Date
June 13, 2002
Contact
Marshall Smith
573/636-9291
In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley
CA 94941
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
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MILL VALLEY, Calif. - At the largest anti-puppy-mill demonstration ever, Marshall Smith, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector now working as director of investigations at In Defense of Animals (IDA), was recently presented with the Mercy Award for his work to expose the horrors associated with puppy mills.
After nearly 19 years with the USDA, Smith left the agency to join IDA, where his activities against puppy mills have intensified. In 1998 a puppy mill operator fired a rifle at Smith and a news crew he was assisting on a puppy mill expose, yet his efforts to fight puppy mills continue.
The award presentation to Smith came at a banquet preceding the PAWS March Against Puppy Mills on May 4 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which was attended by 2,000 people representing 35 organizations from all across the country.
Hearts United for Animals and IDA have worked together to share ideas and strategies and called upon all animal organizations to join the campaign against puppy mills. "The puppy mill industry is united in their lust for greed, and it is time for animal protection organizations to unify in our will to expose and eliminate this cruel industry," Smith told the protestors.
Puppy mills are USDA-licensed facilities that mass-produce puppies to be sold to pet stores. Puppies and breeding adults at puppy mills are subjected to horrific, cramped conditions, with breeders' profits taking precedence over animals' welfare. Puppy mills tend to be very poorly regulated and contribute to the problem of massive dog overpopulation.
More about IDA's campaign against puppy mills
It is the policy of In Defense of Animals to no longer use language that accepts the current concept of animals as property, commodities and/or things. Rather than refer to ourselves or others as "owners" of animals we share our lives with, we now refer to ourselves and others as "guardians" of our animal friends and to animals as "he" or "she" rather than "it." Guardians do not buy or sell animals; instead they rescue and adopt. We urge
you to do the same.