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To achieve our ends we dedicate ourselves to use only those legal and ethical means available to all citizens including, but not limited to, the introduction and enforcement of necessary legislation. We reject violent means to achieve our goals, including both assault on individual character and private property. B.A.D. (Better As Designed)© dedicates its' efforts to proclaim and ensure that the safe, natural lives of animals are recognized as vital to society and that the welfare and continuation of those lives in health is of public concern and responsibility.
We do draw your attention to the fact that these comments are 'not' based on anything 'spoken' or 'portrayed' on this site, since as you will note (Ms. Speir!!!) that this site contains only 'links' directly back to the personal web pages placed online by Vicki Ives Speir, herself, from which these people have drawn their own conclusions based on her own written words and the photos she has produced for all the world to see!
With that 'clarification' now made, we bring you random comments from petition signers and advise you that we have withheld all personal names and other identifying references in an effort to protect our supporters from any retribution initiated by Ms. Speir and/or Ms. Daane. We 'do' wish to advise you, Ms. Speir, that a few of these comments have been submitted by individuals who know you quite well, thus we shall let their words speak for themselves! (We wish to add that the 'prefaces' in red are our own observations/remarks!)
FROM A SPEIR WEB SITE
VIEWER:
2) I've
been visiting the Karma Farms home page, and I really feel that it sucks.
I feel very sorry for these animals. Animals are not like people,
they are not able to say if they are in any kind of pain, so I don't understand
how a human can say the the cat is fine, it has no problems and so on.....she
hasn't been a twisty cat. I guess, then it would be one of the first
times ever that a cat has been reincarnated as a human. In a strange
kind of way I feel sorry for the owners of such cats. It's an odd
way to get attention and it's purely to show off. Is it really necessary
to use animals for that? There must be other ways to get attention.
Get a life! A life without cats; especially deformed cats!
SOMEONE WITH A BETTER
WAY TO SPEND THEIR TIME!
3)
Please help to stop this senseless form of abuse. There are so many helpless,
victimized, homeless cats and many other animals in this world today that
adding to the collection just because it's "deformity" looks merely entertainable
is totally ridiculous. We're fighting one battle after another to help
the animals of the world who now suffer mainly because of the human race.
We don't need to keep adding to the collection of petitions and fights
to save their innocent lives because someone thinks a cat with two-inch
legs, a stubby body, deformed ears, tiny eyes and twisted limbs, or what
have you, looks unique and profitable. How stupid. What ever happened to
creative crafts as a profitable hobby??? Let's not add to, but help what
is now preexisting in this world of wars. Help save God's precious creatures,
both big and small, and let's put an end to this person's inhumane form
of "rare beauty".
SHAME ON US!
4)
The U.S. calls itself the "progressive" country, but it has the lamest
animal rights laws and is changing very slowly and that's because animal
lovers are forced to push them constantly to do it. And this situation
just proves how uncaring, inhumane and backward the U.S. is. This
is sick and twisted!
YES, VICKI, THEY CERTAINLY
ARE 'AMUSING' AREN'T THEY?
5)
I owned a "twisty cat". The poor beast walked like a bulldog because
its front legs were deformed and bowed outward. It had been abandoned,
and left to die. We rescued it, took it in. Unfortunately,
it suffered due to its deformities and after jumping from one piece of
furniture to the next, it suffered a paralyzing fall -- which would have
been a normal hop for a normal cat.
JOIN THE 'CROWD'!
6) One
word describes how I feel about this...SICK!
LOVE LETTER FROM A
'FRIEND'!
7) I am
familiar with one of these breeders. Yes, she and and any other persons
engaged in breeding deformities into cats, absolutely must be stopped.
Please look into this issue immediately!
A LONG-TIME FOLLOWER
SPEAKS OUT!
8) I first
heard of this almost two years ago while I was working at one of the animal
shelters in the Dallas, TX area. I followed all of the publicity
that the owner of Karma Farms received, both negative and sympathetic.
Personally experiencing the inner turmoil that come from euthanizing countless
cats and kittens due to shelter overcrowding and disease, I was not only
sickened but heartbroken by what this woman has done. It pains me
to think that my species is so arrogant and inhumane that we feel we cannot
only alter but control what nature has created. I agree that this woman
should not be allowed to breed these cats. I support this effort
100%, not only as a woman who has the pleasure of calling 8 wonderful cats
her children, but as one who devotes a large part of her life to spaying
and neutering and caring for other abandoned cats.
"THE CHILDREN ARE
THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD!"
9) I believe
that this is a sick act of human behavior and it must be stopped as soon
as possible. People need to realize that animals are beings with feelings
and deserve to be treated with love and respect. If these types of acts
continue what kind of example are we setting for children ...children;
the future adults of our world? If we leave our world with inhumane
examples like this, our world will be torn apart even worse then it is
now. Thank you for bringing this topic to my attention.
AROUND THE GLOBE WITH
OUR WONDERFUL 'IMAGE'!
10) CANADA:
This is inhumane and it shows how powerless, useless and spineless the
USA government is that this horrible breeding is taking place.
11) AUSTRALIA:...only in America.....!
12)CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: I have only heard of this travesty in animal "breeding" and have been horrified at now seeing one of these poor pitiful animals for the first time.
AND BACK TO THE LONE
STAR STATE--AGAIN!
13)TEXAS:
It figures that Texas would be the leader of this abomination. I've been
here 3 years and have been appalled every day by the horrible treatment
of companion animals.
ANIMAL ABUSE?
14) The
breeding of Twisty Cats MUST be stopped now. I have worked for animal
hospitals for 8 1/2 yrs. and unfortunately have seen my share of animal
abuse. This is definitely Animal Abuse!!!!!!!!!!
ANOTHER OF SPEIR'S
WEB SITE FANS!
15) Please
stop this atrocity. I looked at the web site of the person who has
these cats to get a different perspective. Her own pictures convinced me
that this is insane and inhumane! The cats are deformed, handicapped
to the maximum degree. Tiny, twisted front legs, it's repulsive.
ETHICAL PREVENTION
vs. SENSELESS ACTIVITIES
16) It
is a well established and long standing rule among all ethical animal breeders
to immediately prevent the breeding of animals known to carry genes that
cause deformities such as deafness, blindness, hip dysplasia and other
inherited defects. To condone or allow such individuals to deliberately
breed animals for "freakish" results is tantamount to cruelty and, therefore,
should be stopped using existing anti-cruelty laws. It is lack of
enforcement of existing laws that allows individuals like this to continue
their senseless inhumane activities.
RESPONSIBLE BREEDING?
(17) A
responsible breeder produces a small number of selectively bred animals
after years of educating themselves on how to better the breeds, which
includes working to eliminate heritable diseases or deformities.
That any person would knowingly and intentionally breed an animal known
to be positive for a heritable and disfiguring disease for the express
purpose of reproducing that deformity is reprehensible and points to a
complete lack of ethics or basic compassion. This is just as much
cruelty as other recognized and illegal forms and I would urge you to take
action against it.
A FRIGHTENING THOUGHT
FOR US ALL TO CONSIDER!
(18) I
hope this nonsense is put to an end. This could and will seriously
hurt the cat population. Some people could purchase one of these
cats and not even know it!
TAKE IT FROM ONE WHO
KNOWS!
(19) We
adopted a twisty cat from animal rescue and though we love our girl and
she brings us much joy, we cannot imagine allowing any more cats like her
to be purposely bred. We have taken her to orthopedic specialists
and been told there is nothing they can do to help her. We were warned
of complications in the future due to her deformity; arthritis, hard to
heal abrasions on her elbows and joint complications. Though twisty
cats are shown to be able to jump up to 3 feet, no one addresses the fact
they when they jump back down they land on what would be the equivalent
of their elbows-which we see is very painful with our cat, particularly
when she lands on a hard surface, i.e. a wooden floor. Consequently,
our house is a series of pillows and platforms allowing her to come down
safely from the higher surfaces that every cat finds their way up to.
Also, though both of our cats have always been indoor cats, we are terrified
of her getting outside, since it is clearly impossible for her to defend
herself, even against the playful advances of our other cat. As owners
of a "Twisty Cat" we ask that you enforce legislation already on the books
to ban the further inhumane breeding of these cats. And on a personal
note to the breeder anyone who would consider engineering weakness or helplessness
in any animal because it is "cute" or "adorable" should be forced to live
with the same infirmity.
A RESEARCHER SPEAKS
OUT!
20) For
a genetics class I did research on cat breeding and I came across these
"Twisty Kats." A) I was appalled at one "breeder's" comments
to a local newspaper, saying that her deformed cats were happy and healthy.
Purposefully breeding cats who cannot be cats, cannot act like cats, and
cannot perform their instinctual habits, such as running, climbing, and
hunting (playing with toys counts as well), should not be accepted by anyone
with any sense of ethics, morals, or justice. Please make it stop,
I beg of you. This inhumane practice is
not right, in
any sense of the word.
AND, THE NEIGHBORS
ARE TALKING AGAIN!
21)
I am entirely familiar with one of these breeders -- as a result of common
horse interests. Yes, she and and any other persons engaged in breeding
deformities into cats, absolutely must be stopped. Please look into
this issue immediately.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
22) If
a breeder will try this with one species of animal, I'm sure it won't be
long before she tries with another. I'd hate to see this type of
"cute" breeding in equines.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE HORSES?
23)
I've had cats all my life and these cats are left to be totally dependent
on their owner. They can't do things cats normally do. They
can't even clean their own faces because their front limbs are too short.
Sometimes they are born with limbs on backwards too. It is very cruel.
These inhumane people also "raise" horses...lots of horses.
FOR THOSE WHO THINK
THIS IS A 'PERSONAL' WITCH HUNT--A WORD FROM A NON-MEMBER!!!
24)
I have personally communicated with Vicki Speir and she has absolutely
no remorse about this atrocity. She actually seems to thrive on the
attention this is bringing her and has every intention on continuing the
breeding of these cats.
OUR MOST RECENT FROM
ONE WHO REALLY KNOWS! (Visit the web site using the below link)
25) I have
been rescuing and caring for crippled and deformed cats for many years.
I feel it's inhumane to deliberately breed deformed cats which can never
do many of the things, running, climbing, hunting or simply using their
front paws for play, that cats without deformities or disabilities are
designed to do. Breeding specific traits should only be done to benefit
a breed, not to produce deformities and crippled cats for personal profit.
I
am in favor of
banning the breeding of so-called "Twisty Cats". Eileen J. Poole,
ACS, Feline Care Consultant Director: Feline Companions, Inc.
Ironically, we ask that you access the following link which will provide you with evidence of Ms. Speir's 'own' copyright infringement of our organization's name and the deliberate publishing of a personal email message directed solely to her accompanied by her response, all of which has been placed on her site without the knowledge and consent of the writer of that message.
Due to the actions of Ms. Speir in publishing this communication and her deliberate misuse of our copyrighted organization's name, we tend to now ask "Is this a matter of the pot calling the kettle black?" We prefer to leave that conclusion up to each of you!
In light of Ms. Speir's recent accusations and attempts to have this site removed from the internet, we have elected to utilize what many prefer to regard as "reverse psychology"! We are now providing a direct link to Ms. Speir's 'current' site appearing under the primary name of Karma Farms, which also contains a sizable segment covering what she considers her "differently abled and unique" Twisty Kats! Though it is with disdain that we realize this will provide Ms. Speir with a tremendous increase in her site attendance, we also feel it far better that you form your own opinions of her breeding practices by viewing the information and photos she has so willingly held up for the entire world to examine! So to speak, now you can "hear it straight from the horse's mouth!" by simply accessing her segment on the Twisty Kats.
Using the below link, you will also be able to access a fairly unknown segment on Ms. Speir's site, dealing with her preoccupation with the world of Demonology. This segment 'DID' contain a damning animated graphic depicting a demon, standing on it's 'hind' legs only, engaging in the process of creating what ultimately proved to be a Twisty Kat!! However, as of August 22, 1999, it was discovered the actual animated graphic has now been removed from the site! Despite the fact the animated graphic no longer exists on this site, the following quotation, written by Ms. Speir DOES! It leaves no doubt as to the graphic's existence and precisely what it depicted!
"Here is an interesting animation featuring the Demon Cheitan, seen here creating a new pet of sorts. It uses quite a number of images and unwinds as slow as clotting blood, but perhaps you will enjoy watching it develop to exhibit the demon's art?"
Finally, we direct your attention to the logo contained at the bottom of the home page of Ms. Speir's web site. This logo denotes her membership in a web ring named "Stop Animal Rights Madness". To familiarize yourselves with the import of this web ring, we invite you to visit the following site where you will find a lengthy narrative explaining the purpose, belief and intent of this web ring. Once again, we leave you to draw your own conclusions!
In summary, what we have chosen to do here is permit everyone accessing our site the privilege to also access Ms. Speir's own site and others dealing with this issue, to enable everyone to form their own opinions, assessments, and judgments about Ms. Speir and her breeding of these deformed animals she has named "Twisty Kats", as well as her associates and affiliations with those who speak out against the rights of animals. If Ms. Speir now objects to us providing you with these links to her site, once more we can only allow you to draw your own conclusions as to the reasons for her objections! Our reasons are simple: these animals didn't deserve what they now are forced to live with!
We are convinced and stand strong in our belief that what she has perpetuated and has stated (in her illegally published response to a personal email communication from B.A.D. appearing on her own personal site!) that she may perpetuate again at some point in the future is wrong and inhumane. We also firmly believe that anyone viewing the deformities these animals have been forced to endure will agree with and support our effort to bring about a permanent halt to any future breeding of these animals. This organization has never denied that these deformities have and still do occur as the result of Nature itself, as evidenced by the compassionate story of a rescuer of an abandoned Twisty cat from the streets of her city which now appears in our "Lifesavers" segment. Yet, we do oppose the deliberate perpetuation of such breeding by any individual when it is known to that individual that the possibility does exist that these deformities may very well be the end result! Such opposition to this practice is our right, as is our commitment to do all we can to prevent such breeding from being conducted.
The irrevocable fact remains that Ms. Speir did breed her cats with the intent of finding out if they would be born with these horrible deformities. Sadly, they were! Does this form of breeding by Ms. Speir constitute an 'experiment'? We believe it does! Thus we urge you to visit Ms. Speir's own personal site and see for yourselves, after which each and every one of you retain the ultimate freedom to speak out either in support of Ms. Speir's actions and the lives these animals have been condemned to or to take whatever action necessary to ensure that such deliberate breeding never occurs again! The choice will ultimately be yours!
In conclusion, B.A.D. (Better As Designed)© does hereby state that all further information contained in this site is true and factual in every respect and should Vickie Ives Speir persist in challenging the validity of same or the right of this organization to voice it's opinions in accordance with our right to Free Speech, we will be most happy to debate these issues in a court of law should she choose to pursue this matter further. We will NOT stand down in the face of adversity nor will we abandon our efforts to permanently ban any further breeding of these animals based on fear of Ms. Speir's threats. Our position can only be described by a famous quotation made by Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!" Rest assured, we do NOT fear Vickie Ives Speir!
We now leave it to you, the public, to determine your own assessment of this cruel and inhumane treatment of innocent and helpless animals.
http://thorin.adnc.com/~richlin/onlinepetition
On our "Messages and Links" page you will find two additional graphics created by Beverly of Papergirl's Mews Room, which you may find more suitable to the design of your site.
We would also appreciate it if you would send us a quick email advising us that you are using one of these graphics, so we'll be sure not to contact you with any additional requests to do so.
Needless to say, this newly discovered chart created some time ago by an individual NOT affiliated with B.A.D.(Better As Designed)©, (yet who does attest to its authenticity!) will be invaluable in serving as an illustration of the extremely close inbreeding conducted by Speir in order to accomplish and reproduce the grotesque deformities the current Twisty Kats now must live with! This chart will accompany the thousands of petition signatures to the personal meeting in June in Los Angeles with Secretary Dan Glickman of the Department of Agriculture in our closely coordinated effort to have him ban any future 'experimental' breeding of Twisty Kats.
Additionally, we are providing a link directly to Polydactyls R Us, the site of Tammy Daane of Oregon. We ask you to access the segment entitled "Litters", scroll down to the second litter, and focus your attention on the photo of the second kitten named "Toad". We leave it to you to decide if this kitten appears to be totally nomal!
Predictably, Ms. Speir will have none of it, and refuses to back down in her position of self-righteous indignation that anyone should take it upon themselves to criticize her 'experimental' breeding of these deformed animals!
Upon contacting Ms. Ekman on August 22, 1999, I am now assured that NO self-respecting, reputable, responsible, and ethical breeder of cats anywhere in the world will consider that B.A.D. (Better As Designed)© is intent on taking any action which would interfere with their current breeding practices! As has often been stated on this site, B.A.D.©has only one mission: To bring a halt to the 'experimental' breeding of the Twisty Kats! We have no desire to pass judgment or cause any unnecessary problems for any reputable and ethical breeder of cats. Our organization highly respects breeders of cats and cannot stress this position any more strongly than we have!
We now feel the alliance between B.A.D. (Better As Designed)© and Mrs. Ekman will reinforce that position and do much to communicate to all breeders that our only intent is to stop a very harmful and potentially dangerous breeder from continuing this cruel and 'experimental' breeding for deformities!
To acquaint all of you with Mrs. Ekman's "Silvery Claws Cattery" and the beautiful and breathtaking cats she has produced, I have attached a link below directly to her site so you may easily visit and decide for yourselves the extent of her commitment to the breeding of healthy, beautiful, and international championship award winning felines!
OUR PROPOSED PLAN
OF ACTION:
Despite
all efforts, we now have come to realize that it will take the intervention
of the Federal government to bring a permanent halt to this 'experimental'
breeding practice!
In preparation for that effort, I have been fortunate enough to secure the personal telephone number of Mr. Dan Glickman, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Despite many letters to the offices of the U.S.D.A., our pleas for intervention have gone unheeded. As previously explained, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has total jurisdiction over the enforcement of the "Animal Cruelty Act" which specifically prohibits "experimentation on any livestock which results in deformities"! Thus, I will be personally contacting Mr. Glickman by phone, to request his immediate intervention in bringing any future breeding of Twisty Kats to an immediate halt! Also, Mrs. Ekert has assured me that there are literally 'thousands' of people in Sweden and other countries in Europe who are very determined to stop this 'experimental' breeding! Finally, WE ARE NO LONGER ALONE IN OUR BATTLE!!!
On May 20, 1999 a Certified letter was directed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by our Director, respectfully requesting that he invoke the statutes provided in the Animal Welfare Act regarding 'experimentation' with any animal for any reason. The U.S.D.A. has full jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this Act, which is due to be revised and voted on in 2000. We are attempting to have a clause entered into the act which will prevent such "experimental breeding for deformities and personal profit", as has been committed by Vickie Ives Speir and Tammy Daane. If successful, the U.S.D.A. will then be in the position to invoke Federal authority over Ms. Speir's and Ms. Daane's 'activities' with regard to any and all animals in their care, custody and control. Since neither of them are 'registered' or reputable breeders with any registry specifically for Twisty Kats, this will not bode well at all, particularly for Ms. Speir and her horse breeding business in Texas! If she fails to comply with the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act under the U.S.D.A. jurisdiction, she stands to LOSE all rights, privileges, and ownership of any animal in her care, custody or control", specifically her horses which are the main source of her livelihood!
Much has been said about the deformity present in Vickie Speir's "Twisty Kats". We have taken the time to do some research into exactly what these deformities are. These deformities are considered a congenital defect. In the case of the Twisty Kats, congenital means that it is acquired or inherited from one or both of the parents. This congenital deformity has two variations, both of which affect the radius (bone) found in the forelegs.
Radial Aplasia or Radius Agenesis indicates that the radius has failed to form and is missing. Some of you may have seen photo's or video tape of at least one of Vickie Speir's cats that have this severe affliction. The forelegs of this cat (as well as others) is so shortened due to the missing bone that it is useless. The other manifestation is Radial Hypoplasia which means the radius is only partially developed or formed. Deformity and limb curvature (hence the name "Twisty Kats") are often pronounced in this instance. These are the cats that are shown with the longer forelegs, but twisted in different directions so that walking on the pads of their feet is impossible.
The only way to know for sure which cats are affected by either Radius Agenesis or Radial Hypoplasia is by having radiographs done. There is no doubt, however, that these cats suffer from one type or the other of this severe congenital deformity per the information provided to us by a Professor of Genetics at the University of Oregon and further evidenced by the educated opinions of several Veterinarians based on the photos exhibited on Ms. Speir's web site.
As we're sure you will agree, this abuse MUST be stopped and that is the purpose of our campaign. We are now drawing international attention to these 'experimental' breeding practices to the extent that soon after Pet Warehouse insisted that GeoCities pull their advertisement from her web site, Geocities revoked her use of the web page. Unfortunately, Ms. Speir was able to find another less scrupulous provider to allow her a new web site.
Assuming you have been as totally horrified and disgusted with her 'experimental' breeding practices as we are, we invite you to join in our campaign to permanently prevent her from continuing this practice. We have taken the stance that this is as much a matter of ABUSE as the many horrifying laboratory experiments conducted on animals each year, EXCEPT Ms. Speir's home is 'not' a laboratory! So, the more 'noise' we make, the faster we'll be heard--thus, the key in this endeavor is "STRENGTH IN NUMBERS AND BE A SQUEAKY WHEEL." to the extent that we intend on driving those who can effectively and authoritatively stop her to such a degree of irritation with our uproar, they will take action simply to shut us up!
a) After endless sessions of letter writing by our members,
we were successful
in drawing the attention of the media. A taped interview was
conducted at
Ms. Speir's home which was aired on many other syndicated TV news shows
around the country at that time. However, this interview was very
brief and
merely showed short film clips of the least severely deformed of
Ms. Speir's
cats. Consequently, she ended up benefiting from this media coverage
rather
than being deterred by it and we soon realized we were only 'helping' her
effort
to promote the breeding of these deformed animals even more!
b) Soon thereafter, several newspaper articles were published
across the country
about this issue, but it was then revealed that when reporters approached
law
enforcement and the District Attorney in Marshall, TX he stated "there
are no
laws in Texas that prohibit Ms. Speir from conducting this 'experimental'
breeding of these cats! We are very unhappy with this situation,
but
unfortunately we cannot legally bring any charges against her until the
law in
Texas has been changed."
c) Most major Animal Welfare and Protection agencies
were contacted by B.A.D.©
only to learn that they wished to refrain from taking any action against
Ms.
Speir for two reasons: 1) they did not have the support of legal enforcement
behind such action; and (2) it appears that breeders in Texas are very
much
against ANY laws being passed within that state that would prohibit their
freedom to breed animals as they saw fit, regardless of the consequences
to the animal and the fact that these are only 'experiments'!
At
this point, B.A.D.©
came to the conclusion that our only recourse was to get the U.S.
Department
of Agriculture to prohibit such 'experimental' breeding, which would be
enforceable
by heavy fines and even incarceration being levied under the Animal
Cruelty
Act.
Through a series of e-mails received from Ms. Speir and Ms. Daane, we also learned that Ms. Speir still retains one (unneutered) male Twisty and one (unspayed) female Twisty which she has clearly stated she "plans on breeding again someday, just to see what happens!" Additionally, the message from Ms. Daane, clearly states that she has every intention of breeding her male Twisty, "Hot Stuff Pete" and female "Peanut", in the Spring of 1999 because "my vet has assured me that "Hot Stuff" is not a twisty and he will probably produce healthy kittens."
As a means of support of our above statements, we have reprinted the messages received from Ms. Speir and Ms. Daane with regard to the future 'experimental' breeding of these Twisty Kats below:
The following communication was printed from the Cat Fancy Community Message Board and was posted by BC's Mom on November 17, 1998:
"This was on another board about those cats. I haven't gone to look for myself because I can't handle things like that at all, but the following post is a reply to the site. The lady at Karma Farms is Vickie Ives Speir, whose e-mail address is Karmafarms@internetwork.net.
I exchanged a number of e-mails with this woman back in June, 1998. She told me she is an ex-Animal Control Officer who was responsible for euthanizing 10,000 animals in 3.5 years. She described these cats as her "new mutation" and "differently-abled" (as opposed to disabled!). She said they are very difficult to raise, but is incapable of understanding that the reason it's so hard to raise them without them dying is that they are freaks of nature and nature is trying to tell her so. She admitted that "they need special help as they learn to walk", but does not concede that this is basically because they are crippled.
Of her deliberately breeding polydactyls, she boasted "the percentage of polydactyl kittens in each litter is certainly increased if one breeds polydactyls to polydactyls", as if this is a great achievement!
The woman is stark-raving mad. She refers to all the people who are appalled by what she is doing as "humaniacs". If you e-mail her, be prepared to enter the "Twilight Zone"!"
On Friday, November 20, 1998 we somehow received the following e-mail from Shadowcatzs@yahoo.com directed to furpurr@hotmail.com with a copy being directed to tdaane@cybcon.com, which presents us with the proof that Tammy Daane of Oregon will be breeding her Twisty cat purchased from Vickie Speir in the Spring of 1999:
To Who This May Concern
Thanks to you & people like you that are so mis-informed, my friend cannot access her e-mail. Being flooded by people like you, who do not check ALL their facts. This Lady is in NO WAY contacted to the Karma Farm. Polydactyls have been breed for YEARS. The Karma Farms, however IS PURPOSELY breeding TWISTIES.
My friend is NOT, she would never breed, nor bring kittes into the world that are deformed in such or any manner. If you talk to a VET, they will tell you, that breeding a poly with a poly does NOT produce Twisties.
It is time you people get your facts straight BEFORE you attack innocent people just because they have a polydactyl and want to breed them, just like any normal cat, and as breeders have done for MANY YEARS.
My Friends animals are kept inside, where they are safe, warm and dearly loved.
She has sent me a note added
to this in response to your letters. Her letter is below:
**********
Escuse me. I would like
to get a few of your untrue facts streight so you can stop spreading lies
please.
My cats are not related.
I call my dog badger my cats brother. That does not mean that he
is really related.
All of my animals have different
parents. The 2nd. thing is that I am not breeding to get twisty cats.
I am breeding for personality,
health, temperment, and polydactylness.
Hot Stuff just happens to be
a twisty but he is not deformed.
He walks like all other cats. He can jump and claw the furniture.
I have talked to my vet and
he has said he
is healthy and should have normal
healthy kittens.
I would never breed a gross deformed
kitten. I would appreciate you changing
your awareness page
and going after someone who
is really doing something wrong and being
cruel to there animals.
I am not that person.
!! Do not put me in the same category as the other people.
I am not breeding for twisty's...Thank you!
tdaane@cybcon.com
We are now faced with the tragic knowledge that we can be assured of seeing more of Ms. Speir's 'experimental' Twisty Kats, not only from Ms. Speir herself, but from Ms. Daane in Oregon! Therein lies the absolute reason why we MUST continue all efforts thus far and even intensify those efforts, to do everything we possibly can to prevent this tragedy from being repeated time after time. As exhibited in the above messages from Ms. Speir and Ms. Daane, neither are predisposed to acceptance of the fact that they are deliberately 'experimenting' when they breed these cats.
B.A.D.© has concluded that the only feasible way this 'experimental' breeding practice can be made illegal, thus preventing Ms. Speir and Ms. Daane from continuing with their breeding plans, is to appeal to Secretary Dan Glickman of the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting him to enforce his department's jurisdiction over the Animal Welfare Act.
In
so stating, B.A.D. (Better As Designed)© wishes to make it
very CLEAR that we have no intent to interfere, assault, criticize, or
otherwise prevent 'ANY' reputable and responsible breeder from continuing
to pursue any/all of their currently established breeding practices!
Reputable and responsible breeders everywhere are very highly respected
by all members of B.A.D. (Better As Designed)©
and as such, all such breeders are considered quite well within our
above
"Statement of Purpose"!
We have concluded that we must continue our commitment by approaching the Federal level! With the large number of people already speaking out about this tragedy, why would it be so difficult to simply continue that unity, intensify this campaign, and make as much NOISE as we can until someone listens? Sooner or later, there will be those who will say "the only way we are going to quiet these people and appease them is to give them what they want!".
1)
Using the "Contact List" found below [plus any other contacts you may become
aware of] write continuous e-mails and letters to those on the list until
we have
totally flooded them with mail protesting this cruelty.
2)
E-mail or write to various Hollywood celebrities who are well known animal
activists such as: Betty White, Tippi Hedron, Raquel Welch, John
Travolta,
Nicole Kidman, Kevin Costner, William Shatner and Martin Sheen, etc.!
Their
e-mail addresses or those of their agents can easily be found listed on
the internet
under Entertainment/Entertainers. Remember, these people are well-funded
as
well as having some political contacts to assist in instituting legislation
making
such practices State and/or Federal offenses. Ask them to use their
contacts and
resources!
3)
Regularly contact, mail, and e-mail every animal activist group in your
area
repeatedly. Remember, "THE LOUDER THE SQUEAK GETS, THE QUICKER THEY
WILL MOVE TO QUIET THE NOISE!"
4)
We also urge all of you to relentlessly contact the Oprah Winfrey
Show, 60
Minutes, 20/20 and Dateline shows in the hope one of them will choose to
do an
in-depth investigative broadcast on this issue. Keep in mind, the
more this issue
is brought to the attention of the general population, the more support
it will
gain!
5)
There has been much newspaper coverage on the issue, however, much of this
was
not sufficiently comprehensive to generate much interest.
Therefore, we also
suggest that there may be some hope in generating more interest by contacting
major magazine publications such as Time, Newsweek, People, Cosmopolitan,
Vogue, Esquire, Playboy, and Ladies Home Journal, to mention a few.
The names
and addresses of their offices, editors and reporters can be found inside
the front
two pages of each magazine. The 'theme' of these publications is
irrelevant to our
cause. If we 'bother' them sufficiently, perhaps they will take action
and support
our cause!
(It has been discovered that when trying to send an e-mail
to Oprah please click the 'Submit' button only once even if
you see a window saying "no data". DO NOT CLICK 'SUBMIT'
AGAIN! Wait until you receive a 'confirmation' of your
email. If you don't receive such a 'confirmation' within 24
hours, repeat the sending process!)
NIGHTLINE
http://www.abcnews.go.com/onait/email.html
HARD
COPY
E-mail:
ideas@hardcopytv.com
INSIDE
EDITION
E-mail:
iemail@kingworld.com
60 MINUTES
E-mail:
http://www.cbs.com/navbar/feedback/html
MEDIA
(PUBLICATIONS)
Cat
World, Your Cat, All About Cats, Wild About Animals, Cat Fancy, Newsweek,
Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, People, Vogue, Cosmopolitan,
Esquire, Playboy, Redbook and Ladies Home Journal.
WHAT
SHOULD I SAY?
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY/STATE/ZIP
Dear:
(WE SUGGEST YOU DO NOT INDICATE ANY 'SUBJECT' CONTENT HERE AS THE LETTER MAY NOT BE READ AND DISCARDED AS A SOLICITATION FOR MONEY!)
A large group of people from all over the world have recently learned of the 'experimental' breeding practices taking place in Marshall, TX at Karma Farms, owned by Ms. Vickie Ives Speir. These 'experiments' involve the inbreeding of polydactyl (or 5-6 toed) cats. In this process, a rare gene defect appeared and some of the cats were born with severely deformed front legs or what is medically referred to as Radial Agenesis. With amusement, Ms. Speir named one of these cats "Flipper" who later produced a litter of 5 kittens all bearing the same severe deformities in varying degrees.
These cats must be 'taught' how to walk on their hind legs using only short hopping motions similar to a kangaroo or rabbit. Such movements can severely destroy the spine, hip, pelvic and overall body structure of such a cat over a period of time, creating even more severe deformities as the cat ages, according to statements made by various veterinarians. Also, there is the possibility that some of these animals will also be born with neurological problems. Additionally, they can only play with normal pet toys by using their teeth, due to their severely deformed front legs and feet, thus making them prone to biting as Ms. Speir points out in the attached.
According to Ms. Speir, these cats "are an Animal Control Officer's dream since they are unable to destroy property, kill birds and small prey, or claw furniture." Therefore, she is determined to continue her 'experimental' inbreeding of these genetically deformed animals!
Thousands of people all over the world are enraged by such 'experiments' on these helpless animals and have united in a common effort to legally prevent Ms. Speir from continuing her breeding practices and to insist that Federal jurisdiction be enacted making such activity a crime.
We are enlisting your aid in arousing public awareness to this situation and respectfully request that you investigate this matter, validate all facts, and present them to the public in such a way that our goal may better be accomplished. As one member of our group succinctly points out: "I find it strange that there is no law against this, yet we have a government telling scientists that they cannot do any research with fetal cells if they use government money. We are talking an entire animal here, not just a few cells!"
We also have knowledge that Ms. Speir has sold two of her cats (the male known to be a 'Twisty') to Ms. Tammy Daane in Oregon who has clearly stated that she plans to breed her cats in the Spring of 1999. It is highly suspect that these individuals plan to create future Twisty Kats solely for profit. There is nothing to suggest in this breeding practice that the animal will benefit in any way from these deformities, thus leading us to believe that when these animals are sold, many of their owners will find them too difficult and inconvenient to raise and will simply abandon them on the streets where they will most assuredly perish from starvation or suffer a cruel death by another predator, as they will be unable to defend themselves. We respectfully request that you hear our plea and do everything in your power to help us put an end to this senseless abuse of innocent and defenseless animals. This may not be a pleasant or entertaining topic; yet, it is one of outright abuse and cruelty.
You may contact me at the above indicated address with your response. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
