PETA calls for CDC chief's resignation

[CatWoman]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2006/12/04/1204MESHpeta.html

By ALISON YOUNG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 12/04/06

Citing serious animal care problems recently revealed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the animal rights group PETA on Monday called for the resignation of director Julie Gerberding.

In a letter faxed to Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) cited serious problems — including monkey deaths from dehydration — dating back to 2002 uncovered in inspections by an international laboratory accreditation organization. The CDC's labs have been on probation since last year with the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care-International, the AJC reported last month.

"The CDC had been alerted to deficiencies in 2002 (the year when Gerberding first assumed directorship), yet still failed to measure up in the 2005 inspection," Laura Yanne of PETA's research and investigations division wrote to Leavitt.The group. based in Norfolk, Va., has 1 million members and has called for them to launch a letter writing campaign. The group says CDC needs to receive increased and unannounced inspections with results posted publicly.

CDC officials have said that Gerberding didn't know about the problems until August 2005, but then took sweeping actions to address them. "Nobody is more devoted to the proper and ethical treatment of animals in science than Dr. Gerberding," said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. "Under her directorship the agency now has a world-class animal care and use program."

A spokeswoman for Leavitt did not respond to requests for comment about PETA's letter. The AJC has sought a wide range of documents about CDC's animal labs under the Freedom of Information Act since Oct. 12, but so far the CDC has released only a few selected records and none of its inspection reports.

[YOY]

1. No offense intended to anyone, but who cares what PETA thinks

outside of people who belong to PETA?

[CatWoman]

2. I care what PETA thinks

and I don't belong to PETA.

Perhaps the same could be said about you, no?

[YOY]

6. No need to be snarky.

but PETA's their misinformation, stupid publicity stunts, and hypocrisy defeats anything they do to the majority of the publics eye.

The humane society? Yeah, I care what they think. PETA and ALF? No.

[jilln]

8. Separate the message and the messenger

They got info from FOIA requests. No matter what you think of their stunts, that information is the same.

[YOY]

10. Kinda like Fred Phelps and his work for 'Fambly Values' to the cretins on the right?

:eyes:

Sorry. It doesn't work that way.

[jilln]

12. No comparison. And you know that.

[YOY]

41. More than you'd think if you look at it unbiasedly

It's all there: Cute and disarming organization name, batshit leader, attention whore tactics, built off of a faulty ideology...

[jilln]

68. Faulty ideology

in your opinion.

Fred Phelps is a hatemonger. PeTA exposes animal cruelty. Yes, they do some wacky things and make people uncomfortable, but there is no comparison.

What kind of group do you think should tackle animal cruelty? How would you go about it?

[YOY]

72. How would I go about it?

In a word 'Sanely'. With exposes and responsible journalism and not people dressed up like carrots telling kindergartners not to eat meat and comparing KFC to the Holocaust in a graphic visual campaign. Then again, I don't espouse 'animal liberation.'

By the way, just what does 'total animal liberation' mean? Ingrid Newkirk's words.

[jilln]

75. Well PeTA DOES exposes

If you oppose people dressed as carrots telling kindergarteners not to eat meat from OUTSIDE the school, do you oppose the Beef Council and Dairy Board writing nutrition lessons and giving "study materials" to those schools and writing the nutrition pyramids and having more influence than anyone on school lunches?

As for the Holocaust campaign it's not my favorite because many people, like you, misinterpret it. It is in no way meant to diminish the holocaust, but to show that suffering on a huge scale still exists, and many of the methods and systems that made that possible are still in place today. Whether you personally CARE about animals suffering is irrelevant, they are suffering whether you believe it or care or think it's worth talking about or not. I don't think PeTA was even the first to make the comparison, I think it came from Isaac Bashevis Singer (see quote below).

Plus, doing FOIA requests and putting out press releases and exposing the CDC IS responsible journalism (unless you have a different definition) and you are STILL unwilling to believe what they found. So basically they can never win with you even when they are 100% right and doing things the way you say they should.

Jewish author Isaac Bashevis Singer, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978 and who was himself a vegetarian wrote in The Letter Writer: "In relation to (animals), all people are Nazis; for the animals, it is an eternal Treblinka."

[ToeBot]

54. Is that the same Humane Society that gave money to Rick Santorum?

Yeah, they do good work.

[YOY]

57. Oh sweet Jesus...

Amazing. Humane society bad Neocons... PeTA our saviors.

I guess I missed that memo. :rofl: :rofl:

[nam78_two]

78. No but the post exposes the problems with black and white thinking

This is why absolutist thinking is often so faulty.

Take any non-profit, they will have done at least a few things that some of the people who support their overall goal, would disapprove of.

On Kos I saw people saying they won't support the Sierra club anymore because they endorsed Chafee :eyes:..Nevermind the zillion other things they have done, the fact that they mostly endorse Dems and were strongly instrumental in the removal of people like Pombo etc. None of that matters, they supported Chafee so some people will "NEVER EVER support those Sierra Club assholes again dammit"...

Say you are not for animal liberation per se, say you are not for giving up meat, you can still support humane treatment of farm animals, and it can't be disputed that PETA has brought a lot of animal abuse to light. Whatever anyone thinks of animal liberation, I think it is quite the opposite of progressive to not support humane treatment of animals.

A bit of balance, rather than extreme emotional responses to any issue or group is a good thing.

[Catchawave]

4. They get problems like this in the media :)

And that's good for the animals, yes?

[YOY]

9. They are not entirely reputable as a source of accusation IMHO

They have a tainted public image (well earned.)

[Catchawave]

25. Why did the ajc run the story then?

That's a reputable media source, obviously they think PETA's reputable :shrug:

[YOY]

42. as a source of news, yes

They always grab attention that way.

[jilln]

28. Unlike the pharmaceutical companies, slaughterhouses and others

they attack? Those guys are paragons of propriety.

Without undercover investigations by PeTA, those places would be operating even more in the dark. And that just doesn't affect animals, it affects human health too.

[nam78_two]

33. Totally agree-great post!/nt

[YOY]

43. They both pretty much suck

So I need to favor one over the other?

[jilln]

5. You're entirely missing the point

The CDC is not following the law and is committing animal cruelty.

Beyond that, animal science is sloppy at best even when protocols are followed, so ultimately they are wasting even more tax money.

I don't believe animal tests are valid but if you do, don't you think testing on sick animals might give tainted results?

[CatWoman]

14. I work for the CDC

and am completely heart broken over this :cry:

[T Wolf]

18. I am always very disappointed by the responses of some

so-called Democrats on this board when PETA is mentioned.

I thought Shrub and Frist and their ilk were the ones who liked cruelty and torture. It is sobering to realize that some who say they care (a basic definition of what being Democratic is supposed to mean) are so sadistic that they love actions that the pukes would be proud of.

Maybe one day the human race will progress enough to learn to respect the other life on this planet.

[YOY]

44. So I'm not a Dem because I dislike PeTA?

Really, I am trying not to troll, but do you have any damn idea just how insulting you are?

Trust me babe I've done more good in this world than you can imagine. Just because I don't put the buck-bucks and the moo-moos on the same level as my fellow man like some demented kindegartner doesn't mean I support torture. But hey, if you think you can play ivory tower because I don't sympathize with people who think animal cruelty (as horrible as it is) is a greater issue than murder of human beings done in our name.

a 'So called Dem' because I dislike PeTA? That's really f*cking adorable... He're a pretty base but left wing humor site with a nice description of PeTA: http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/peta/

You should see just what they think of the Neocon monsters too.

[Beaverhausen]

45. We heard you the first 50 frickin' times

you don't like PETA. We get it.

Now if you don't have anything of substance to add to the discussion about the CDC then why don't you go away. No offense.

[yewberry]

49. Do you have any damn idea how insulting YOU are, "babe?"

Regardless of how much good you've done in the world, you're going out of your way to mock and twist other people's sincerely-held beliefs.

[YOY]

56. When you push them on others like and act if their supposed to accept it without question?

You can believe whatever you want philosophically. Personally, I have a few wacko beliefs: they are completely unfounded ,but hey, they are mine and I really don't share them with folks let alone push them on other folks like you nice PeTA folks do...and you know believe so strongly in them that you do indeed push them on other folks to make us 'aware'.

Yes, there is animal cruelty and much of it, if not all of it needs to stop. But you are not the solution. You are the extreme. The 'Holocaust on Your Plate' BS will continue to gain you nothing but ire not only from not only the MAJORITY of folks here, but most of the rest of the population.

I have twisted nothing and T-wolf with his 'so called Dem' bit knows that as do you deep down. Amazing how you all seem to bandwagon together as if you are the majority and play masked avenger to defend animals when there are humans suffering at this moment. babe.

[JudyM]

61. It seems to me this is about exposing mistreatment, not about human vs animal suffering valuation

or about the trust that the exposing organization warrants. It appears from the facts that the suffering was actual, even though 'only' monkeys, and Peta's methods were not called into question here. So it almost seems like a flamebait situation you're creating by slamming Peta for doing something appropriate.

[YOY]

64. Wasn't my intention, but I wound up doing just that

If PeTA wants to make sure that the situation comes to light and to better reception, they had better hand it off to someone without their reputation to do the exposing on the CDC.

It would not only be received better publicly but have a greater impact if done so.

[jilln]

70. play masked avenger to defend animals when there are humans suffering

You're either with us or against us
We have to fight them there so we don't have to fight them here
It's stay the course or cut and run


I don't know a single person who cares about animals who doesn't also care about people. Every single "animal activist" I know also fights against racism and homophobism, for civil and human rights and for environmental causes, at the very least. Many work in women's and homeless shelters and fair trade organizations and work with Food Not Bombs groups or against corporate interests.

Yet those of you who can't figure out how to care about both humans and animals always pull out the BS you tried above, declaring that we only care about animals and it's more important to take care of humans first. As if meat consumption wasn't linked to global warming or hunger or water shortages, as if cruelty to animals wasn't linked to psychotic behavior, as if dog and cockfighting isn't linked to illegal gambling and guns, etc. etc. etc.

I don't HAVE to choose. I can care about both, and your Bush-like repetition of the "with us or against us" BS isn't going to change my mind on it or the mind of any other person who campaigns for animals. We can care about both humans and animals, and we do.

[YOY]

73. This conversation is over

Anyone who compares their opposition to Bush or Bush-like is just being an jerk. Nothing about what I have said is 'Bush-like.'

You're pathetic if you can't discuss things without sinking to insults like that.

'With us or against us' When the f*** did I ever say that???

[jilln]

77. It's the same kind of false either/or choice

Either with us or against us.

You told me it was stupid to care about animals when there are humans to help as if I couldn't care about both. That's all I said, that's the same kind of BS Bush pulls all the time.

I stand by it.

Oh, and if you can't stand being compared to Bush on one specific speech pattern, then don't call me and others "Babe," which is sexist, rude and condescending.

[YOY]

80. just gotta get the last word huh?

It's all yours.

[yewberry]

79. My, what big assumptions you have, Grandma.

I called you on mocking and, yes, twisting other people's beliefs, not on what you think of peta. Your opinion is yor own.

You believe I am a peta member; I am not. You believe that I push my values on others; I do not. Your opinion of me? Also your own, but it'd probably make more sense if you lashed out at someone who actually was guilty of what you're suggesting.

I'm well aware of public opinion of peta. I have no problem with that. I do, however, bring it up when I see people lying about peta (though I'm not accusing you of lying) or mocking people who try make a difference in animal suffering.

Claiming that people who care about animals or who try to lessen the suffering in the world do so to the exclusion of caring about human suffering is a mischaracterization and it IS twisting others' beliefs. Regardless of your conversation with T-wolf, you attacked a group of people who you clearly know nothing about. People can care about more than one thing at a time.

Or are you one of those who believe that we should ignore smaller injustices in favor of larger ones, or wait until the REALLY BIG problems are all solved until we begin to care about anything else? Is that how to get things done? Is that what they teach in the Peace Corps, babe?

[flvegan]

50. Interesting...

You'll forgive this, coming from a "demented kindergartner" but you should double check that site. I mean, I love a good read, but 2003? What they think is that they don't have enough time nor people to update their stupid site.

Oh, and Dems can be assholes too. It's a big fucking tent. No worries.

[The Stranger]

19. No offense intended to anyone, but did you read the article?

Do you even know what PETA thinks?

[YOY]

39. as a mater of fact I did

and no offense taken. I just don't trust PeTA.

[The Stranger]

58. Then that means you also "don't trust" Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of

Animal Care-International, and this is beginning to look like a pattern with regard to "who you trust." Maybe you trust the Bush Administration more?

[YOY]

67. Oh please

Oh freaking please.

The "you obviously are a Neocon if you are not 100% in lock step with us" shit is really getting stale.

Cut it out. It is not cute or even a valid method of debate. It is an obnoxious personal attack and completely uncalled for.

[The Stranger]

69. You hauled out the neocon talk, and it looks like a strawman.

You appear to trust the criminal Bush Administration on this issue before you trust a progressive cause, PETA.

What do you want me to tell you? That I "understand how you feel"?

Because I don't.

[YOY]

71. Maybe it's because I don't consider them a progressive cause

and I am sure that I am not alone in that. I don't think their agenda is anything more than delusion.

That's pretty much how I feel.

Now if Commander Coocoo Bananas thinks the same way (and I've never heard him really give much of a toot about the organization...he seems more intent on killing brown people), well I don't really care...because I highly doubt he feels the same way because of my rationalle, but moreso because it is in his and his evil little friends best fiscal interest (which is something to consider as well) it may be with mine for philosophical reasons.

Just because the opposition says 'up' doesn't mean I have to say 'down'. I can make up my own mind about issues without an instruction book on how to be progressive and informing me just what is and isn't progressive. And in my mind (and I am sure there are quite a few others here) PeTA is not progressive.

There are alot of things I don't particularly think to be 'progressive' that others may indeed.

[nam78_two]

30. When something this serious occurs

its important to fix it rather than beat up on PETA which is just the messenger..

[Beaverhausen]

40. Lots of DUers care about animals and some are even PETA members

You are entitled to your opinion, but don't try and speak for everyone, ok? No offense intended.

[robinlynne]

52. I care what peta thinks.

[Solo_in_MD]

60. I share you disdain for PETA, but there may be something worth looking into here

Of course what they want to do is inane, but then again, thats PETA for you.

[MazeRat7]

3. I care what they think and what they are trying to do...

Oh yeah, and NO I am not a member of PETA or any other animal protection group, however I do support many rescue organizations with periodic financial contributions.

MZr7

[Odin2005]

7. PETA can go fuck itself.

[jilln]

13. I don't think that's Carl Sagan's opinion

Carl Sagan:

"If chimpanzees have consciousness, if they are capable of abstractions, do they not have what until now has been described as 'human rights'? How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?"

"It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English — up to fifty words used in correct context — no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese."

And apparently he spoke at the "World Congress for Animals" in 1996. Smart guy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Was Carl Sagan against animal testing?

I doubt it.

I also doubt he'd support PETA.

[jilln]

22. Just found another quote. I'd say DEFINITELY he was against animal testing.

"Humans who enslave, castrate, experiment on and fillet other animals have had an understandable penchant for pretending that animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and animals is essential to bend them to our will, wear them, eat them without any disquieting tings of guilt or regret. It is so unseemly of us who behave so unfeelingly towards other animals to contend that only humans can suffer, Their behavior renders such pretensions specious, they are just to much like us." ~Dr. Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

http://www.all-creatures.org/quotes/sagan_carl.html

[jilln]

24. And he was faculty advisor for an animal rights group!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. That doesn't say he was against animal testing.

Indicates to me that he was for greater empathy, and for ethical animal testing.

[jilln]

34. OK

I don't agree with you, based on other evidence, but I can see why you think that quote isn't conclusive.

From everything I'm reading on the Internet, he was very sympathetic to animals and in favor of animal rights.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

36. Yes.

He was also very enthusiastic about scientific research, which is why I believe he was for animal research as long as it was done humanely as possible.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. heheh.

Seemed to be doing just fine before your ego got involved.

[DrunkenMaster]

63. my Gawd, you're a fool

Someone can provide you with a direct quote and you still proceed blindly with your own limited belief system. Brilliant use of scientific reasoning, for sure.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

66. Nobody provided me with a direct quote.

Somebody provided me a quote about Sagan being for animal welfare, not being against animal testing. They are not at all mutually exclusive.

Scientific reasoning? :rofl:

[depakid]

15. I would think you might agree with them in this instance

Julie Gerberding has been a nightmare on many fronts- her corruption, mismanagement and politization of science is one of the major reasons why top scientists have been leaving the CDC in droves.

Personally, I welcome any allies we can get in the fight to restore integrity to that once proud agency.

[CatWoman]

17. thank you, Depakid

thank you very much. you get it. :hi:

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DrunkenMaster]

62. its a "funny" thing

that the same people who say "fuck PETA" are a lot of the same folks on this board who will crow about their "God-given Right" to consume every available resource and drive an SUV no matter what the consequences for the planet and our future.

I applaud your honesty -- it lets the rest of us who believe all life is connected and our destinies inertwined understand the ignorance and just plain knee-jerk, reactionary, idiotic hatred that we are up against. Thanks!

[Odin2005]

65. Oh for Christ sakes...

I am a Biology major, I am quite well educated in the principles of ecology and I am a supporter of James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis (the real one, not the mystical crap spewed by people who hijacked it) so don't group me with the SUV-driving idiots. Most of this "aminal rights" crap is from naive upper-middle class suburbanites who know jack about biology. I've had one moran at my university tell me that eating meat is "unatural" for humans. :eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. So what did the 2005 inspection show?

[CatWoman]

16. more info

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2006/11/16/1117meshcdclabs.html

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/shared/news/stories/2006/11/CDC_LABS_1117_COX.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Haven't got a suscription.

Can you just tell me: did the 2005 show that the CDC failed to clean up their act after 2002?

[CatWoman]

23. from one of the articles:

Laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on probation with an international accreditation group because of serious problems with animal care, including the deaths of two monkeys who were kept without water, the CDC acknowledged Thursday.

The problems, which CDC Director Julie Gerberding said left her "simply appalled," were uncovered in an August 2005 inspection by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care-International. They were serious enough to put the nation's premier public health agency at risk of losing its accreditation, and some of the problems had persisted since 2002, CDC officials said in interviews, public relations articles and documents posted on the agency Web site.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. Right.

So there was wrong-doing in 2002 that was uncovered in this 2005 inspection. Did the 2005 inspection find that the same problems persisted.

"and some of the problems had persisted since 2002"

This implies that some of the problems persisted, presumably not nearly as bad as monkeys dying of dehydration. What were these persisting problems, and are they bad enough to lose accreditation, and are they the responsibility of the director?

[Catchawave]

29. According to the article in the OP

the ajc is investigating and the CDC hasn't turned over all the docs yet.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. OK, that's what I thought.

So we can thank PETA for bringing this to light. Seems they've just the gun on resignation.

Hopefully, the CDC's cleaned up their act, and this director resigns for the stuff Depakid mentioned.

[nam78_two]

31. K&R-Thanks for the post Catwoman

I hope they fix this.

[Catchawave]

35. More information on PETA's stopanimaltests.com

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/index.aspx

[blondeatlast]

46. No fan of PETA's, BUT--this is alarming to me. This is the Center for Disease Control,

for God's sake!

Of all animal testing labratories, they should be at the forefront of care. It concerns me greatly that they arent' testing on well-cared for animals as that coul;d easily distort results.


This is an important issue that needs to be brought out, especially with the CDC. I've never liked Ingrid or her methods, but don't discount the importance of this issue because of PETA.

For once, I say good on 'em.

[flvegan]

47. ONCE AGAIN, facts aside, so many say "fuck PETA" and prove a point.

Just like SOOOOOOOO many of the Freeps out there, some folks could give a shit about the message so long as they like the messenger. Bias smells a lot like shit at any time of the day.

How...right wing.

I DO, however, appreciate that even assholes talk about PETA. The more they get talked about, well...the more they get talked about. Not a household word for nothin' you know.

[The Stranger]

59. Dirty work.

Someone has to do it. PETA does it.

[jonnyblitz]

76. !!!

:applause: :thumbsup: :hi:

[xchrom]

48. i'm a fan of PETA and i wanna k&r.

they doa great job of shinning a light on deplorable aspects of human behavior.

[David Zephyr]

51. Kick!

K&R.

[w4rma]

55. Par for a Bush appointee. Loyalty, not competence is priority to them. (nt)

[ecstatic]

74. This a good example of why groups should not "cry wolf"

PETA may have been able to put forward this suggestion with an ounce of credibility had they focused their efforts on real cases of animal abuse and neglect. Instead, they chose to splatter paint and ambush celebrities like Beyonce. Unfortunately, at this point PETA cannot call for anybody's resignation.