By Steve Hindi 
March 05, 2017

Over the past few months, in comments on YouTube and other sites, SHARK has been criticized by some claiming to be involved in animal protection. The criticism is related to the number of negative experiences SHARK has with police as we work around the country.

 

SHARK wants to support the police, and looks forward to working with good cops at every opportunity. That said, and with the acknowledgement of good cops that there are plenty of bad apples out there, we do not back down to corruption just because its minions sometimes wear badges.

I suspect that a lot of these self-proclaimed “animal activists” are actually from various animal abuse industries. SHARK has a lot of enemies among animal abusers, and I consider that to be a good thing - a badge of honor. Whoever these nameless, faceless critics are, they inadvertently raise a very good question.

The question isn’t why SHARK has so many negative encounters with police, but rather, why other groups do not? SHARK doesn’t engage in lawbreaking, and we abide by a code of ethics. Our methods are peaceful and nonviolent. Nevertheless, we are regularly confronted by police.

The reason for this is simple. Corrupt police are a first line of defense for systematic animal abusers, including circuses and rodeos, killing contests such as pigeon shoots and ray slaughters, animal researchers and their suppliers, dairy farms, factory farms, feed lots, etc.

In places where the police are clean and unwilling to shill for animal abusers, the abusive activities tend to fail. The animal abusers seek out an environment that is more conducive to their corrupt nature, and corrupt police are a basic requirement.

Any group that consistently confronts animal abusers - actually takes them on where they operate - will have to deal with corrupt cops. So the question isn’t why SHARK has so many police confrontations, but why other groups have so few?

The answer is obvious. There are so few groups doing frontline work today, even though as with any struggle, the front line is the place where wars are won or lost. Today’s animal protection industry (it’s hardly a movement anymore) largely focuses on social media and fundraising.

The big groups are especially guilty. Instead of doing the serious work, big groups can instead collect many millions of dollars with a propaganda machine that produces so much empty noise and sparkle that ignorant and clueless contributors respond to what is little more than a charm offensive. Today’s donors are largely clueless about who is making real efforts toward positive change.

Given the consistent presence of corrupt police providing protection of animal abusers, it is telling that so very few so-called animal protection groups are confronted by those entities.

Groups that are NOT in conflict with authorities are almost certainly not involved in effective frontline efforts. Sometimes they even partner with the opposition.

A few years ago, SHARK’s efforts to curb rodeo abuses in Illinois were blocked by the head of the Illinois office of the Humane Society of the United States. The motive was that HSUS was more interested staying on good terms with Illinois Department of Agriculture honchos, whose personnel were ignoring rodeo victims. HSUS tried to deflect SHARK’s attacks against the Ag. Department. This indefensible activity stopped only when we called out HSUS, and they backed down.

The betrayal of animals by supposed humane entities is nothing new. The S.P.C.A. of Monterey County (in California), while claiming to oppose rodeo animal abuse, is nonetheless a longstanding supporter of the infamous rodeo in Salinas, California. The rodeo at Salinas has for years been exposed by SHARK for unreported animal injuries. The SPCA had to decide whether to stand with rodeo victims, or stand with rodeo animal abusers. The SPCA chose to stand with the abusers. 

In Pennsylvania, over 60 humane societies operating as the Pennsylvania Federated Humane Societies refuse to do needed field work against pigeon shoots because it would bring them up against corrupt police, district attorneys and legislators. One individual connected with the Federation even told me that those humane societies don’t want to  upset the National Rifle Association. I tried without success to explain to the fool that if you’re not pissing off the NRA, you’re not doing your job! 

Pennsylvania’s so-called humane organizations expose the misguided belief that donors can do better with their money by simply giving to smaller, local groups. Unfortunately, smaller and local is not an indicator of quality work.

Organizations who are afraid to challenge the status quo have absolutely no place in animal protection. The first step in challenging the status quo is standing up to the corrupt police that will protect animal abusers.

The animal protection industry is fraught with incompetence, complacency, indecision, waste, laziness, cowardice, and outright fraud. As one who one donated substantial amounts to big groups such as PETA, the Fund for Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, I bitterly regret my lack of understanding of how much noise and how little productivity these and other big groups generate. My ignorance lined the pockets of posers who leave animals to suffer and die.