DawnWatch: Horse slaughterhouse destruction, felony sentence, on Democracy Now 10/31/07

[Guest guest]

DawnWatch: Horse slaughterhouse destruction, felony sentence, on Democracy Now 10/31/07 Back in May, I shared a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece by acclaimed writer Caroline Paul, headed, "My Brother The Terrorist." Yesterday, October 31, that brother, Jonathan Paul, who destroyed a horse slaughterhouse, began serving a 4-year sentence. Hours before he turned himself in, he was

interviewed by Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, a widely syndicated show on Pacifica stations across the county. Goodman introduced the interview with this opening:"One of the best-known animal rights activists in the Pacific Northwest is heading to prison today to begin a 51-month sentence. Jonathan Paul was arrested almost two years ago as part of the so-called Green Scare, when federal agents detained ten activists connected to the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. "In November, Paul pled guilty to one court of conspiracy and one court of arson for his role in the 1997 fire at the Cavel West horsemeat slaughterhouse in Redmond, Oregon, that destroyed the plant and led to its permanent closure. Even though no one was injured in the fire, federal prosecutors described it as a 'classic case of terrorism.'"In court filings, Paul's attorneys said the objective of the fire was to end the 'inhumane treatment

of horses and the commercial trafficking in horse meat.' For Jonathan Paul, the fire was just the latest in a string of direct actions taken in the name of saving animal lives. "His sister Caroline Paul recently summarized his activism like this: 'He crept into animal laboratories to free dogs. He dismantled corrals to release wild mustangs. He impersonated a fur buyer to film the treatment of minks. He put himself between whales and whalers despite warnings that his boat would be impounded and that he would be jailed.' "Paul has remained an animal rights activist but says he has since disavowed the use of arson as a tactic. In recent years he has worked as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Oregon. Later today, Paul will begin his 51-month sentence at the medium security Federal Correctional Institute in Phoenix. He joins us now in Phoenix for his first broadcast interview since his arrest." In the interview, Paul says

of the horse slaughterhouse:"It was in Redmond, Oregon, and this facility was owned by the Belgian Mafia. It was exporting its meat to Europe and Japan. And they were killing up to about 500 horses a week. And I saw the videos and saw what was going on there, and it was really horrendous. It was a hell of an area. They were using any kind of horse, whether it was a pet horse or a retired workhorse or wild horses that the BLM had been rounding up off the lands in the United States. It a horrible place. I mean, this place needed to go."He makes it clear that the Cavel West horse slaughterhouse area was carefully checked to make sure no people or animals were around before the fire was lit, so nobody was hurt in the fire, which led to the permanent closure of the horse slaughterhouse. Yet he would not again engage in that tactic, and disavows arson, because "it could hurt a firefighter or a responder or anyone in the area" and "if someone actually did

get injured or killed... that would go against everything that we believe."It is a fascinating interview, which you can listen to, watch, or read on line at:http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/31/145201 I send thanks for the tip about this interview to Loren Hart, one of the founders of the Building Bridges for Animals campaign, which aims to increase awareness of animal issues -- for example the benefits of plant-based diets, amongst other progressive movements. And to that end I urge you to send thanks to Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now, for the interview. Sadly, "progressive" media often ignore the animals so when the animals do get strong coverage we must encourage it with positive feedback.'Democracy Now' takes comments at mail (AT) democracynow (DOT) orgYours and the

animals',Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)http://www.chooseveg.com/meet-your-meat.asp The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. -Albert Einstein