letters
TO THE EDITOR
I know personally many folks who work and
volunteer at Greenhill and they are all good,
caring people doing very diffi cult jobs, the
very best they can, day in and day out!
Tim Boyden
Eugene
UNPOPULAR DECISIONS
I support Greenhill and its mission. I am
offended by people who make infl ammatory
statements without disclosing all the facts.
I am offended by personal attacks directed
towards Greenhill’s veterinarian, director
and other knowledgeable and devoted
animal welfare professionals.
Oakley has become the poster child for
what Greenhill is apparently doing wrong.
Oakley suffers from painful ear infection,
kidney failure, arthritis in all four legs, a
cancerous tumor, painful eye disease, and
dementia causing him to act unpredictably
aggressive and making treatment of
his health problems diffi cult. This was
confi rmed by a veterinary specialist.
Mister was an FeLV/FIV positive cat with
cancer and a terribly painful eye condition
that rendered him almost blind. Greg had
multiple, overwhelming health issues. No
amount of testing and diagnostics would
have been useful in helping to save his life.
Still the questions remain. Is it “hu-
mane” to send an animal with overwhelm-
ing health issues to a rescue or hospice
situation? Is it really being “rescued” if
its suffering continues just so people can
say it wasn’t euthanized? What if it doesn’t
receive the care it needs to alleviate its suf-
fering? When this happens, the mission of
humane care for animals becomes about
people making a poor decision just so they
don’t have to feel bad.
So when you accuse Greenhill of
being a “kill” shelter because they make
unpopular but medically sound decisions
based on what is best for the animal, you
are barking up the wrong tree.
Randi E. Golub
Certifi ed Veterinary Technician
Eugene
CARTESIAN CHICKENS
The most offensive part of your Aug.
16 cover story on locally raised chickens
was when Ephraim Payne smugly praises
Derek Brandow for thanking the chickens
for their “sacrifi ce” on butchering day.
Never mind the exaggerated claims of
sustainable agriculture — despite the fact
that these grass-fed chickens still consume
10 times their weight in grain. Never mind
the questionable label of “healthy food,”
despite overwhelming evidence that eating
meat is responsible for epidemics of heart
disease, various cancers and a host of other
maladies.
While these assertions are mere misin-
formation, the logic of “humane slaughter”
is not even internally consistent. To say one
should — or even can — act humanely,
we’re acknowledging that chickens are sen-
tient. If they are sentient, with a capacity
for suffering, pleasure and relationships, if
they fear death and love life, then genuine
humaneness would take their interests into
full account.
Considering truly sustainable, deli-
cious, healthy and nutritious alternatives
are readily available, how can one claim
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that cutting a chicken’s throat after living
one tenth of her natural life span is hu-
mane? Can we really pat ourselves on the
back for not torturing her beforehand?
If you want to eat meat, you can either
adopt Descartes’ 17th century view that
chickens (and dogs, cats, cows, etc.)
have no souls, intelligence, perception or
sensation, or you can choose to look the
other way. However, it simply makes no
sense to claim humaneness when killing
to appease one’s taste buds. Instead, why
don’t we give thanks for the fact that we
don’t have to?
Lucas Spiegel
Eugene
IGNORING THE PEOPLE
Ambrose Bierce defi ned “corporation”
as an ingenious device for obtaining profi t
without individual responsibility. Our local
county offi cials also take no responsibility
when they turn a blind eye toward the
safety and wellbeing of citizens and only
represent millionaire developers.
This is the case of the latest decision
that was made concerning the site review
of Parvin Butte Aug. 25.
One hundred people testifi ed in person
and writing against the Lost Valley Rock
Products quarry. A large animal vet
testifi ed that blasting and rock crushing
will have negative effects on large animals.
A woman testifi ed that veterans suffering
from PTSD living in a veterans’ home
close to the quarry site are having negative
reactions to blasting and rock crushing
noises. OSU extension staff testifi ed of the
negative effects of dust on organic and hay
crops close to the quarry. A man with 80
percent hearing loss worries about losing
the rest of his hearing and has submitted
letters from his doctors.
Rattlesnake Road will be used to carry
this rock and has no pull-offs or shoulders
and will impact the safety of residents who
bike, walk their dogs and ride horses on
this road. Rattlesnake Road was not built
to handle trucks that weigh over 45 tons.
Are Lane County residents expected to
repair the road damage caused by these
private trucks?
Gary Darnielle, the hearings offi cer,
said clearly the site review process as
interpreted in this decision does not
provide the protection expected by most of
the community.
What an understatement!
Arlen Markus
Dexter
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UNWRITTEN DECREES
This letter is in regards to Jerry Ritter’s
letter asking to see a decree to provide
housing to the homeless [8/16]. Mr. Ritter,
there were unwritten laws and decrees
in this country centuries before the fi rst
welfare line of illegal aliens. But they
weren’t called as such. No one would go
hungry or without a warm place to stay,
especially children. To me you sound like
the 1 percent — if we didn’t have this law
written for you then it does not apply. I am
glad you would rather have your taxes go
to provide housing for the 1 percent rather
than provide it for our own children.
Ken Bryant
Springfi eld
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30 W 29th Ave
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1402 Mohawk Blvd
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54 Division Ave
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541-484-7272
541-746-7272
541-461-7272
EUGENE WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
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