By Mark Klaus In a previous column, I suggested that it may be wise for animal agriculture to present a more "united front" when dealing with the many anti-agriculture organizations (Feedstuffs, Dec. 13).

This week, let's expand upon that a bit further and discuss something we may not think much about in agriculture: snakes, among other things.

Pet breeders, "exotic" animal owners and hunters face some of the same opposition that those of us in more traditional animal agriculture do. It seems like these sectors often are at the front lines of these debates, and unfortunately, they oftentimes stand alone.

When Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of animal activist group The Humane Society of the United States, recently visited Nebraska, he assured agricultural producers that they have nothing to worry about. He said his group had no intentions of bringing forth a ballot initiative that could damage animal agriculture.

However, just days later, he hinted at the fact that perhaps pet breeders in Nebraska need some additional "oversight."

While those in animal agriculture may breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this, let's take a moment to think about how these various anti-agriculture groups operate.

By now, it is well known that many anti-animal agriculture groups receive a great deal of their funding from donations people make after viewing those sad puppy and kitty advertisements. This is proof positive that although the general population may be completely disconnected from animal agriculture, they are very in tune with how they feel about traditional pets.

Perhaps those of us in agriculture should realize that targeting more widely understood animals like pets is nothing more than these groups' own recruitment tool to gain acceptance. Once people hear sad tales about pets, they may also deem these groups to be a credible source in discussions pertaining to animal agriculture.

Raising dogs in a breeding environment requires special care and knowledge. If you were to ask 100 people who own a dog as a pet how they care for the dog, you would get 100 widely different stories, yet anti-animal agriculture groups make only generic suggestions as to proper pet ownership so as not to alienate a potential subscriber to their beliefs.

However, when it comes to discussions about pet breeding, these groups do make statements about the proper care of breeding animals. Most of these groups have no past experience or education in pet breeding. This is why many of the things they propose for pet breeders, just as with animal agriculture, make little sense when it comes to improving the lives of animals.

Yet another example of people who are widely under attack by anti-agriculture groups are "exotic" pet owners. Everyone has his or her own personal view of what an ideal pet is, but I believe all of us in animal agriculture can agree that people should have the right to own whichever type of pet they choose, as long as they have the proper education or experience in the care of those animals.

The argument these groups make against ownership of non-traditional pets is that the owners of such pets lack the knowledge to care for them. This is the same argument made against animal agriculture. It's amazing how a group with no past experience in animal care can think it knows what is best and knows more than the people who understand the technology and have the experience and education in caring for animals

So, what, exactly, is my point? Those in production agriculture, which represent only 2% of the population, often feel alone in a "battle" with these groups, but the truth is, the number of "troops" dealing with issues from these same anti-agriculture groups is huge -- think tens of millions of individuals who are affected, many of whom are now beginning to express an interest in speaking up.

Animal agriculture should become better educated on the impact anti-agriculture groups have on all segments of animal agriculture -- no matter an individual's involvement -- as well as on animal owners of all types.

Animal agriculture producers may feel like they are at the front lines, based on the perceived agenda of a particular group. We may feel like these groups intend to control our food supply or eliminate meat, dairy products and eggs from the diet worldwide. Those assumptions may be correct, but anti-agriculture groups are far from achieving any of those goals, and along the way, they are leaving many animal lovers with a bad taste in their mouth.

The entire animal world is very diverse, and for any one person to become fully educated on the proper care of all species would be a tremendously large task. However, we should recognize, just as in animal agriculture, there are people with knowledge about the proper care of the species they choose to own.

Those of us in animal agriculture should realize that when it comes to anti-agriculture groups, there are many snakes involved in the debate, and some of them do not have last names.


Mark Klaus of Chancellor, S.D., was raised on a small crop and livestock farm near Estherville, Iowa, that was home to a Holstein herd, beef cattle, some 200 sows and a flock of 500-1,000 broilers. In the late 1980s, Klaus took over the livestock facilities, finishing 200-500 feeder pigs annually and also buying light calves in the spring, putting them out on grass and selling them as yearlings in the fall. Klaus can be contacted at mklaus2010@hotmail.com.
Watch out For those snakes

[ Show Entire Thread ]