Humane Education

In the category of "don't judge a book by its cover," I'd like to introduce you to the New York based organization, Rescue Ink, a group of tattoo-sporting, leather-wearing, biker types who usually strike fear in the hearts of animal abusers. Launched in New York, but quickly forming chapters in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, this group of "hulk" types goes to the mat to defend, protect and rescue animals in every shape and form from those who do not have their best interests at heart.

Peruse their website and you will see their profiles: body builders, cement workers, retired firefighters and heavy duty biker types, and learn of their ability to get their message across, often because of their imposing appearances. "We communicate politely and rationally," says executive director Robert Missari. Right. Don't mess with a burly man wearing leather.

It seems as if this group of big softies is on to something. According to USA Today, "The anti-cruelty message that decades ago consisted mostly of cheerful be-kind-to-animals posters that appeared in classrooms every May is now a massive, multi-faceted crusade that falls under the rubric of 'humane education.'"

Hmmmm. Kind of makes you wonder what inspired the need for such teaching. Are we, the great pet-loving nation (so it seems) simultaneously harboring or even supporting a network of those who treat their pets with "benign" or even worse, intentional neglect. Or have they always been there and we, as a country, have just grown more intolerant of their behavior?

Who knows. But it seems as if you can now get a graduate degree in humane education from the Institute for Humane Eduction (online, of course) and attend workshops on the subject. Even the staid ASPCA has developed several programs, including awards to authors of "humane" literature, to advance the subject and even has a staff person, Sheryl Pipe, who is senior director of humane eduction.

According to the American Humane Association, creators of Be Kind to Animal Week (started in 1915), "there's a link between animal cruelty and other forms of violence" and they have endowed a $1 million chair in the graduate school of social work at the University of Denver to investigate that link.

It seems pretty obvious to me that humane education applies to all forms of humanity and if teaching people to be kind to living creatures implies treating humans as well as animals with compassion, then they have my blessing. It's just sad that people need to be taught what should be second nature.

But then again, if setting those biker types loose on the perpetrators of puppy mills gets the job done, then fire up that Harley!