The ponys - their welfare comes first!

October 27, 2009

I can't stand it anymore. That a vegetarian list group would have a debate on the matter of pony rides in shocking to me!!

Pony rides are cruel to the ponies. It's the inescapable reality. The animals have no shade from the elements, they do not get proper food and water breaks, they live in trailers when they are not being used as entertainment for children, they are mistreated by some children, they are tethered for hours on end and they have no choice in the matter. They are slaughtered when they outlive their usefulness. There is no such thing as a humane pony ride!!

When I do leafleting and outreach at KFC, I constantly am approached by KFC customers carrying out their bags of butchered cruelty telling me that I do not care for the economic well-being of the owner of the KFC franchise.

Any profit from immoral cruelty outweighs the financial needs of the pony owner! Are we going to also worry about the profit needed by dogfighting rings? Bullfight arenas? Battery-cage chicken farmers? Where is your boundary?

If every activist who worked on behalf of animals was told they were "judgmental," we would not have Proposition 2 or animal welfare laws there are on the books. Yes, protecting innocent animals who cannot speak for themselves is a judgment all right, and thank goodness there are thinking, caring people, who have an opinion that the rights of animals matter and try to protect nature's creatures!

To the mom who took the time to write to the list about the pony ride at her school -- you rock!!! Please do everything in your power to stop it, and if you are not successful, try to educate people who attend. And maybe bring some water for the ponies while you're there.

Bonnie Knight, San Francisco