Bone-Headed Activism

You know, there are some battles worth fighting. Protesting buggy rides isn't one of them.

This is what Friends of Animals is doing when not suing Chimp's Inc to return two apes that lived in (what had been) wretched conditions at Primarily Primates.

From the article:

"People generally think of horse-and-buggy rides as romantic and beautiful, but the bottom line is it is exploiting animals. It's forcing horses to pull people on the street. The horses wouldn't be doing it if they had the choice," said Nancy Rice, the group's outreach coordinator.

I suppose not. I'll bet these horses have better things to do as well. Exploiters!

My point is this. First of all, the chances of success are pretty small. Unless the animals are beaten or live in squalid conditions, people just aren't going to look at this as animal abuse.

Second, the average person looks at this and concludes that all animal activists are complete kooks who would grab those leather Nikes off their feet if given half a chance.

And finally, whether it's dog fighting, true animal abuse or exploitation, I think there are so many issues that demand attention and activism. If they need ideas, I can certainly come up with a long list. And it won't include buggy rides, ponies, or service dogs.

But if you really want to go after this activity, these are the worst offenders. And if you go to protest, I hear they make very nice furniture too.