"The fate of exotic animals in Ohio has been placed in a precarious position, indeed, when the very sanctuaries supporting banning others from keeping these animals cannot afford to take in more animals without financial assistance. Euthanasia - of healthy animals with no place to go - was mentioned in the hearings for SB310 by almost every sanctuary and zoo in support of its passage."

The fate of Ohio exotic animals - Two more go to Indiana sanctuary

View more gifts at Zazzle.

Blessing Animals

A bit of a quagmire here - blessing our pets? I firmly believe it is anyone's personal choice to have blessed, or not, any pet or animal they want, with no repercussion through personal beliefs or opinions.

Do you have your pet blessed?

Understanding the reasoning or desire to have a pet blessed may enter some muddy waters, offend some and rally others. With a strong religious upbringing, I understand "blessing" to be:

A blessing, (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval. ~ Wikipedia

So, with religious beliefs, where does blessing animals come into play? Without it, where does "blessing" come into play?

No disrespect of others beliefs will be allowed, but true debate and personal opinion is welcome in comments. 

Sea World Trial Begins Over Trainer Killed By Whale

Beginning Monday, September 19, 2011, a federal hearing over the 2010 death of a killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau, determines if Sea World Orlando faces charges of a willful violation.  Expected to last all week, witnesses took the stand today which will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Outside the Seminole County Courthouse protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, protested the captivity of killer whales by Sea World. Tilikum, the 12,000 pound killer whale which killed trainer Dawn Brancheau, and all killer whales held in captivity should be released according to PETA. This is no shock since PETA promotes "better off dead" for pets and being vegan as the only choice of diet.

Witnesses to the February 2010 incident said Brancheau was pulled from a sitting position at the pools edge by the killer whale, savagely attacked and drowned during a show. Sea World and Brancheau’s family are fighting to keep video of the attack from being aired on television or online. After Brancheau’s death, her family stated she loved her chosen field and loved working with the killer whales. Most people choosing to work with animals know the risks and find it acceptable given the many rewards of interacting daily and close up.

OSHA, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, cited Sea World in August 2010 for not taking proper safety precautions. Tilikum’s involvement in the killing of a trainer in 1991 at a Vancouver, British Columbia marine park is stated in the citation as “known aggressive tendencies.”

The Sea World trainers are required to sign a statement acknowledging they have read the standard operating procedure and acknowledge calculated risks of working with the marine mammals.

The death was considered a routine investigation and could be concluded at any time by the Seminole county Sheriff’s Department. According to public-records law, the video is to be available to the public. The family is said to be seeking a temporary injunction against release of any footage of the death of their daughter.The groups and individuals seeking access likely only want to sensationalize footage of the woman's death to further their agenda. How unethical and disgusting.

OAAO-Ohio Association of Animal Owners

PRESS RELEASE


July 14, 2010



Ohio Association of Animal Owners, a 10,000-member grassroots organization representing animal owners in the State of Ohio, opposes the recent “agreement” reached 6/30/2010 by Ohio Farm Bureau, Governor Ted Strickland, and Humane Society of the United States.



The proposed rule to prohibit possession and sale of certain non-livestock animals (declared “dangerous” by HSUS and the Governor) would severely impact breeders and exhibitors in Ohio who are federally licensed and inspected to ensure the safety of the public and the animals. Drive-through animal parks, educators and exhibitors throughout the state stand to lose if this prohibition is passed. The US Constitution (14th Amendment to the Bill of Rights) states “No State shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” “Due process” generally guarantees that 1) property may be taken by the government only for public purposes, and 2) Owners of taken property must be fairly compensated. The rule proposed by HSUS and Governor Strickland violates both of these provisions. As it stands now, the Governor has agreed to “grandfather” those who own these animals at the time the rules take effect, but those owners cannot breed, sell, replace, or acquire additional animals. In other words, those owners are forbidden the use of their own private property, and will not be compensated for it. It is no different than the government taking away the guns or farms of Ohio citizens and not paying for them. For the federally licensed and inspected breeders and exhibitors, the cost will be far greater, as their businesses and very livelihoods will be affected. Ohio will suffer tremendous financial loss if this rule is passed; jobs will be lost, as will millions of dollars in feed, fencing, veterinarian care and other associated costs. This rule has been misrepresented as an effort to prevent people from owning “dangerous” animals as “pets”, but those are not the people who stand to lose the most; it’s the federally licensed and inspected businesses who will bear the brunt of the loss, along with the public who visits the animal parks and petting zoos and who cheers Obie the Tiger, mascot for the Massillon Boosters.



Ohio Farm Bureau does not represent exotic animal owners or dog breeders and had no right to enter into any agreement concerning those non-livestock animals, nor did the commodity groups who may have participated in the discussions. Exotic animal industry representatives and dog breeding industry representatives were excluded from the discussions, yet they are the ones being sold out to HSUS under this agreement.



Senate Bill 95, which Governor Strickland and Ohio Farm Bureau have committed to push through the legislature this year, will require Ohio commercial dog breeders who are federally licensed and inspected to tear down their existing facilities and rebuild them at approximately 3 times the cost. A facility that cost the owner $15,000 to put up will have to be torn down at the owner’s expense and rebuilt for approximately $45,000 – and that is only the beginning.



Ohio has, up until now, been a stronghold of agriculture. We are one of the few states that allows and encourages private entrepreneurship of exotic animals, and federally licensed and inspected commercial dog breeding without arbitrary limits imposed by radical animal rights activists. That makes Ohio a prime target for HSUS.



Ohio Association of Animal Owners has worked diligently for the past 20 years to safeguard the rights of animal owners in Ohio to conduct their legal businesses without interference from radical animal rights activists or from legislation initiated/encouraged by radical groups such as HSUS. We thought Ohio Farm Bureau and our Governor were on the same page with us, but the agreement of June 30 with HSUS indicates otherwise.



Victoria Galle’

President

Ohio Association of Animal Owners

http://www.oaao.us/

Ohio Farm Bureau Governor Strickland Humane Society of the United States

Nothing to be proud of:


Almost a month ago, behind closed doors with very few people knowing, Ohio’s governor -after denouncing HSUS's agenda, was making deals with the farm bureau and the largest animal rights organization in the country. Almost a month ago, but the shock and reality of what was done remains fresh and raw like a cut with a rusty jagged blade. Meeting a thug in a dark alley would likely cause less harm than the smiling faces with invisible arms able to stab you in the back and watch you die-all while smiling to your face and saying pretty words without much meaning.

Ohio Farm Bureau’s (comments at this link are interesting, long as they don't remove more) own policy, they claim to follow, didn’t allow for the agreement to support SB95, ban exotic (the word used is “dangerous” but poor use of semantics) animals and support a cockfighting bill. On the surface, these may appear to be good to support but not when you look closer at the wording and effects of the bills for dog breeding~SB95~ and the cockfighting bill~HB108. No one involved is supporting cockfighting or abuse, cruelty and neglect of any animal-including dogs in commercial breeding kennels. Have people become so brainwashed by the media hype and images repeatedly shown by HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) that they have become unable to think for themselves and look at a larger picture? Vilifying all by the few abuse and neglect cases is hardly an honest representation of animal ownership—of any kind.

By signing an agreement, any organization or elected official is party to an unethical taking of personal rights, property and a means of income for many people. It’s to be expected by an animal rights organization such as HSUS, but not an elected governor or agricultural organization. Knowing they are well-versed in the agenda of HSUS makes it even more disturbing—they can’t claim ignorance of the tactics and goals. Respect for farmers remains, just not for those claiming to represent them.Many have voiced their opinion concerning the "agreement" and most farmers are ethical-something forgotten by those in high places.

The banning of “dangerous” exotic animals should never have been part of an agreement amongst the three entities. None has experience with, statistics to support or anything other than an agenda by using something not theirs to bargain away. If someone is hitchhiking down the road and knocks on your door asking for a car, you go next door and take your neighbor’s car and give the hitchhiker the keys—it’s called theft. Political “deals” of theft should be treated the same—THEFT is wrong, something most people learn at a young age-until they get too big for their britches and think everything belongs to them. Someone is following in HSUS’s footsteps and it’s not a good path.

Honesty, transparency and ethics were not any part of the "agreement." Teaching it to farmers at an OFB meeting is more than hypocritical-it's ridiculous. Practice what you preach-farmers and animal owners aren't the ones with honesty, transparency and ethics issues-OFB, Governor Strickland and HSUS are.