Day: July 24, 2001

PETA Celebrity Stefanie Powers a Hypocrite

The New York Post ran an excellent article pointing out the rank hypocrisy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals supporter Stefanie Powers.

Powers recently wrote a letter to Southampton Town Supervisor Vincent Cannuscio asking Cannuscio to deny a permit for the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. circus. According to Powers, the metal bull hooks used to train the elephants are cruel.

Which is an interesting position, considering that Powers herself is a successful show horse jumper and is scheduled to compete in the Hamptons International Horse Show in August. As Neal Travis writes in the Post,

But hat she says about the alleged cruelty to elephants could be applied to the training of at least some show jumpers. Stories abound about horses being trained over jumps that have barbed wire atop them.

Then there’s the matter of spurs, commonly used in training and every bit as painful as the bull hooks that have Powers so upset. And they don’t whip elephants, do they?

Travis contacted a PETA spokeswoman who said, “I do not know anything about the horse show, so, therefore, I have no comment.” Imagine that — a PETA spokeswoman turning down a chance to decry the use of animals in entertainment! I guess the rules are different for PETA’s celebrity dupes.

Source:

Pachyderm Powers’ High Horse. Neal Travis, The New York Post, July 23, 2001.

Genital Mutilation — It’s Not Just for Women

Female Genital Mutilation has received a lot of attention over the past decade for very good reasons — the practice is abominable. Another dangerous form of genital mutilation doesn’t receive as much attention, however — traditional initiation rituals in some developing countries that often involve ritual circumcision under extremely unsanitary and dangerous conditions.

The Daily Telegraph (UK) recently reported that just in South Africa 20 boys died from various causes while undergoing such initiation rites. Several of the boys died from complications related to botched circumcisions. According to the Telegraph,

Some children have been dumped at local hospitals with advanced gangrene of the penis, leading the national health department to draw up guidelines for those who carry out circumcisions to learn the rudiments of surgical hygiene.

Other boys died from starvation, pneumonia and other problems related to the often-harsh conditions under which male initiation ceremonies are conducted. A major concern of health authorities is that often ritual circumcision ceremonies will circumcised many boys with a single knife, posing major risks of spreading disease.

This problem is hardly unique to South Africa. This practice is common throughout much of Africa and other parts of the developing world. So far, though, it hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

Sources:

Kenya’s unkindest cut. Muliro Telewa, The BBC, August 14, 200.

Coming of age in South Africa remains a deadly ordeal. Tim Butcher, The Daily Telegraph (UK), July 23, 2001.