Letters to the Editor

Cover, September 7: “Major Beef”

Beef with Beef

It is good to see that deBuys and his colleagues at the Quivira Coalition acknowledges that no one knows exactly what New Mexico grasslands were like before the conquistadores introduced cattle. Quivira has been pushing Allan Savory's theory, reflected in this article, that grasslands need cows to survive, as they once supposedly needed bison. The details of grassland evolution may not yet be known, but clearly grasslands existed before either bison or cows.

Quivira has used the demand for grassfed beef to re-brand (pun intended) public lands ranchers as environmentally friendly. Grassfed beef is a major part of the problem, not the solution to restoring grasslands.

Marc Bedner
SFReporter.com

Letters, Sept. 7: “Get Over It”

Not So Fast, Ed

Ed Fields' response to the article on dog tethering ["Bound Hounds," News, Aug. 31] is filled with stereotypes and assumptions. I am part of a large animal rescue community in Santa Fe and we are not, as Ed assumes, "trust funders," "latte drinkers," "turquoise wearers" or "bleeding hearts." I work globally encouraging people to include all people, all species and the environment in their circle of compassion. I live on an income that is under the poverty level, as do most of us doing this work. We are also the same people who have sent supplies to the brave folks standing up for their rights in North Dakota right now.

Ed Fields has obviously never seen a starving and freezing dog stuck on a chain for over a decade with no interaction, licking at a filthy frozen bowl of what was once water. Or even worse, finding a dog frozen and dead on the end of a chain with their humans unaware that the dog has even died ... and being told "he is just sleeping."

Rae Sikora
Santa Fe

Employees’ Rights

[In his response to "Bound Hounds" (News, Aug. 31)], Ed Fields seems to assume that animal lovers are bleeding hearts who want to replace children or because they are wealthy can treat their pets well. My response is that if an individual cannot take loving care of an animal, that individual should not have one. If a pet is being used as a guard dog, even employees deserve to be treated with kindness and care. It is unfortunate that some families live in dangerous neighborhoods. That does not justify harming an animals for ones' own use. I do defend an animal's right to humane treatment. As to those who do not believe it is cruel to chain an animal for hours on end, I ask that they live that way for a few hours and determine whether that is awful or not for themselves.

Reverie de Escobedo
Santa Fe

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Santa Fe Reporter