In their latest link roundup, Vegan Soapbox includes not one, but two recent examples of intersecting oppressions in the news.

First up, in the AP, “Ohio dad who shock-collared kids gets 16 years“:

An Ohio man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for disciplining his children with a dog shock collar.

David Liskany of Jamestown had pleaded guilty to charges of felonious assault and attempted felonious assault.

In court Friday, Greene County Common Pleas Judge J. Timothy Campbell compared the punishments to torture.

The judge said Liskany punished the children in 2006 and 2007 by putting them in cold showers, holding them underwater and using the shock collar, which is commonly used to train dogs.

The judge said the case sounded “like something from Guantanamo Bay.”

The children are now 5, 12 and 14.

As Elaine noted, shock collars used on children constitute “felonious assault,” “Yet shock collars are OK for dogs!?!”

Honestly, this case should come as no surprise. When we (either collectively, as a society, or on an individual level) come to accept physical punishment as a legitimate training method for use on the family “pet” - an innocent, sentient being - should we be shocked (pun intended) when this form of training is extended to other, “lesser” members of the family? If it’s socially acceptable to shock a dog for doing what comes naturally - instead of employing gentler, more humane training methods - then how might we expect Dad to react when his young children act in a similarly “wild” or “disobedient” manner? We’ve already told Dad that violence is permissible, even preferable in some situations*; we’ve eliminated the taboo against inflicting unnecessary harm. If the cane is ok for “his dog,” why not “his children,” as well?

In the above paragraph, I use the term “lesser” deliberately, for - as far as the “traditional” nuclear family goes - Dad occupies his position at the apex, followed by Mom, the children and (finally) any non-human members of the household. Everyone is “lesser” from where Dad sits. Start abusing those lowest on the ladder, and it’s only a matter of time before the violence seeps upward.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about Zeb Lanham, a “bull rider” who pled guilty to felony domestic violence for beating his pregnant girlfriend last November. Among other injuries, he left her with a broken cheekbone, which was placing pressure on her brain. I also highlighted 16 additional cases of interpersonal violence and/or animal abuse (above and beyond the cruelty-as-entertainment regularly found in rodeos), committed by those involved in the rodeo and associated businesses, which I pulled from SHARK’s website. Criminal acts perpetrated by “cowboys” are so common that SHARK has even devoted a section of their website to detailing these cases: CowboyCriminals.com

SHARK has begun collecting these stories in a series of short video documentaries, “Rodeo Cowboy Criminals”. They expect to produce at least a dozen such installments, linking the cruelty committed in the ring with the violence these career animal abusers carry into their personal lives. Such interpersonal violence includes assault, domestic abuse, child abuse, rape and murder. And animal abuse and environmental injustices, naturally.

Here’s Part 1, along with a description of the video from their latest newsletter. (The video runs 7 1/2 minutes and includes some images of animal cruelty.)

SHARK has posted the first of a long series of videos that will expose a deeper, darker corner of the Rodeo Mafia than ever before. The video is “Rodeo Cowboy Criminals, Part 1.”

Based on the records of rodeo connected criminals already in our possession, the series is likely to run a dozen or more video exposes’. The crimes range from animal abuse to child abuse, to racial crimes to rape and murder. This is a grisly job, but someone has to do it.

Perhaps the most disgusting aspect of these Cowboy Criminals is that many of them are still involved in and embraced by the rodeo industry.

“Rodeo Cowboy Criminals, Part 1″ looks at three dastardly criminals. Zeb Lanham we reported on in our last update. Lanham beat his pregnant girlfriend so badly that she had to be airlifted to adequate medical care. Larry Lancaster is a child sexual predator, which is of course sickening and repulsive all by itself. Worse yet, Lancaster ran a rodeo school and was a sponsor of high school rodeo! Jimmy David Brazile is also a child predator. This sixty year old predator repeatedly had sex with a sixteen year-old girl, and then had the incredible nerve to tell the girl’s father that he had sex with the girl to show her that it wasn’t a big deal!

SHARK’s “Rodeo Cowboy Criminals” series will show the link between those who abuse animals and human abuse. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to look at this important new effort to expose the cruelty of rodeo.

I’m thrilled that SHARK is making the connections - between interpersonal violence and animal abuse, between the oppression of humans and that of non-human animals, and between misogyny, racism and speciesism. These are not isolated incidents of hate and violence; rather, they’re all part of the same fabric of oppression, privilege and othering. We need to keep connecting these dots.

You can follow SHARK’s progress on their You Tube channel, and send them an appreciative email (or support their work with a donation) here.

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Update, 5/11/09:

As reported by SHARK, on April 16, Zeb Lanham pled guilty to felony domestic battery and

was sentenced to a 10-year unified prison term with the first five years fixed and the second five indeterminate. However, included in the plea agreement was the stipulation the judge retain jurisdiction of the case, allowing Lanham to complete a rehabilitation and education program. So Lanham was remanded to North Idaho Correctional Institution situated at Cottonwood for 180 days, in which he will complete the rider program, and attend the treatment classes set for him.

“What they actually do is, in part, determined by the charges they were convicted on,” Lee said of the rider treatment program.

After those 180 days, Lanham will return to the court and, based on the recommendation from the Idaho Department of Corrections on how Lanham did in his program, the judge will likely either order Lanham to serve the remainder of his sentence or waive prison time in favor of probation on the condition he cannot break any of the terms set.

So he could serve as little as 180 days for beating his partner, who was pregnant (and thus especially vulnerable) at the time. Just goes to show how little the patriarchy values women and non-human animals (remember, he also earns a living by abusing sentient creatures).

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In their current newsletter, SHARK highlights the arrest of “Bull Rider” Zeb Lanham - for felony domestic violence. Lanham was charged with beating his 22-year-old pregnant girlfriend, and subsequently pled guilty.

Man charged in violent beating episode of girlfriend
By Jessica Keller
Argus Observer
Friday, November 14, 2008 10:51 AM PST

FRUITLAND — A Sweet, Idaho, man and professional bull rider was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence following an incident that occurred Nov. 3 in Fruitland.

Zeb Lanham, 24, was arrested Nov 3 following an incident at the residence of Kimberly Butler, 22, his girlfriend and the woman with whom shares a child.

“A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he turned himself in on Nov. 4,” Payette County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Lee said Wednesday. “He is still in custody last I know. The court set a $200,000 bond in this case.”

Lee said police are still gathering evidence, so what he can say about the case is limited. According to the police report, however, law enforcement officials were called following an argument between Lanham and Butler. Lanham was reported to have caused “great bodily harm with traumatic injury on Butler’s face,” according to the police report. A Fruitland police officer interviewed Butler, who is also pregnant, at Holy Rosary Medical Center, where she was being treated. She was later transported by LifeFlight Air Ambulance to a Boise-area hospital for treatment of her injuries. Those injuries include a broken cheekbone and swelling that was apparently putting pressure on her brain, according to the police report. According to the police report, Butler entered a neighbor’s house to call 911 after she sustained her injuries. Lanham is scheduled to appear Monday in Payette County Court for his preliminary hearing.

Bullrider pleads guilty at arraignment session
By: JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, December 21, 2008 1:58 AM PST

PAYETTE—A professional bullrider charged with felony domestic violence pleaded guilty following a plea agreement during his arraignment Friday in Payette County District Court. [...]

One of the terms of the agreement is that Lanham be sentenced to a 10-year unified prison term with the first five years fixed. The plea agreement also stipulates Lanham pay restitution, although the terms of that have not been decided upon yet. The prison sentence, however, comes with the stipulation at the Feb. 19 sentencing date, the prosecutors will recommend the judge retain jurisdiction of the case, allowing Lanham to complete a rehabilitation and education program, which usually lasts between four to six months, Lee said. Following the completion of the program, depending on the results, the Idaho Department of Corrections could recommend to the judge Lanham serve probation or serve the original sentence, or the judge can go ahead and impose the original sentence anyway.

“Based on the totality of the circumstances of the case, we determined that was an appropriate plea agreement in this matter,” Lee said.

In Idaho, if a person has not been convicted of a prior felony offense, it is unlikely he or she would go to prison for the initial conviction, regardless. Under the current plea agreement, Lanham will have to demonstrate prison is not the best option before a final decision is made.

Lee said, based on his records, Lanham does not have a prior felony conviction. According to Idaho Department of Corrections records, however, Lanham is facing misdemeanor battery charges in Gem County in a case that has been scheduled for jury trial. Lee said, while that case remains unresolved, it is impossible to say whether it will have any impact in Lanham’s sentencing or affect possible probation opportunities if his treatment program is completed successfully.

Of this most recent case, SHARK notes, “Another example of what research has proven, violence to animals is a precursor of violence to humans.”

Indeed, on their website, SHARK documents a number of cases of violent crime among rodeo participants; the target of the violence is often non-human animals, but other victimized groups include women, children and people of color:

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While I understand what they’re getting at, this series of print ads for Lifebuoy hand wash are unfortunate, to say the least:

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As a follow-up to Sunday’s disturbing series of ads for Hobie Kayaks (Truth in Advertising: Fishermen are stone-cold killers.), today I have an ad campaign for the Little Boys line of “gourmet” “sausage.” Apparently, this New Zealand-based company thinks that little boys are natural born killers.

Here we have two mischievous little rubes, about to decapitate a helpless chicken:

Or, in the words of The Inspiration Room, “One boy with a chicken and herbs, the other with a small axe. What possibly could they be up to next?” Such inappropriately cutesy language to describe animal abuse, dontchathink?

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Prince Edward reportedly attacked one of his two dogs with a 4′ stick while on a recent hunting trip, hitting it him (her) once and then chasing after the dog in order to strike the cowering animal a second time. The incident was caught by a local photographer; you can see a series of photos here.

Abusing one species of animal while on a weekend jaunt, the sole purpose of which is to murder another species of animal…disgusting, yes. Shocking, not so much.

People who get their rocks off by slaughtering pheasants most likely enjoy hurting other animals, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Edward physically disciplines his wife or the domestic “help,” as well.

Violence breeds violence, and abusers will continue to abuse.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare hunting prince edward animal abuse violence

Hunting is not “fun” or “enjoyable“, nor is it a “sport”;

If hunting was just about honing your shooting skills - challenging yourself, your aim, steadiness and sight - and hitting a target (stationary or not), then you could shoot at non-sentient targets - pieces of paper, bottles, clay discs.

If hunting was just about the joy of tracking, finding and surprising an animal in its natural habitat, you could shoot your targets with a camera.

But it’s not, so you don’t.

Hunting is about asserting your power over the less powerful, about dominating “others”, about getting your rocks off through sadism, in a legally and culturally sanctioned way.

It’s about taking your lack of power out on creatures less powerful than yourself. What better way to relax at the end of a long workweek than to gun down unsuspecting woodland creatures, all the while pushing thoughts of the abuses inflicted on you by the evil megatheocorporatocracy to the back of your mind.

Hunting isn’t about “having a good time”; it’s about exerting control when you might otherwise have none (or less so) at the expense of others. It’s about lashing out at those with less voice than your own, much like so many forms of human-on-human violence that we abhor today.

But Hillary, you’re right when you say that hunting is “part of culture…part of a way of life.”

Spousal abuse, child abuse, hate crimes against racial, ethnic, and sexual/gender minorities; all used to be “part of [our] culture…part of [the American] way of life”, yet time has proven(or perhaps more accurately, is proving) them barbaric, inhumane, unacceptable.

Like these, hunting will one day be seen as the patriarchal pathology it is.

That is all.

(Crossposted on.)

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Tagged: hunting hillary clinton 2008 elections guns parallel oppressions the patriarchy animals animal rights animal welfare

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Nov 22, 2007 4:55 PM
Subject: 1. COLUMN/ One Country’s Companion, Another’s Cuisine

1. COLUMN: One Country’s Companion Is Another’s Cuisine
PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

For Thanksgiving, turn on the light inside someone else…
Share this column widely.

ACTION FOR ANIMALS, related to this column, emailed separately:
2. ACTION/ One Country’s Companion Is Another’s Cuisine
If your email provider censored part #2, we’ll try to send it again.
Request part #2 at: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

*****************************

One Country’s Companion Is Another’s Cuisine
By Brenda Shoss, 11/22/07, www.KinshipCircle.org

Kinship Circle’s column runs in The Healthy Planet. Ms. Shoss has also contributed to The Animals Voice, Satya Magazine, VegNews, and other publications. KC Columns: www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/

Red rivulets flow past a cage where he and others huddle in the airless heat. Hands abruptly tug him through metal slats. They bash his head with a pipe and shove an electric prod against him. He is a carcass, but awake, dunked in boiling water and blowtorched. Finally, everything goes black.

Elsewhere, an animal stiffens under the stomp of muddy boots. Hands drag him down a corridor and flip him over a four-foot ledge. A chain is looped around his neck and clipped to a forklift. Suddenly the ground goes away. Up, up, up. His legs fumble for an absent bottom. He panics beneath the rigid clamp at his neck. After four, five or more minutes, all breath leaves his body.

Their fear and pain are equal. But the first is a dog, the second a pig — and herein lies our cultural divide. Empathy for the dog does not extend to empathy for the pig.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] brick.net
Date: Jun 24, 2007 1:39 AM
Subject: Animals ­ Unseen Collateral Damage

RELIEF GLOBAL / KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF LIST

KINSHIP CIRCLE COLUMN, 6/24/07
PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

Columns & Articles: www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/

Animals - War’s Unseen Collateral Damage
By Brenda Shoss, 6/24/07, www.KinshipCircle.org

Kinship Circle’s column runs in The Healthy Planet. Ms. Shoss is also a contributing writer for The Animals Voice, Satya Magazine, VegNews, and other publications. To reprint this column, please request author permission at info [at] kinshipcircle.org

LEFT PHOTO: 8/5/06, network.bestfriends.org/middleeast/news/6547.html
– BETA rescued this little kitten, Louli, from the war zone.

RIGHT PHOTO: 6/4/07, from BETA Team, listmaster [at] betabeirut.com — Car bombs and hand grenades went off in Beirut. The first bomb exploded very close to one of our cat shelters in Ashrafieh area…

War devastates. We grieve for soldiers lost and the involuntary destruction of civilian life. But headlines rarely publicize war’s other collateral damage.

Animals, crimeless and naive, dodge mortars and armored combat vehicles. Their lives explode in a flurry of desertion, starvation, injury and death.

A month into last summer’s Israeli-Hezbollah war, bombs rain over Beirut’s southern suburbs. Israel’s military hopes to defuse Hezbollah’s command post, so Lebanese officials can assert autonomy along the border. Meanwhile, Hezbollah launches rocket strikes inside Haifa and northern Israel.

Helena Hesayne, a Beirut born architect, has little patience for the politics behind battle. Her mission is clear: To rescue animals abandoned in Lebanon’s exodus of one million people. In late July 2006, Hesayne and three others from Beirut For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (BETA) navigate smoldering rubble in a small convertible. Israeli soldiers eye their car full of dog and cat food.

Hesayne displays BETA’s accreditation papers. She has no fear, only stark resolve to retrieve four cats and one puppy seen locked inside a pet shop. “These animals are banging against the glass door, trying to get out. They are without food and water. I don’t know how long,” Hesayne recounts.

The women persuade another storeowner to unlock the pet shop for them. They are without crates, so they ferry animals toward their car under a downpour of bombs. “The entire time, this tiny puppy just licks our faces. It is the most amazing thing,” Hesayne says.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 11, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times, “My Dog Days” - 6/11/07

The Monday, June 10, New York Times has an op-ed headed “My Dog Days” by novelist Arthur Phillips, which will warm the heart of all who have fallen in love with dogs. It opens:

“My little guy is growing up fast. He’s toilet-trained, he goes uncomplainingly to sleep and he no longer chews on his playmates’ faces until they bleed. He is 8 months old, and I know, years from now, that I will always remember this summer as the time he and I fell in love.

“Between this summer and next, this latest beagle — the third of my adult life — will age from zero to 1 (or zero to 7), on a fast track to reduce me to mourning sometime in my early 50s.”

I will not attempt to summarize it, as it so warmly written I could not do it justice. I urge you to go to www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/opinion/10phillips.html and enjoy it in full. The more hits the article gets the better, so that the Times learns how much its readers enjoy animal friendly pieces. Please also send appreciative letters to the editor. As animal advocates, however, it is our job also to remind readers that equally beloved and memorable companions come from shelters. Because beagles are the focus of the piece, some people may also wish to write about the horrifying fate of many beagles in our nation’s laboratories.

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