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Treat All of God's Creatures Equally
By Gary Yourofsky
The following editorial appeared in The Macomb Daily (Michigan) on June 18, 1997.
Joseph Perkins' May 21 column, "Rabid fringe pushes animal rights," was egregious. The prose was tainted with erroneous facts and assumptions. I'm not surprised, however, by Perkins' ignorance and hubris.
Let me briefly describe myself. I run a nonprofit animal liberation group called ADAPTT. Moreover, I am a true humanitarian who cannot be deceived by society's prevarications, which are driven by money, power and dominance.
The column's first mistake was the failure to understand what Ingrid Newkirk said about animal experimentation. Besides explaining that all beings suffer alike, she was describing the biomedical community's credo for its fraudulent justification of vivisection. Since animal researchers believe that vivisection can benefit humans, the biomedical establishment is saying that a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.
Second, the story claimed that the polio vaccine was developed with monkeys. But the vaccine, invented in 1944, failed to destroy the artificially induced, polio-like symptoms that were re-created in the ensuing rhesus monkey experiments. In turn, the public was denied the vaccine until 1954 after Salk and his medical team realized that rhesus monkeys were anatomically, physiologically and immunologically different from humans. How many lives do you think were lost to polio during that wasted 10-year span?
Third, if anyone even considers chemotherapy to be a successful procedure, the technique was developed and refined through the true scientific methods of human-based clinical research, computer and mathematical models, and cellular and molecular biology.
Fourth, heart by-pass surgery was developed with the aforesaid methods and years of human trial-and-error operations.
Moreover, animal testing has not contributed one valuable piece of information relevant to a human, ever. Since animals don't get human diseases and humans don't get animal diseases, vivisection cannot work.
Since columnist Joe Perkins claims to be an informed journalist, then why doesn't he ask true scientists about medical inquiries? Instead he quotes Newkirk and uses PETA as a generic animal rights term like most people use the terms Xerox and Kleenex.
Furthermore, it is utterly despicable and downright ignominious that an African-American would be so condescending toward the subjugation of animals. As a Jewish person whose people were enslaved and murdered in Nazi Germany, I never want to see any sentient being put through a similar atrocity. Perkins and all African-Americans should feel the same about putting sentient beings through the manacles of slavery.
And don't misconstrue the aforementioned point. Animals are not more important than humans. But everyone must understand that importance and a comparative worth analysis are irrelevant to the way animals should be treated in this society. Simply put, all sentient beings deserve to be treated as equals.
If people want to learn the truth about animal rights, they should open their eyes and ears, feed their heads and not be embarrassed to admit that their lifestyle supports a cruel, pernicious industry of animal exploitation.
Animal Activist to Go on Hunger Strike
By Tania Prepolec
The following article appeared in The Oakland Post (Oakland U.'s school paper) on April 15, 1998.
Hunger pangs and a jail cell won't be enough to deter OU student Gary Yourofsky from attempting to eradicate what he believes are "premeditated murderous acts committed against animals."
Yourofsky, one of five activists charged with breaking and entering for allegedly liberating 1,500 minks from Eberts Fur Farm in Blenheim, Ontario, last April, will be facing trial in Ontario this June.
Yourofsky, journalism senior, is the president and founder of ADAPTT, an organization focused on animal rights. If convicted, Yourofsky will conduct a 30-to-40 day hunger strike "to protest the everlasting torture that animals endure on a daily basis," he said. Throughout the strike, Yourofsky's only sustenance will be water. If acquitted, he will still conduct a 7-day strike in honor of Josh Ellerman, a 19-year-old activist recently sentenced to 35 years.
I want people to acknowledge the seriousness of the strike...not for me, but for the animal liberation movement which has stagnated, he said. "You need something of this caliber in order to get people's attention," he added.
Currently, Yourofsky is in the process of recruiting activists nationwide for participation in the strike. With the help of conventions, newsletters, word of mouth and the Internet, he has received commitments from 40 people. That represents 10 states, he said.
By June, he'd like to have at least one representative from every state. "People may select a 1-to-7 day strike in accordance with my possible 40-day strike," he said. "Drinking fruit juice will be permissible for participants," he added. "I hope this action will be the catalyst to ignite and invigorate the movement."
Although he hasn't consulted with a doctor, Yourofsky believes that his health, veganism, determination and his mindset will get him through the 40 days. "I won't stop if my health fails," he said.
However, if he falls unconscious, people will have the right to step in and force feed him, he said.
A major goal is to bring attention to the five methods of death practiced at fur farms: Gassings, anal electrocutions, genital electrocutions, neck-breakings, and toxic chemical injections.
Another goal is to abolish the fur industry. "Our philosophy doesn't include making conditions better. It's time for abolition," he said.
A Proposed Resolution in Support of Gary Yourofsky
By Donald Perkins Esq.
The following proposal appeared in the State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section spring/summer 1999 newsletter (Vol. 3 No. 1).
RESOLVED: In recent times some citizens, including some from Michigan, acting from motives of compassion and concern for the protection of animals, have committed nonviolenct acts of disobedience to laws, statutes, and ordinances. In some of these instances, property used in the exploitation of animals was deliberatley damaged or destroyed. These acts were committed for the purpose of protecting animals from cruel treatment and suffering at the hands of researchers, farmers, ranchers, and others who exploit animals for economic gain.
We recognize that throughout this nation's history, other individuals, acting from conscience in obedience to moral law, have similarly violated certain laws and ordinances. This was true for antislavery abolitionists before the Civil War, who helped slaves escape to freedom in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act which required that escaped slaves be returned to their legal owners. In our own time, these same principles of nonviolent disobedience to unjust laws have been applied by such individuals as the Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., both of whom were—as was Michigan's Gary Yourofsky, President of ADAPTT—sentenced to jail for their actions.
Today, because we see the animal protection movement as encompassing great moral truths of liberty, equality and kinship with all living creatures, both human and animal, we cannot condemn those individuals who, oftentimes at great personal sacrifice, act upon these moral principles for the purpose of relieving or preventing the suffering of defenseless animals. As lawyers, we recognize and respect the rule of law, but we note that law must ever rest upon a foundation of truth and justice. We cannot and do not, therefore, condemn these principled persons for their nonviolent acts to protect animals, even when their acts may be in violation of local, state, or federal statutes.
To Mr. Gary Yourofsky of Royal Oak, Michigan, now incarcerated in Canada for his role in freeing hundreds of mink from a ‘fur farm,' we extend our respect, admiration, and support.
The above resolution will be proposed for adoption by the Animal Law Section Council meeting in Lansing on June 12, 1999.
Stop Hunting, Boycott Circus to Save All Animals from Bloodshed
By Gary Yourofsky
The following editorial appeared in The Oakland Press (Michigan) on October 16, 1999.
The animal liberation movement believes that all animals have an inherent right to be free and live completely unfettered by human dominance. Sadly, most humans continue to embrace animal slavery, animal torture, and animal murder. Billions of animals are killed every year in a premeditated, systematic massacre. Remember, without universal equality, one type of equality will always create another type of inequality.
Surprisingly, animal rights is not a new concept. The notion that animals deserve absolute protection has been around for thousands of years. Pythagoras uttered the following comment around 550 B.C.: "As long as humanity continues to be the ruthless destroyer of other beings, we will never know health or peace. For as long as people massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, those who sow the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."
The animal rights mission statement is clear and unambiguous. We are seeking the abolition of animal use in medical research, product testing, circuses and rodeos. We are opposed to the so-called sport of hunting, the wearing of animal skin and the consumption of animals. Moreover, we are an unwavering supporter of human rights, and we are seeking an end to discrimination of all kinds. With help, we can end the bloodshed, malicious treatment and injustices for all sentient beings.
The movement employs tactics to facilitate positive and meaningful changes. We lecture at universities and other schools. We gather in protests in accordance with our First Amendment rights to assemble. We pass out literature. We compose and push for animal-friendly legislation to change or eradicate unjust laws. We engage in nonviolent civil disobedience. Some activists even take part in direct action campaigns by intentionally breaking unjust laws that allow animal torture.
In early 1999, I spent 77 days in a maximum security detention center after freeing 1,542 minks. Keep in mind, throughout history, laws have always been broken to achieve substantive change.
Please help us free out planetary companions and live a nonviolent lifestyle. Stop donating money to animal researching charities. Condemn the bloodthirsty tradition of hunting. Curse the Ringling Bros. and Shriners next time they come to town. Throw out that fur-trimmed jacket and burn that full-length mink. Toss those leather shoes, belts and jackets. And, most importantly, refuse to exploit other animals, and stop consuming anything that once had a face, a mother or a bowel movement.
Activist Explores True Meaning of Animal Liberation
By Gary Yourofsky
The following editorial appeared in The Oakland Post (Oakland U.'s school paper) on February 13, 2002.
Animal rights activists believe that all animals have an inherent right to be free and live completely unfettered by human dominance. Sadly, most humans continue to embrace animal slavery, animal torture, and animal murder. Billions of animals are killed every year in a premeditated, systematic massacre. Remember, without universal equality, one type of equality will always create another type of inequality.
Surprisingly, animal rights is not a new concept. The notion that animals deserve absolute protection has been around for thousands of years. Pythagoras uttered the following comment around 550 B.C.: "As long as humanity continues to be the ruthless destroyer of other beings, we will never know health or peace. For as long as people massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, those who sow the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."
The mission statement of the animal liberation movement is unambiguous. We want to abolish animal use in medical research, product testing, circuses and rodeos. We are opposed to the so-called sport of hunting, the wearing of animal skin and the consumption of animals as food. We condemn animal prisons like zoos and marine jails like aquariums for putting animals on display. Moreover, we are an unwavering supporter of human rights, and we are seeking an end to discrimination of all kinds. With your help, we can end the bloodshed, malicious treatment and injustices that all sentient beings endure.
The movement employs a variety of tactics to facilitate change. We lecture at universities, high schools and elementary schools. We gather in sign-carrying protests in accordance with our First Amendment right to assemble. We pass out literature via leafleting and tabling. We compose and lobby for animal-friendly legislation to change or eradicate unjust laws. We engage in nonviolent forms of civil disobedience and direct action like our social justice predecessors, i.e., Martin Luther King and Gandhi.
We also support the courageous freedom fighters of the Animal Liberation Front. In fact, as an ALF activist, I once spent 77 days in maximum security for my role in the 1997 liberation of 1,542 mink from an animal concentration camp which is euphemistically referred to as a "fur farm." If anyone believes that violating laws is improper, ineffective or ignominious, remember that Gandhi, King and Jesus were routine lawbreakers. And laws have always been broken to achieve substantive change. Legality or illegality is not interchangeable with morality and immorality.
Please help free our planetary companions by living a nonviolent lifestyle. Stop donating money to animal-researching charities like the March of Dimes and MDA. Condemn the bloodthirsty tradition of hunting. Curse the Ringling Bros. and Shriners next time they come to town. Throw out that fur-trimmed jacket and burn that full-length mink. Toss those leather shoes, belts and jackets. And, most importantly, refuse to exploit other animals, and stop consuming anything that once had a face, a mother or a bowel movement.
Activists understand that everyone is busy, so we're not insisting that people come to protests or engage in civil disobedience. Simply put, we want you to live in absolute peace with all of our planetary companions. Don't get caught up in apathy and inaction. You can make a difference to thousands and thousands of innocent animals. The following quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. should give you the strength to embrace animal liberation: "Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it polite?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a point when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor polite, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells him or her that it is right."