sure where I said animals don’t deserve any rights either. I know it was a long post but I read all of your responses.
Shy and everyone else, you’re right plants are very different from animals which means they experience things very differently from animals. The physical structures that make up an animal’s nervous system would not likely be present in a plant but that does not negate the likelihood they experience or feel anything in a physical sense. The backster effect is the result of looking or animal responses in non animals, in particular emotional state responses. If you’d like to play the link game, http://blog.ted.com/2008/05/paul_stamets.php . Paul Stamets argument for fungi is unreal, you may even rethink eating them. My point is that the logic used is flawed.
I’m on the losing end of the argument in this arena, I get it. Probably should have skipped the whole thing.
The plea to stick with the organization and effect some change and maybe convincing the local level of the SPCA to maybe change some policies before it becoming regional and national policy was I thought the more important part. I completely support Sarah’s position and decision but I don’t understand why because of the ill informed person assigned to respond to her and the obvious hypocrisy all efforts with the SPCA should be abandoned. How will that show them how to change? It only re-enforce that they are correct, which they are not. Could you not work with them and present them with alternative that would be in their best interest?
It very interesting that because of my statement of disagreement with veganism, it was taken to mean I eat meat and promote it. Little quick on the draw, you could have asked what my dietary habits are first.
Liam, an organization of that size doesn’t put anything out without control from the top. So that message, as “ill informed” as it is reflects the organization’s leadership. And that says it all.
Allen, this is not bad publicity, this is a much needed time for the SPCA to do some soul searching and effect some drastic changes.
Constructive criticism is a great tool. A great organization will be able to take it, analyze it and evolve. The problem is they don’t seem to like anything that isn’t already in tune with their ways – see their pathetic, self-righteous response.
Niki: “Why don’t they just get in some bullfighting, cockfighting and a dogfight and say “we acknowledge that people in our world do use animals for violent sport”?”
You hit it on the head!! Acknowledgement does NOT mean you need to participate in the action that you’re acknowledging!!!
To those who think Sarah is wrong for criticizing the BC SPCA, can you please explain how them serving meat at their events does NOT violate their own mission statement?
Alex an organization of that size has a set of policies from the top that are carried out on the local level, when Victoria puts on a fundraiser they don’t need the head of the SPCA there for it. Organization change can happen from the local level and from the top. It just happen with less turmoil and with greater speed from the top.
The top general does not listen until there is at least one example of change. Besides the letter doesn’t say it is policy to serve meat, just to provide vegetarian and when possible vegan meals. Meaning it is entirely possible to have an event that is entirely Vegan, if driven from the local level.
What a bad move the BCSPCA made. In order to work towards the end of cruelty to animals, an organization such as the BCSPCA must look to all roots leading up to the problem. One such root is society’s acceptance of eating animals and their products. BCSPCA needs to be a leader in this battle to show that they stand up for all animals.
As for Sarah deciding to leave the BCSPCA, they’ve lost a great resource. Sarah, hopefully you can find an animal rescue organization that is willing to end ALL cruelty to animals. Keep helping those animals in Victoria who need your help.
Allen – the BC SPCA is willfully hurting animals to begin with. As vegans, how on earth can we endorse that?
If we stick with them, they hurt cows, pigs, chickens, fishes, and other animals, and perpetuate the flawed idea that it’s okay to care about some animals, but not others.
If we pull back our support it’s unfair to say we’re hurting cats and dogs. It’s the BCSPCA that is hurting cats and dogs with their policy choice hypocrisy.
Animal advocates need to be advocates for ALL animals. And as vegans, we can’t endorse anything that results in the exploitation or harming of animals – which the BCSPCA is doing and supporting.
Sarah got involved with this group, and donated her time, energy and money. She has already made contributions to it. The organization is fatally flawed, and upon realization of this Sarah has made the necessary change.
Important: Can anyone explain why the BCSPCA *has* to serve animal products at events?
(Bueller? Bueller..?)
No?
As already highlighted, vegan options the most inclusive for ALL BCSPCA supporters. There is *no* reason why they can’t. And further, the BCSPCA could SAVE MONEY by using VegFund. They can get FREE FOOD for crying out loud.
Sarah is completely justified in retracting her support – the BCSPCA needs to re-evaluate their position, as they are behaving irrationally to their detriment, not to mention are alienating potential supporters who do the most to help animals. (Vegans.)
Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
http://www.FriendsofAnimals.org
http://www.TheVictoriaVegan.com
PS – i was a volunteer at the Victoria BCSPCA for three years as well (2002 onwards) as their Friday night dog-walker coordinator with my friend Heather. It killed us to see their non-vegan events. Also, the BCSPCA won’t support Friends of Animals efforts in Victoria to ban the horse-drawn carriages. Go figure.
As unfortunate as it is, not all people in the world are vegan. So, to ignore this fact, and not provide support and resources to ensure that animals who are raised for food are treated as humanely as possible is short-sighted. In my perfect world no animals would be domesticated, and no animals would be used for food, or other materials. The unfortunate reality of the real world is that this is not the case. How much time have you spent up north, or on the east coast? Is better to acknowledge, but not agree with, the fact that people kill animals and work to ensure that all animals are treated humanely, or is it better to live in a bubble and refuse to work with anyone who isn’t vegan?? Look up Veterinarians Without Borders. The work they do makes a real difference because they acknowledge the fact that not everyone can be strictly vegan, or avoid using animals in their daily lives.
My point is that I think many have an unrealistic, extremist attitude about how the world should work. I would LOVE to see a day when there are no more domestic animals because this would mean no more suffering. Unfortunately this is never going to happen. So, you either choose to acknowledge reality and help to ensure that the animals who are a part of this process are given as humane a life and death as possible, or you ignore real world situations and say you will only help when the world becomes vegan. The potential is there for major change; however I disagree with Sarah’s approach. It is not productive. All I am reading in people’s comments is negative comments about the SPCA. What about all the good they do. Do any of you have any idea how many animals are helped every year by this organization? Change can come, it just takes time. The Victoria SPCA is very progressive, and if Sarah would have started there I believe she would have gotten much more accomplished. Instead we have people who really know nothing about the work the SPCA does, trashing them.
Dave – Although I can see you are a very compassionate and passionate person, I think you may alienate may people and will end up hitting a brick wall very quickly. If you are only able to see the point-of-view of other vegans, and do not factor in real life situations, you are not going to get very far. This is a shame because your message is a good one; however, I think the only people who may be listening are others who already hold the same view as you. Doesn’t seem very productive to me!
Allen
If you read my open letter … you will see that I did try to make a change at the Victoria SPCA but to no avail. That is when I decided to target head-office and request them to change their mandate so it would be a provincial wide policy. Also in my letter I talk about the amazing work that the staff/volunteers do on a daily basis. Please READ my letter again … with fresh eyes. I think you may have missed a few key elements. :)
Your motive is still questionable to me. If you were a member of the Victoria cc, why did you not use this angle to target head office?
Did. Nobody was interested. In fact I was discouraged at every juncture.
And more importantly Allen, an organization such as this needs to be transparent with it’s operating policies. That is why I made my letter to them public so that everyone could see the hypocrisy. It’s a shame they didn’t rise to the occasion and decide to be leader in the community and set an example to other animal advocacy groups.
As for motive. My motive is to help this group (that I think does fabulous work) make a positive change in the antiquated way they do their fundraising. I said it before and I’ll say it again – If you dedicate your life to serving animals (like the employees/volunteers of the SPCA do) then you shouldn’t also “serve” animals as food at fundraising functions. I don’t know what’s so suspect about that…
Allen, they are an animal protection group, they should not be eating animals at their events, etc. I would go as far as question their employees’ integrity if they work there and eat meat, consume dairy, wear leather etc. How hypocritical is that?
That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t help animals that are being exploited by the food industry, they should, but they need to do it in a more progressive, strategic manner.
By promoting animal products that they call “ethical” through their “happy meat” programs, they actually obstruct change.
How much more progress could be made if they would focus their energy on spreading a vegan message? How many factory farms could go out of business and as such how many animals could be saved?
Instead they insist on focusing on the “happy meat” concepts, which will only create a different generation of animal exploiters.
I am not a vegan, but really… if you are all pro-animals and stuff, really WHY NOT serve/eat vegan food?
To the SPCA: put your money where your mouth is! Or practice what you preach?
@Dave: “Animal advocates need to be advocates for ALL animals.” I disagree with this statement. If the SPCA changed their mission statement to say, “We protect pets from cruelty”, then I would have no problem with their policies and actions re serving meat at their events, etc, because they would not be hypocrites: they would be following their own mission statement, which would not include farm animals. Just like some cancer charities that fund treatment for only one kind of cancer – that’s fine, as long as they don’t claim to support more than one.
And that’s where I have a problem with the BC SPCA: that they claim to advocate for the protection of all animals, with their mission statement with the “five freedoms” – and then they go and violate their OWN MANDATE by serving meat at their events. That’s the problem I have with them: their hypocrisy.
They need to make their actions consistent with their mission statement – and that means they either need to change their actions so that they truly protect all animals from cruelty, OR change their mission statement to only include cats and dogs.
Sarah, thank you for going public and making a stand for animals in food production.
All change begins somewhere and the SPCA will evolve as the public demands it. When i first started bringing pigs home, livestock for the most were simply shipped to auction. Pot bellied pigs were kept in dog kennels on hard cement surfaces with a bucket for water. Now we see them on surfaces covered in sawdust with big piles of hay and a water dish they can drink out of. Farm animals are seized along with our precious cats and dogs and are put up for adoption too. Change will come as long as we keep speaking out on there behalf.
Keep Pork Off Your Fork!
Janice Gillett
Hearts On Noses
A Mini Pig Sanctuary in Maple Ridge
British Columbia, Canada
I walked into the heart of a friend, and found a home
http://heartsonnoses.com/
http://heartsonnoses.blogspot.com
Hi Janice
Thank YOU for all the hard work you do.
Kisses to you and the pigs.
xoxo
SARAH
My guess is that the BCSPCA has a board and a base of donation-givers who are big, guilty meat-eaters –who like cats and dogs and maybe bunnies but that’s it; so that the mere mention of vegetarianism sends chills down the spines of those who fear offending the money-bags and bosses.
It’s ridiculous because it would be easy to get around all of this–to put vegetarianism/veganism forward slowly and carefully and to work on communicating a food policy in a positive way. They could have pasta nights and lots of beautiful veggies and wine and no one would even notice that a dead pig wasn’t on their plate.
Instead, they take the easy way out and put hypocrisy at the core of their world.
Oh i bet the next dinner will be and really the SPCA has come a long way from simply being a cat dog shelter in the last 15 years. Of course we would all like to see change faster and Canadians need to start looking at there own Farm Animal Sanctuaries. There are very few of us here in B.C. and any one just doing farm animals are struggling right accross Canada. The few of us who are doing it would love to get from behind the wheel barrow and roll up our sleeves to do more advocate work. But the realitiy of our activisum is running the sanctuary 24/7 with full time paying jobs. We can do more..right now. The SPCA is only one factor in the grand scheme of things. Let them do there thing and help us do more. I would love to see a walk done for Canadian Farm Animal Sanctuaries. ;o))