CONKLIN WALKS AFTER GOOD OLD BOYS CLUB TALKS

SHOCKED AND DISAPPOINTED

Greetings,

I have learned of an extremely disturbing case of animal cruelty on the Conklin Dairy farm where certain individuals deliberately caused the suffering of numerous animals; although I have written previously, I am writing again to express my support of sentencing this defendant, Billy Jo Gregg, Jr., to the maximum penalty allowed under the law as the result of his deliberate and methodical abuse and neglect of animals. It is essential to recognize that Mr. Gregg’s decision to harm these animals was premeditated as demonstrated by the chronicle of events occurring over a lengthy period of time, namely 30 days, as established by Mercy for Animals’ undercover investigation.

I have also been informed that, as the result of a grand jury recommendation, Mr. Gary Conklin, owner of the dairy farm, may not face charges as the result of the footage capturing his treatment of animals, and I am greatly disturbed by this decision. Although I can appreciate the need for impartial testimony and evidence, humane societies and veterinarians are unquestionably biased: the AVMA, for example, frequently approves various protocols, including unanesthetized branding, dental extractions, and castration, as medically appropriate, and community humane societies decidedly favor animal farming, euthanasia, and population control, all inherently exploitive practices.

Furthermore, with the absence of any judicial animal representation, all persons involved would be prejudiced toward humans. Indeed, the law is grossly inadequate relative to non-human animals and, in fact, only defines them in accordance with human animal benefits, duplicitous rhetoric that is advantageous to humans and not the animals for whom they are intended. Any regulations that legislate the permissibility of animal exploitation and death cannot, by their very definitions, be considered protective. Additionally, you may be surprised to learn that the Animal Welfare Act specifically excludes animals “used for food” from any measure of protection, a fundamentally cruel bias. As such, to dismiss Mr. Conklin’s actions, clearly represented on video footage, as appropriate, only further endorses the inaccurate precept that non-human animals are exploitable as determined by human animals. Were his actions truly “appropriate”? Indeed, should you replace the animals he abused with humans, would you continue to define the actions as “appropriate”? I would surmise that you perhaps would not. Animals value their lives absent our definitions of them, and they all experience suffering, pain, fear, and sadness; their emotions are not precluded by our deception.

When I try to imagine what possible motive animal abusers entertain for subjecting their animal victims to such acts of brutality, I fail, but I am thankful for a lack of cognitive understanding and rationalization. To voluntarily engage in such behaviour demonstrates an incontrovertible lack of morality regarding other living beings and a gross disrespect for the law. In fact, a person who shows such a remarkable lack of compassion towards non-human animals has the ability to show such indifference towards human animals. This link between animal and human abuse has been established, and if we excuse this behaviour, or agree to a lesser punishment, we only harm ourselves by unjustly nullifying cruelty as acceptable behaviour.

Please respect the victims by penalizing the guilty and demonstrate your commitment to justice, responsibility, and integrity, attributes unquestionably necessary in any judicial setting: rejecting cruelty by maintaining an unyielding position towards it would be a model for all community members and would serve to characterize this type of behaviour as both impermissible and punishable. As such, I trust that you are pursuing the harshest sentence legally permissible for Mr. Gregg as well as remembering the victims in future cases.

I know your time is limited and I thank you for your attention to this important message.

[Your name]