Anyone going to the Garden should be prepared for them - -

PeTA compares AKC to the KKK -- how's that for a bunch of inflammatory
acronyms?

A press release from People for the <http://www.peta. org/> Ethical
Treatment of Animals hit my email box this morning, announcing that a
television ad "showing a hooded Ku Klux Klan member making himself
right at home at a meeting of the "purebreds"- only American Kennel Club will
hit New York TV stations just in time to make the hair stand up on the heads of
participants featured in the annual telecast of the Westminster Dog Show."

Calling the show a "pageant," PETA considers the annual Westminster
gathering "irresponsible" because it "promotes dog breeding and spurs
interest in 'purebreds' while animal shelters overflow with unwanted mutts
who are in desperate need of homes."

"When it comes to contempt for 'mixed breeds' and a fetish for 'pure
bloodlines,' there's not much difference between the KKK and the AKC,"
says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Not only does the AKC promote
breeding as a 'sport,' it also opposes spay-and-neuter laws that would
save the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals."

Where to start?

 

As for the AKC aversion to mixed-breeds, PETA must have missed the memo
about the AKC considering opening <http://www.akc. org/mixedbreed_ survey/>
up performance events such as obedience and Rally to non-pedigree pooches.
Cynics opine that this is as much an economic imperative than a moral one,
and they'd be right. But I'll take a Boss Tweed over a Grand Wizard
any day
of the week.

Second, breeding is not the sport -- dog showing is.

Nachminovitch' s last comment is a reference to AB 1634, the California law
that was narrowly defeated after opposition by purebred dog and cat
breeders because it required mandatory spaying and neutering of every puppy and
kitten at 4 weeks -- an age considered too premature by many (yours truly
included) because of potential health implications (increased risk of
osteosarcoma among them). In truth, reputable breeders sell all their
pet-quality puppies on contracts stipulating that they be spayed and
neutered.

The PETA ad concludes with the message "All dogs are created equal."

PETA is buying airtime on New York cable stations this week and in local
markets across the country.

http://tinyurl. com/37yw5r