Patti Strand

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This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

Patti Strand is the national director and primary spokesperson for the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), which she co-founded in 1991. She has been breeding Dalmatians since 1969 and been an American Kennel Club (AKC) board member since 1995. [1]

Overview

The NAIA is a front group and industry funded lobbying organization for animal commerce and agriculture based in Portland, Oregon. Agendas include financial interests, legislation and public relations for farm animal agribusiness, commercial breeding, hunting, fishing, trapping, fur ranching, animal testing, horse slaughter, rodeos, circuses and entertainment. [2] Since 1991, Ms. Strand has lobbied against humane legislation for animals under the NAIA's 501(c)(3) charity status [3] and the NAIA Trust, an affiliated 501(c)(4) legislative branch. Although pandering to "animal welfare", she is reliably antagonistic to animal welfare and progressive legislation. Ms. Strand has no background or current involvement in animal welfare or advocacy. Any group, jurisdiction or individual attempting to introduce humane legislation may expect to be undermined by the NAIA, the AKC or both. [4], [5]

See also AKC section 3, NAIA section 2 & NAIA Trust section 2.

NAIA, AKC, state breeders associations & puppy mills

There are about 20 state pet breeders associations who are (not too surprisingly) located in the major puppy mill states. The most active and vocal ones are in Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio, home to the heaviest concentration of puppy mills or what the AKC refers to as "high volume breeders". Almost all pet breeder associations link to NAIA and AKC websites. The mouthpieces for the Pennsylvania and New York Pet Breeders Associations are Amish and Mennonite puppy millers, whose U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports list repeated violations. [6]

In 2006 the AKC registered 870,000 individual dogs and 416,000 litters. At $20 per dog and $25 per litter (plus $2 per puppy) the AKC brought in well over $30 million in revenue from registrations. Litters from puppy mills are the registry's largest source of income. [7]

Lobbying against humane legislation (examples & quotes)

H.R. 3058: Puppy Protection Act, 107th Congress, 2001-2002 (defeated)

Both the NAIA and the AKC lobbied against the Puppy Protection Act (PPA). [8], [9] In 2001, Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced this amendment, designed to protect animals living in laboratories, puppy mills and pet stores. [10] According to Patti Strand:

"The PPA was inspired by special interest groups that fund raise using emotional animal welfare issues. As such, it was based on sound bites and depended on evidence from those who aim to restrict all dog breeding. NAIA supports the AKC's conclusion that there is no basis in current science and no consensus among breeders, veterinarians or animal behaviorists as to what constitutes acceptable socialization standards." [11]

Independent research has indicated that most temperament issues are due to inhumane treatment, lack of proper socialization, inappropriate functions (guard dogs, chained dogs and fighting dogs) and irresponsible breeding. [12] There are also numerous groups devoted exclusively to this issue. [13]

Proposal to license rescues & shelters as "dealers"

According to Patti Strand:

"NAIA also notes that campaigns to stop pet overpopulation have been so successful they have caused a shortage of puppies and small dogs in many shelters. Rather than declare success and close their doors, some of these shelters now pay for puppies and dogs and import them from other cities, territories and countries so they will have dogs available for adoption. NAIA believes some of the rescue groups and shelters participating in this relocation process are acting as dealers and pet stores and should be licensed accordingly." [14]

According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), 6 to 8 million companion animals a year enter U.S. shelters and 3 to 4 million of those animals are euthanized. Every day in the U.S., thousands of companion animals are born due to uncontrolled pet breeding and lack of spay/neuter laws. Other negative byproducts include transformation of shelters into warehouses and incredible stress on shelter workers. Aggression and temperament issues can be attributed to uncontrolled breeding as can over 4.5 million dog bites annually. Neutering helps to reduce aggressive behavior. Every year, communities spend millions of dollars and vast amounts of volunteer hours coping with surplus pets. [15] Humane societies sometimes take in overflow from areas with overcrowded shelters and high euthanasia rates. They do not buy and sell dogs. See also War on Animals, section 7.

Letter from Patti Strand

A February 18, 2008 letter from Patti Strand objects to a Washington state consumer protection bill proposing commercial breeders be legally accountable for the health of puppies they sell, while exempting charitable rescues. According to Patti Strand "these entities are totally unregulated" and "operate like pet stores". Furthermore, they "recruit and sell/adopt" in the "secondary pet market". According to Ms. Strand complaints about "sick, dying and vicious animals" have increased due to the fact that "rescues and other quasi-humane groups have mushroomed." [16]

She apparently makes no distinction between breeding and selling sick puppies for hundreds or thousands of dollars each and charities rescuing homeless and abused animals; which she refers to as a "secondary pet market" (like used cars?) While rescues quarantine and screen animals for health and temperament issues prior to adoption (sometimes with restrictions); even young, healthy animals are sometimes euthanized due to lack of space, funds and available homes. Most issues (including over population) are preventable and result from the lack of standards which the NAIA and AKC endorse. Some are rescues from puppy mills and the "professional breeders" she advocates for. She also objects to "strays being imported from Asia", where millions dogs and cats are victims of the fur and meat trades. [17], [18] The real issue is not lack standards for "quasi-humane groups", but competition with AKC registered mill puppies. See also AKC, section 4.

Book review by Norma Bennett Woolf (Editor Emeritus)

According to Patti Strand, the priorities of "animal rights leaders" are "neither the humane care of animals nor the prevention of cruelty to animals" but the "promotion of a revolutionary value system which redefines man's relationship with other animals." These "chilling words" begin the introduction of Hijacking of the Humane Movement, by Rod and Patti Strand. AR groups range from the "terrorist through the treacherous to the tricky" and "laws designed to protect animals" are compared to Nazism. As further proof of the Nazi/animal advocate connection, Hitler "proclaimed himself a vegetarian".[19] According to Robert Payne, considered to be Hitler's definitive biographer:

"His asceticism was fiction invented by Goebbels (Nazi Minister of Propaganda) to emphasize his total dedication, his self-control, the distance that separated him from other men." [20]

According to Micheal Krater, author of Doctors Under Hitler:

"...The often-encountered theory that Nazis spurned human life in preference for that of animals, in particular house pets, is without basis in fact--non suspect societies love pets also." [21]

The medical paradigm that relies almost exclusively highly toxic, animal tested drugs, comes largely from the Nazi era; though such men controlled large drug and chemical companies well before and after Hitler. Auschwitz was the largest mass extermination factory in human history. However, few people are aware that Auschwitz was a 100% subsidiary of IG Farben (Bayer). See also Bayer.

The list of unwholesome activities committed by animal advocates has been tirelessly documented. They include enlisting celebrity spokespersons; "engaging national attention", lawsuits and calls for 'compassion'". Another "favorite tactic" is to "infiltrate humane societies and shelters", "gain election to the boards" and "direct activities and money towards anti-breeding legislation under the guise of 'population control'." Outrageous extremism includes "contacting politicians" about the "compassionate stance against the killing of healthy animals". Trickery includes "planting articles and letters to the editor in local papers decrying the euthanasia of dogs and cats in the local shelter (!)" Even "collecting donations for a print-media advertising campaign (!)" There is also the sinister "blaming 'profit-making' breeders for a 'surplus' population of pets". The unsuspecting are cautioned against "infiltration of the schools with so-called humane education". Even the U.S. mail is party to this creeping menace. "Direct-mail solicitation" may feature images of "abused" animals. Radical agendas are described as not only dangerous plans to "end animal suffering in abusive labs, so-called factory farms, sub-standard zoos and circuses, puppy mills, etc.", but the "keeping of assistance dogs and all other pets." The Strands describe "radical" actions against a "tuna fishermen, a research scientist, and an entertainer with a primate act in Las Vegas." [22]

Joan Berosini is a former NAIA board member and spouse of former Las Vegas entertainer and animal trainer, Bobby Berosini. Mr. Berosini sued People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), another animal rights group and three individuals after a dancer secretly videotaped him shaking, punching and hitting his orangutans with a rod in the Stardust Hotel in 1989. Nevada's Supreme Court ruled that the tape was an accurate portrayal and not defamatory since Mr. Berosini justified his behavior. [23], [24] See also War on Animals, section 4.

Clearly, to those involved in animal abuse for profit, humane treatment of animals is a revolutionary concept.

Portland area shelters

Although the website features a "shelter project" with an "army of volunteers", the NAIA does not run a shelter, rescue or foster animals. According to the NAIA, there have been "dramatic reductions in shelter pet impound and euthanasia rates." [25] Patti Strand, director of a lobby which boasts vivisectionists and furriers among its members, served on the citizen oversight committee at Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) for the better part of the 1990s and on a task force appointed in 2000 under the guise of a "responsible breeder's" group. Ordinances implemented during this time included anti-TNR laws (trap, neuter and return), mandatory cat licensing, trapping and impounding of "trespassing" cats without notice to owners and selling unclaimed animals for vivisection and dissection. Such policies also encourage theft of both indoor and outdoor cats. [26], [27] See also NAIA, section 6.

Contact

NAIA
11402 Se Flavel St
Portland, OR 97290-6579

Phone: 503-761-1139

Web address: http://www.naiaonline.org/

Articles & sources

SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ NAIA Officers & Board Members, National Animal Interest Alliance, accessed July 2009
  2. ↑ Sites of interest, NAIA, accessed January 2009
  3. ↑ Why join NAIA?, NAIA, 2007
  4. ↑ NAIA Campaigns, NAIA, 2009
  5. ↑ Legislative Alerts: Current Issues in Canine Legislation, American Kennel Club, accessed August 2009
  6. ↑ Libby Williams Animal interest groups such as NAIA, Best Friends Network, January 2007
  7. ↑ Laura Allen Rally Against The AKC's Support Of Puppy Mills, Bestfriends Network News, April 2007
  8. ↑ WE WON!!! Puppy Protection Act Defeated, Dog Press, April 2002
  9. ↑ Letters needed in opposition to the 'Puppy Protection Act', NAIA Action Alert, accessed January 2009
  10. ↑ H.R. 3058: Puppy Protection Act, govtrack.us, 2001-2002, accessed January 2009
  11. ↑ WE WON!!! Puppy Protection Act Defeated, Dog Press, April 2002
  12. ↑ Karen Delise Fatal Dog Attacks, the Truth Behind the Tragedy: It's the Owner, Not the Dog, National Canine Research Council, 2007
  13. ↑ Chained Dog Sites, Dogs Deserve Better, accessed January 2009
  14. ↑ WE WON!!! Puppy Protection Act Defeated, Dog Press, April 2002
  15. ↑ The Crisis of Pet Overpopulation, Humane Society of the United States, May 2007
  16. ↑ Patti Strand Urging a NO vote on SB 6408, NAIA, February 2008
  17. ↑ Animal Abuse in Korea: The True Price of Fur, In Defense of Animals, accessed July 2009
  18. ↑ Hell on Earth for Dogs in Korea, In Defense of Animals, accessed July 2009
  19. ↑ Norma Bennett Woolf Book Review: The Hijacking of the Humane Movement: Animal Extremism, NAIA, accessed September 2009
  20. ↑ John Robbins Hitler a vegetarian? Food Revolution, accessed December 2008
  21. ↑ David Rothman 'Human Experimentation: Before the Nazi Era and After', Strangers At The Bedside, 1991
  22. ↑ Norma Bennett Woolf Book Review: The Hijacking of the Humane Movement: Animal Extremism, NAIA, accessed September 2009
  23. ↑ High court throws out $4.2 million judgment animal trainer won in libel, privacy suit, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, February 1994
  24. ↑ PETA v. Bobby Berosini, Ltd.; Counsel: Robert D. Martin, Las Vegas, January 1994
  25. ↑ About NAIA Shelter Project, NAIA, 2009
  26. ↑ Cynthia Eardley Calling Cat People to Action, Portland Independent Media Center, July 2003
  27. ↑ Geordie Duckler Frequently Asked Questions, The Animal Law Practice, accessed January 2009
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