Why You Should Hug an Indiana Farmer - Factory Farming
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:47:16 +0100
Well they are at it again says American Farm Bureau policy analyst Kelli Ludlum. who warned Farm Bureau Leaders in Washington of an animal care agenda that potentially ties into agricultural policy, food policy, and even obesity. Ludlum warned.

"There are a number of animal rights groups out there that really seek to limit producers ability to be proper stewards of their livestock," Ludlum told FarmWeek. "Fighting those off at both the federal and state levels is going to be something were going to continue to deal with for some time to come."

ICAW has talked with so many farmers in Indiana about the Animals Rights issues that seem to be permeating our state these past years. How can so many people in our great state just not realize where their food comes from "Farmers." When you start talking to the average, everyday consumer they really do not want to know where that package of pork chops came from or how did that bucket of chicken come about at the local fast food restaurant. The Indiana Council for Animal Welfare does, it comes from our great farmers.

Moving from controlled indoor production, raises concerns about the producers environmental compliance at a time of already heavy regulation, Leaders warned Capitol Hill lawmakers. Illinois farmer Edwin Livengood stressed "we already raise our animals humanely," and maintained that if animals are forced outdoors, "our production is going to go way down" and ultimately, "costs are going to go up."

Our Indiana farmers are so proud of their jobs, history and necessity for our survival we should be humbled by their example. All of our farmers want to Stop Cruelty to Animals and fight to preserve their heritage. So the next time you are sitting down and eating, a chicken sandwich or turkey dinner at Thanksgiving, a hamburger at the neighborhood cookout or a T-bone steak or even a ham dinner at Easter dinner,  because it is a afforadable, just remember without that farmer what would you do then! So today we ask you the next time you see an Indiana Farmer "HUG EM".


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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Animals Rights
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:36:21 +0100
I ran across a picture the other day that absolutely shows the hypocrisy of HSUS. I was reading an article by John Dillard a student at the University of Richmond Law School. In his article was this graph a plain old bar chart. ICAW has been writing, talking and presenting the hypocrisy of the Animals Rights movement. Some folks get it some don't. The following picture is the HSUS budget of 2008 in a graph. Please take a moment, in fact take as long as you need to digest what you are seeing. When Indiana Dog Adoption Shelters or any Indiana Dog Rescue jump on the HSUS bandwagon please explain to me WHY!




The HSUS budget in 2008 was well over $100 million dollars. According to their (2008) Annual Report, only $6.7 million dollars (5.4%) of their $125 million dollar budget that year was spent on animal shelters. The bulk of the balance was spent on fundraising, campaigns, lawsuits, propaganda, and salaries. Divide that $6.7 million dollars by 50 states and you get $134,000 given per state on average. If we divide that average amount of $134,000 by the 92 counties in Indiana you get $1456 per county. If HSUS really wanted to Stop Cruelty to Animals they would give more. Why does any Indiana Humane Society or Indiana Dog Rescue ever want anything to do with HSUS.

If the citizens of Indiana donate their money to help Indiana animals should it not be used to directly help Indiana animals? So the next time you write a check or pull out that credit card, think local, very local. Please urge your local Indiana Dog Adoption Shelters or whatever Indiana Dog Rescue you want to help, to please think about their association with a group of Animals Rights folks like HSUS.














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Who Pays? YOU Pay! Factory Farming and Animals Rights
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:34:54 +0100
Whenever the Animals Rights folks start suing someone we have always wondered who actually paid for those lawsuits. We are going to point out some interesting information for you to think about.The 1980 Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was enacted to help the little guy, not to fund the big guy. Now it seems that is really not the case. When Congress passed EAJA in 1980, it was supposed to "help individuals, small businesses and nonprofits with limited means seek judicial redress against the federal government".

We would like to quote Rep. Rob Bishop (Utah) one of the sponsors of H.R. 4717 a bill to bring oversight and full public disclosure of payments made under the 1980 Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), "For too long, taxpayers have unwittingly served as the financiers of the environmental litigation industry. Without improved oversight, EAJA will continue to be abused by organizations that have made a cottage industry out of suing the federal government in an effort to advance their radical political agendas".

The bill, H.R. 4717, would "reinstate and consolidate tracking and reporting requirements under the Department of Justice and would require DOJ to publish an online, searchable database of EAJA payments that is open to the public. It would also authorize an audit of the last 15 years when EAJA operated with absolutely no oversight," We can't wait to see the hurt and anguish that the Animals Rights folks will display if and when this bill should get passed. Millions of tax dollars (37 Million Dollars) have gone to big groups like Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Humane Society of the United States.The Indiana Council for Animal Welfare will be paying close attention to the status of this bill as it progresses through its journey into being signed into law for all of us the tax paying citizens of Indiana and this great country.

"Because the government has neglected to provide oversight, EAJA has become a breeding ground for abuse by radical environmental groups," NCBA president Steve Foglesong said in a statement. "The fact that millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have been awarded with virtually no accounting of who received the payments is unacceptable."

So the next time you eat a great Indiana steak from an Indiana farmer pray that no one from the Animals Rights side sues to take that privilege from you, because YOUR tax dollars just might be helping them to take that privilege from you!


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Rose Acre Farms and Factory Farming
Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:30:12 +0100
We were so glad to see Anthony Rust co-owner of Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Indiana write an editorial in the Indiana Prairie Farmer about HSUS. Mr. Rust points out many problems with the HSUS agenda. ICAW is so proud of all the farmers speaking up about HSUS trying to put them out of business over "Factory Farming" issues. Rose Acre Farms to our knowledge is the largest poultry operation in Indiana.

We always find it amazing how out of state Animals Rights folks seem to know how we here in Indiana should attend to our own business. Mr. Rust even talks about different ideas for raising their chickens. He even mentions about trying to go cage free again and what the results were and I quote:

"We tried it ourselves again just to be sure. We found the same thing. We lost twice as many chickens in a loose housing system compared to our normal cage system. Turning chickens loose results in more dead chickens."

Mr. Rust goes on to talk about the Enhanced Cage System but it seems he is resigned to the fact that HSUS would never agree to it. We have to surmise that compromise does not seem to be in the vocabulary of the animals rights folks. What scientific evidence does HSUS have that none of these farmers seem to have. We applaud Mr. Rust for speaking out and are proud to join him in this battle for our rights.


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Indiana Puppy Breeders or Indiana Pet Stores by Irene Weaver
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:49:24 +0100
I could go into so many details on why the animals rights activists are wrong in their endeavors but I’m going to try to keep this somewhat simple for this moment.

I see and hear about adopting an animal from a shelter all of the time. While I don’t see anything wrong with this. I don’t see how it’s any better than buying from any Indiana Puppy Breeders, Commercial Dog Breeders, or Indiana Pet Stores.

First of all I think that the adoption fees of most shelters have become outrageous. It’s no longer an adoption process it’s a way to make money. I understand it takes money to run these shelters but where does a not for profit organization get the not for profit if they are obviously profiting off the dogs they adopt or sell out? Does anyone really think that they’re not making money when they adopt dogs out for $250 to $300 a piece while still receiving donations from fund raisers, animal’s rights activists, and advertising? This raises the question where EXACTLY is the money going?

Having said that let’s get into a few other aspects of Indiana Dog Breeders and dog ownership. I have had experiences with dog adoption shelters and so far none are positive. Out of the few nicely run dog adoption shelters I visited I have adopted twice.

The first dog was a wonderful boxer mix that would have made a great addition to any home. Being led to believe that he had been vaccinated and recently neutered I took him home to meet the rest of the family. Within the next two days he seemed a little sluggish which I associated to having just been neutered. I was shocked when my new found friend started having diarrhea and stopped holding his food down. I quickly rushed him to the vet.

After testing was done he was found to have Canine Parvovirus. Something he could not have picked up and became ill with in the two and a half days he was in my care. At the time I wasn’t worried about the dog adoption shelters or cost, I just wanted to save my dog! After extensive treatment and care by my veterinarian, I still lost my new found friend to this highly contagious disease.
 
After going back to the shelter I found that there was no refund policy. In fact there was NO policies in which the shelter would help with the vet bills that had mounted up… and for the price I paid to “adopt” this dog $200 and the price I paid my vet $300, I could of bought a dog from one of many Indiana Puppy Breeders or Indiana Pet Stores that would offer me a health guarantee, registration papers, shot records, replacement policy, and a background of the dog.

Did I learn my lesson? Obviously not… being an animal lover I just hate to see those dogs sitting there waiting to go home. So after a few years I got brave enough to try the dog adoption shelters again. This time I was introduced to a female bull terrier that took to me immediately. This time the shelter gave me a background on where the dog was “found” and a history on how she behaved socially with the other animals and it sounded great! I was even told that they would guarantee there was nothing she had caught from the kennel. I would just have to pay the small fee of $250 and sign a spay/neuter agreement. Which yes, put me in the position to pay for her surgery?
 This didn’t sound too outlandish. So I agreed. Who wouldn’t alter an unregistered dog? Then they got to the part that I had to use their vet. Okay, well I bit the bullet knowing it would probably cost more than my vet would have charged me, but it’s their policy. Well I waited over the weekend for my new bully friend to have her visit to the vet so that I could take her home that Monday.
 
I showed up at the vet’s office to pay my bill and to take little miss bully home with me. Just to find out that she had been pregnant at the time of the surgery which put her at high risk, made them abort the litter, and jacked my price up to a total of $260 dollars!!!
 
Oh well… I had a healthy vet checked, neutered, well behaved dog. So I took her on home. Well to put a long story short. I’m not sure what socializing she had at the shelter but there was not a true evaluation of her. She had food aggression, child aggression, separation anxiety, and an overall dangerous dog if left in the wrong hands.
 
The shelter would have gladly let me return her for another… and they would have waived the shelter adoption fee. However, I would have been paying to have another dog neutered, and taking the same risk of behavior issues! So by this time I guess you could say that I had wised up to what was going on… and no, I didn’t try a third.

 Since then I have had the pleasure of meeting many Indiana dog breeders, commercial dog breeders, and owners of reputable Indiana pet stores. I have bought from these people and been totally satisfied.

 Not only did I receive a well bred dog every time, I received registration papers, health papers, shot records, and the ability to call and ask any question that pertained to that particular dog or breed.

 I’m not saying there aren’t good dogs in dog adoption shelters… I’m sure there are, but if you think about it. Most of them find their way there for a reason. Some reasons are the dogs; some reasons have been created by the previous owner. Either way you don’t truly know what you’re getting or how to be prepared for it.

 So if your going to own a dog I think you should be aware of what you’re getting into and not tricked by false advertisements and promises. Financially the adoption or sale cost of a dog is pretty much the same. It is also very little compared to the price you’ll have invested long term in food, pet care, annual veterinarian visits, and later life issues. If you can’t afford to purchase the pet, you probably have no business owning one to start with because you’re not going to be able to offer the quality care that owning a pet entails.

 So I would advise anyone interested in dog ownership to ignore the ridiculous harping of animal’s rights activists and to educate themselves properly. Don’t fall for the lingo of adoption or re-homing. It’s no different than a purchasing or buying, other than you have to watch out for the FINE PRINT! Having a pet can be a joy or a heart ache. Why choose heart ache over joy when you don’t have to?

Irene Weaver - Indiana



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