Friday’s editorial urges our state leaders once again to put an end to the abhorrent practice of bear baying, among other persistent animal cruelties:
A year and a half ago, the state was shocked by the videos of bear baying events in South Carolina released by animal activists. Leaders, residents and animal lovers around the state reacted with outrage, amazed that such a barbaric practice was still legal. Today, we’re still amazed that it is.
Those blissfully ignorant of the bloodthirsty affair – we can’t bring ourselves to call it sport – are often appalled by the details: The competitions, defended by practitioners as the best way to train dogs to hunt bears, involve securing a bear – often defanged and declawed – and loosing dogs to test their courage and ability to get the bear to bay, or stand up. Dogs are supposed to be pulled away before any contact occurs with the terrified bear, but the videos taken by the Humane Society of the United States in 2010 showed that bites often occurred. At one event, nearly 300 dogs menaced one chained bear for four hours.
Need a new best friend? Hundreds are available at local animal shelters, just waiting for you to give the word.
This Saturday is the 20th year of International Homeless Animals Day, a global effort headed by the International Society for Animal Rights. Animal shelters and rights groups across the country and in many other countries will be holding adopt-a-thons, spay and neuter clinics and candlelight vigils for homeless animals. No events on the Grand Strand are explicitly tied to the day, but the Grand Strand Humane Society is offering a discount to those who adopt an adult dog all month long.
Wednesday’s editorial shows once again what sort of good can be done by retirees who find that they yet have more to give:
Business came to a halt at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World as customers were distracted by a golden retriever pushing a shopping cart. Richard Kaplan of North Myrtle Beach, founder and president of Canine Angels Inc., stopped training King for that day out of concern for sales. He understands that most folks are going to stop shopping to watch a dog push a shopping cart.
Bass Pro in Myrtle Beach Mall is one of the businesses that allow Kaplan to solicit donations and use the spacious store for training. Kaplan’s “pups” (as he refers to the six dogs with him) were spotted on Monday in a North Myrtle Beach bank. The dogs quietly rested on the floor while Kaplan was at the teller window. People express amazement at the dogs’ behavior, Kaplan says, “and I am amazed that they are amazed.” A properly trained dog is a stress-free, happy one.
Saturday’s editorial offers a roundup of a few interesting bills up for consideration in Columbia:
As of Friday, our state lawmakers had introduced nearly 1,700 bills and resolutions during this session, from a wide-ranging overhaul of education financing down to the bill making the South Carolina Pecan Festival in Florence the official state pecan festival. With all the news that comes out of Columbia each week it’s hard to keep up with all of the moving parts. So from time to time we like to highlight some of the less noticeable pieces of legislation, particularly those that would affect our communities:
The videos taken last year by animal activists at bear baying events in South Carolina shocked many in the state, who found it hard to believe such an odious practice was still allowed.
The competitions, defended by practitioners as the best way to train dogs to hunt bears, involve securing a bear – often defanged and declawed – and loosing dogs to test their courage and ability to get the bear to bay, or stand up. Dogs are supposed to be pulled away before any contact occurs with the terrified bear, but the videos taken by the Humane Society of the United States showed that bites often occurred. At one event, nearly 300 dogs menaced one bear for four hours.
Today's editorial notes that public-official blustering does nothing to resolve the problems plaguing the Horry County aminal shelter:
As Horry County Councilman Al Allen is finding
out, lobbing ultimatums at public problems when you lack the leverage
to enforce them could make those problems worse. The Aynor-based
councilman rightly wants to resolve the ongoing management mess at the
county's animal shelter. To that end, he recently demanded - publicly -
the resignation of the board president of the Horry County Humane
Society, which runs the shelter under contract with the county.
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