THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH
4242 SOUTH 300 WEST
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84107-1415
(801) 261-2919 phone • (801) 261-9577 fax
www.utahhumane.org
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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (November 23, 2007)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
(801) 261-2919 phone
HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH ASKS FOR STRICTER POLICIES
GOVERNING BYU’S ACQUISITION OF ANIMAL SPECIMENS
Officials of the Humane Society of Utah have joined a growing chorus of protesters, including the Humane Society of the United States, who are disturbed over the recent action taken by Brigham Young University in recruiting the services of a BYU benefactor and trophy hunter to kill an endangered white rhino in Africa and bring parts of the animal’s body back to be publicly stuffed and put on display at the university’s Monte L. Bean Life Sciences Museum.
The Humane Society is asking BYU officials to adopt specific policies that address the ethical questions of how specimens are obtained for its museum, in particular requiring that the trapping or hunting of any vertebrate animal to be used for research or teaching purposes at BYU must be done only as part of a scientific research project that has been approved by the BYU Animal Use and Care Committee. We are urging the university to implement such a standard immediately, since they have stated that they are also planning to acquire a black rhino for their exhibit, and this animal is even more seriously threatened than the one that was already shot.
The rationale for having killed the white rhino is allegedly to promote education about and conservation of this rare species. However, "this makes reason stare," said HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt. "Since these magnificent mammals are an endangered species, it doesn’t make sense to kill one in the name of conservation. This is the age of computer modeling and realistic synthetic sculpting. It would have been more logical, more humane, and much cheaper to create a life-sized, three-dimensional representation of the animal. I and many others would feel nothing but sadness to look at the real hide of this creature in a static diorama; I personally would far rather watch a video of him roaming freely over his native terrain — in short, to see a rhino actually just being a rhino."
Humane Society officials also questioned the judgment of the LDS-run university in having ordered the specific killing of a living animal for its stated purposes. "The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is rife with statements from its leaders promoting respect and compassion for all creation," said Mr. Baierschmidt. He listed the following as examples chosen from literally hundreds of possibilities:
"Animals have the same life in them that you have." — Heber C. Kimball
"Man should be the friend of any living creature." — Joseph Fielding Smith
"If we maltreat our animals, it is wrong." — Brigham Young
"A true Latter-Day Saint is kind to animals." — David O. McKay
"Kindness to animals is the duty of mankind." — Joseph F. Smith
"Man cannot worship the Creator and look with indifference upon His creations." — Joseph F. Smith
"The lives of animals should be held far more sacred than they are." — George Q. Cannon
"Considering the strength of this stand in the early days of the Church, I’m surprised that the officials of BYU would sponsor and endorse such an action as this," said Mr. Baierschmidt.
He added that he hopes that the widespread negative reaction to the rhino incident may ultimately prove to have at least one beneficial side — that of making people realize the counter-productivity of relying on outdated and destructive methods to teach reverence for life in today’s complex world.
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