HumaneWatch Info Exposing Lies, Uncovering the Truth

1. 

   ZaCloud
   July 14th, 2011 - 11:05

   I’d like to nominate Big Cat Rescue. They not only have been giving captive big cats the best life possible, and making VERY visible use of donations (always expanding the habitats and increasing fun things for the cats to do, providing the most optimized diets, etc), but they’ve also been advocating VERY hard against private ownership and exploitation of wild animals. Their self-stated goal is to go out of business, from not needing to rescue captive animals anymore.

   They constantly alert supporters about cruelty or exploitation going on, so people can band together to make a difference. So they’re not only rescuers, they’re activists.

   And this refusal to stay quiet, this selflessness of putting the animals’ rights ahead of their own, has led to a lot of backlash. Naysayers have been lying, forging documents, impersonating websites to provide false claims, and slandering BCR. Abusive organizations even use names similar to theirs, in an attempt to gain artificial support or make the real BCR look bad.

   An organization that does so much good, is being treated terribly by people supposedly supporting animals. Much like how HumaneWatch persecutes the HSUS, a great many people and groups do the same lies and slander against BCR. Go to their YouTube channel (username: BigCatRescue) and you can watch any video you want of their cats engaging in natural, contented behaviors, provided with frequent enrichment activities, and you’ll see that they truly care for the animals. It’s the most ideal life a big cat could possibly have, short of being back in the wild.

   Most of them came late in life from horrific conditions, so they only get to enjoy the brief remainders of their lives there. But at least those last days, or months, or years are finally spent with grass beneath their paws, real meat in their stomachs, and having finally learned how to freely use their predatory instincts (albeit on pumpkins and watermelons).

   BCR did a lot of perfecting of their methods of taking care of the big cats, learning from experience as they went, until they’ve fine-tuned all their methods. They now have a steady system in place, and remain enthusiastic about their work, despite detractors and harassment. This shows that they truly put the animals first, and for that they deserve respect.
2. 

   wmidds
   July 16th, 2011 - 07:41

   My animal hero stands behind the scenes and makes sure the rest of the people have what they need to do the job they love to do. He is a quiet man, loves coffee and jokes with everyone. He is not the one in front of the cameras,  he is back in the warehouse or distribution center, delivering supplies and finding the items everyone needs to take care of the animals. No matter what species we are saving, no matter what items we need, he finds it and brings it to us so we can continue working to save the animals.  All you have to do is ask, and he makes it happen. 
   He volunteers countless hours to several animal rescue groups and is always available by e-mail or phone to help anyone in need.  If it needs to be done, he is there.
   I would like to nominate Julius Bartell of North Carolina as my Animal Hero. Recently I met Julius at the animal shelter for the animals from the Joplin MO tornado.  He is a special kind of person that makes saving animals happen. Ask anyone who was there, everyone knows Julius and can tell you about something they needed and he found. Another thing about him is that he never takes credit for anything that he does, he just keeps doing what needs to be done.  Funny and addicted to coffee, he is a man that you need on your side when helping animals.
3. 

   D White
   July 28th, 2011 - 08:28

   I would like to nominate Blaze’s Tribute Equine Horse Rescue.  http://www.blazesequinerescue.com/ .  Some of you might think it is odd that I would recognize an animal welfare organization because I am supposedly supportive of the cruel practices of big ag, etc.  I think that JDS knows this is not the case through our private conversations, it is very easy for many of you to villify me and misrepresent what I believe or don’t believe because it suits your cause.  Many farmers and ranchers, including myself have several organizations that they support, both financially and otherwise.  Blaze’s Tribute is one of mine.  It is by far the largest and most successful horse rescue organization in Oklahoma.  What makes it different from many of the others is that almost all of their horses come from neglect and abusive situations (many of the others buy their horses at the auction presumably to save them from slaughter).  Blaze’s Tribute is the one who is called whenever there is a seizure pretty much anywhere in Oklahoma.  They often have to take in large numbers, up to 50-70 sometimes and the animals when they get them are often in the most horrid condition imaginable with many of them only having a body condition score of 1 or 2 (should be at least a 5).  What also distinguishes them from many other rescues is their success in rehabilitating these horses and adopting them out.  To date, per their web site, they have taken in more than 700 horses and adopted out more than 500.  This is very good by anyones standards especially given that very few of the horses adopted out ever have to return to their rescue.  This year, Blaze’s Tribute is doing an event that should become the model for all horse rescue operations.  They selected 14 of their horses currently available for adoption and located ten trainers who were willing to take the horse in for 100 days, advancing their training and assessing what kind of rider/owner would best suit that horse.  The trainers are eligible for some really nice prizes for the contest but are donating their time.  The value of this training easily exceeds $ 1500 per horse.  All of the horses will be eligible for adoption for $ 800 to qualified adopters after the exhibition where the trainers get to show what the horses have learned on August 22.  Details of this event are found here http://blazesevents.weebly.com/index.html.  I have identified two horses that are involved in this event that we can provide a forever home where they have plenty of room, feed and attention for the rest of their lives.  I am sure that this event will be a great success and that all ten horses will in fact be adopted out leaving additional room for more rescues.  There is another reason why this organization should be chosen.  On May 24, 2011 we had a significant and severe tornado that swept across a pretty wide path of Oklahoma.  Fortunately, for the most part it was mostly in areas that are somewhat sparsely populated and so there was not as much property damage as in areas like Joplin.  However, the area affected did impact many animals including one of the foster homes for Blaze’s Tribute (see the story about Elvis on their website).  Unfortunately, several of the horses located at this foster home were a victim of the tornado and were either killed or had to be euthanized.  I know the vet personnally who does the work for this foster home and his story about how much good that Blaze’s and their fosters still does not make up for the heartbreak that he, the foster family and Blaze’s have for their losses due to this tornado.  Five people died in this tornado, but many animals died.  Because it did not involve significant property loss and the number of people impacted were significantly lower than Joplin and other tornados, this storm did not get the publicity that many others did so the amount of loss and suffering was not well reported.  The long term impact is that Blaze’s capacity to take on new rescue horses is limited due to the temporary limits in capacity of one of their major foster homes so the need for them to be able to get even more adoptions done timely is important as is their need for additional funds to rehabilitate some horses that they got in as a result of this storm.  That is part of the reason for the Ride to the Rescue event, to get another ten spaces open so that they can take even more horses in.  I hope you will seriously consider this organization to be featured as your organization of the week despite some of your followers contempt for me personally.
4. 

   AmyK
   July 29th, 2011 - 16:47

   Awesome nominations, everyone!  We hear so many stories of animal abuse and mistreatment, but these places show that some people truly are in it for the good of the animals.  Keep ‘em coming!! 

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