Guest guest Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 You haven't heard from DawnWatch for the last couple of days as I have been working on an op-ed that appears in today's, Tuesday, December 4, Los Angeles Times, page A23. As the rights revert to me after the Times publishes, I can share the whole piece, below. It argues for a colony of seals in San Diego. I argue on their behalf, however, not referring to their rights, but to the rights of people who care about them. If you would prefer to see the argument in terms of their rights, I hope you will continue the conversation on the Los Angeles Times editorial page, by sending a letter to letters . Or if you like my argument as stands, please send a supportive letter to the newspaper. It is important that newspapers receive positive feedback for animal friendly articles. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor.Here's the op-ed:Los Angeles TimesDecember 4, 2007 Tuesday Part A; Pg. 23The choice isn't seals or peopleBYLINE: Karen DawnKaren Dawn runs dawnwatch.com. Her book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals," will be published in 2008.http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-dawn4dec04,0,2274247.storyLast week, the state Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling requiring the city of San Diego to dredge a beach in La Jolla. Dredging the beach will disperse a resident colony of harbor seals. The ruling was in accordance with the terms of a trust transferring ownership of the cove from the state to the city of San Diego. The trust required the city to maintain the cove as a swimming beach for children; the seals, it was argued, make the conditions unsanitary. But that contract was made in 1931, decades before the seals settled in the cove and at a time when there was a lot less competition for beach space in Southern California.The way this battle has been played in the media, it's a people versus animals conflict. A United Press International headline announced, "Ruling Favors Humans in SoCal Beach Flap." Yet the article told us that "the situation pitted animal rights activists who wanted the seals left alone against city residents." Which group did the headline deem human? Apparently if you're a Californian who has enjoyed watching the seals socializing on the beach in La Jolla -- if you are sorry to see the seals go -- your humanity is in question because you're an animal rights activist. You'd think the seal watchers in La Jolla were vegans wearing pleather Birkenstocks and munching bean sprouts as they watched from their vantage points above the cove. But when I was at the beach, I saw mostly families who looked as if they'd come from far and wide. Kids of every ethnicity, in predominantly white La Jolla, squealing with delight as they watched the seals. The kids weren't eating tofu.The numbers were remarkable, and maybe that's the real point in a case brought by Paul Kennerson, the former president of the community association of ritzy La Jolla. This is not a matter of animals shutting out people. The animals attract people. But what people?I won't speculate on the many hardships for the people of La Jolla when their neighborhood fills up with seal spectators, but the most obvious one is that the La Jolla oceanfront is jam-packed with cars other than the resident BMWs.That is not the argument you'll hear against the seals because that is not a winning argument. The winning argument is "animals versus people." Or, even better, "animals versus kids." We shouldn't be surprised when the decision goes to the kids. And I would agree that in any sort of real choice between seals and kids, kids should win.But what about the kids who want to see the seals? Sure, the San Diego Zoo or Sea World will welcome them, but some families want to see seals as nature intended, lazing around a beach, not bouncing balls on their noses in concrete pools. And not every family can afford the minimum $15.50 per kid for a day at the zoo. After all, the California coastline and its animals belong to everybody, not just those who can afford the median housing cost in La Jolla: $2.195 million.The majority of Americans who care about animals often lose in the political realm. Now the law has backed an argument that says kids who want to swim at the beach are more important than all the others who want to see the seals. But, of course, the argument wasn't phrased like that. Politically savvy folks know what arguments will work: "Whose more important, children or animals?"But that's a false choice. Most children love animals. And those of us who love those kids would like the La Jolla folks to cope with the car congestion and swim at any other beach when they tire of their swimming pools. Why not leave this one Southern California beach to the seals -- and to the kids who love seeing them?------------End of Karen Dawn's Los Angeles Times article.------------And why not keep an eye out for this issue in your local media and send a letter to your editor? Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.Yours 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.)To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php-------You are d to DawnWatch using the following address:dogs_goodTue Dec 4 08:09:10 2007 Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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