Animal Abuse, Rights and Welfare

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      Tag the Bear, Mascot of California Recall, Faces a Lawsuit

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      The campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom has been going well for the governor lately. Less so for Tag the bear.“Animal rights people are suing us,” said Keith Bauer, the longtime trainer for the 1,000-pound Kodiak who became famous this year as part of a campaign stunt for John Cox, one of the four dozen or so candidates challenging Mr. Newsom. “It’s ridiculous.”Mr. Cox, a San Diego Republican who lost to Mr. Newsom in a landslide in 2018, garnered attention this spring when he began making appearances with the bear to underscore his campaign theme that Mr. Newsom was a privileged “beauty” while Mr. Cox was a powerful “beast.”Bryan Pease, a lawyer who leads the board of the Animal Protection and Rescue League in San Diego, said the nonprofit group sued to enjoin Mr. Cox and the bear’s owner from bringing Tag back to San Diego.The complaint, filed in San Diego Superior Court in May, notes that, other than in the zoo, municipal code bans bears and other wild animals from the city. It also alleges that drugs and electrical wires were used to keep the bear docile during appearances, citing an email from Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife, the Kern County supplier of show business animals that owns the bear and rents him for events and commercials.“They said Tag was drugged because he was so nice at personal appearances,” said Mr. Bauer, who was not named in the suit, which he called “groundless.”“Tag is just nice,” he added. “What do you want me to do? Pinch him in the butt to make him mean?”A spokesperson for Mr. Cox’s campaign blamed “liberal activists playing politics through the courts” for the lawsuit and denied that the bear was mistreated.Mr. Pease said his animal rights group was “an equal opportunity assailant,” noting that it recently sent out a mass email condemning Representative Juan Vargas, a San Diego Democrat, for holding a fund-raiser at the Del Mar racetrack.In any case, Tag’s trainer said, he and the bear have had little luck monetizing their campaign close-up.“We’ve gotten a couple of jobs,” Mr. Bauer said, taking a break on Thursday from a job in Pittsburgh, where he was working with a trained squirrel named Nut Nut.“But it hasn’t changed anything.” More

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      Andrew Yang Is Hit With Negative Ads From Animal Rights Leaders

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      In 2013, the animal rights leaders helped undermine the mayoral campaign of Christine Quinn, boosting the chances of the eventual winner, Bill de Blasio.The last time there was a crowded race for mayor of New York City, a curious issue gained unexpected prominence: Just about every major candidate promised to do away with Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages, citing concerns over the horses’ safety.A notable exception was Christine Quinn, then the speaker of the New York City Council. Because of her stance, an animal rights group helped fund an “Anybody But Quinn” campaign that was credited with helping to topple her candidacy in 2013, paving the way for Bill de Blasio to become mayor.Eight years later, with horse-drawn carriages still rumbling through Central Park, that same animal rights group is making a return appearance in the 2021 mayoral race.The two founders of the group, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, or NYCLASS, announced on Monday their support for a new super PAC that will run television and digital ads attacking Andrew Yang, one of the Democratic front-runners in the contest.The ads were not the only curious development in the race: The office of the New York City comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, whose campaign for mayor appears to be losing steam, released an audit on Monday targeting the emergency food program established by a rival candidate, Kathryn Garcia, who has been rising in the polls. The audit raised concerns that he was using taxpayer dollars for political purposes.The audit and the anti-Yang ads were the most recent illustrations of how the June 22 primary, which is likely to determine the next mayor of this heavily Democratic city, remains in flux. Mr. Yang’s numbers have been falling, Ms. Garcia has gained ground, and Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, is now thought to be in the lead, according to an Ipsos poll commissioned by Spectrum News NY1 that was released on Monday.The digital ads attacking Mr. Yang feature photographs of apparently ailing carriage horses lying on the street, and Mr. Yang’s “no” response on a questionnaire asking if he would support efforts “to strengthen welfare protections and increase the standards of care for New York City’s carriage horses.”The ads attacking Mr. Yang feature photos of apparently ailing carriage horses lying on the street.Andrew Seng for The New York TimesThe television ad makes no mention of animal rights, focusing instead on Mr. Yang’s qualifications.“What do we actually know about Andrew Yang?” the narrator asks in the advertisement, before launching into an unflattering biography of the former presidential candidate, describing him as “a prep school millionaire whose business career mostly failed.”The organization is spending about $200,000 for one week of ads, but is willing to spend about $1 million, according to its spokesman, James Freedland.The group’s leaders, Steve Nislick, a former real estate executive, and Wendy Neu, who runs a recycling and real estate company, declined interview requests. Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Ms. Neu’s sister and a film producer who is helping fund the super PAC, also declined to comment.In a statement, Mr. Nislick said that there was “no question that respect for animal rights goes hand in hand with respect for human rights.”“It’s clear that Andrew Yang is the wrong choice for mayor on both fronts,” he continued. “From supporting the abusive carriage horse industry to opposing tax increases on the wealthiest New Yorkers, Yang is simply unable and unwilling to stand up to the powerful forces that perpetuate cruelty in order to make a profit.”Chris Coffey, one of Mr. Yang’s campaign managers, spent years working as a lobbyist for NYCLASS and said he was taken aback by the group leaders’ decision to target Mr. Yang. Mr. Coffey accused the group of working behind the scenes with Mr. Adams.“This is the clearest evidence yet that Eric Adams is cutting deals with the same people who put Bill de Blasio in office,” Mr. Coffey said. “It’s time for a change from these sketchy unethical deals of the past.”A spokesman for Mr. Adams scoffed at Mr. Coffey’s suggestion that the borough president was involved in the ad campaign.“Absurd and sad,” said Evan Thies, the spokesman. “Apparently there are plenty of other people who don’t think Andrew Yang should be mayor.”A spokesman for Eric Adams, center, scoffed at the suggestion that the borough president was involved in the ad campaign.James Estrin/The New York TimesThe group’s founders donated generously to Mr. de Blasio’s mayoral campaign, but they also fought with him over his failure to actually ban the industry, as he had promised. Instead, Mr. de Blasio has moved the horse-carriage line from 59th Street into Central Park, and signed legislation limiting horse-carriage operations on particularly hot days..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-w739ur{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-w739ur{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-9s9ecg{margin-bottom:15px;}.css-uf1ume{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}.css-wxi1cx{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}During his regular Monday morning media briefing, Mr. de Blasio said he hadn’t met or spoken with Ms. Neu or Mr. Nislick in “months and months, for sure.”In the years after the 2013 election, the New York City Campaign Finance Boards fined NYCLASS for making illegal campaign contributions, and the issue of horse carriages receded into the background.This year, four of the top eight mayoral candidates responded to NYCLASS’s candidate questionnaire. Only two of them expressed outright support for eventually banning the industry: Maya Wiley, Mr. de Blasio’s former counsel, and Dianne Morales, the former nonprofit executive. Mr. Adams selected “no” in response to the question about banning the industry, but then elaborated that he was “open to further discussion about prohibiting the operation of horse-drawn carriages.”Ms. Quinn, the target of the organization’s 2013 ad campaign, expressed disapproval of the group leaders’ new efforts.“What’s the horror movie where you can’t kill the monster and he keeps coming back?” Ms. Quinn said when reached by phone.Meanwhile, Mr. Stringer’s release of an audit targeting Ms. Garcia’s emergency food program prompted criticism that he was misusing the comptroller’s office for political gain.After the pandemic threw one million New Yorkers out of work, and it became apparent that New York City was facing a hunger crisis of historic proportions, Mr. de Blasio tasked Ms. Garcia, then the sanitation commissioner, with creating an emergency food program. At its height, it distributed 1.5 million meals a day.On Monday, Mr. Stringer’s office faulted the city for failing to adequately vet the background of a contractor whose owner had been convicted of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, released an audit targeting an emergency food program established by a rival candidate, Kathryn Garcia.Sarah Blesener for The New York TimesA spokeswoman for Mr. Stringer said the audit began last July, well before Ms. Garcia launched her campaign, and that the office evaluates whether an audit merits a news release based on the significance of the findings and recommendations.“The comptroller’s office has been diligently working to examine what went well and what didn’t during the response to the pandemic, and how to improve agencies’ emergency procurement procedures to quickly secure goods and services while mitigating the risks of squandering taxpayer dollars and contracting with unqualified or criminal vendors,” said Hazel Crampton-Hays, the comptroller’s press secretary.But Annika Reno, a spokeswoman for the Garcia campaign, was unconvinced.“It’s hardly a surprise that after Scott has spent his entire career in political office, that he would then use his office and taxpayer dollars to further his political career,” Ms. Reno said. “This is why New Yorkers don’t want another career politician as mayor, they want a public servant who gets things done.” More

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      For Bears, California Recalls Are the Perfect Circus

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      A recall candidate hired a bear to draw attention to his campaign to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom, but the bear ended up drawing attention to the bear.SACRAMENTO — He was new to politics but a working actor who has shared the screen with Kevin Costner. He posed. He swaggered. He did not obviously beg for the rotisserie chicken. He publicly refrained from his two favorite offstage habits, flatulence and belching, although at one point he did wash himself with his tongue as the cameras rolled.Under a broiling Sacramento sun, Tag — a half-ton bear hired as a stunt by one of the Republicans hoping to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom of California in a likely fall recall election — hit all his marks in front of a campaign bus on Tuesday before heading home to Kern County in time for a dip and a nap.By Thursday, editorial boards were fretting, a state senator was fuming, animal rights groups were calling for formal investigations and the Republican candidate who hired the bear, John Cox, was fending off questions about whether his rented mascot had been exploited.“I kissed the bear, actually,” Mr. Cox said. “It’s a very tame bear.”As California’s nationally watched recall effort cleared yet another threshold this week, with a final count of some 200,000 signatures beyond the required 1.5 million or so, the bear’s appearance marked a new phase in the proceedings. Call it the circus phase.When Californians recalled their governor in 2003, 135 candidates were on the ballot, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom 48.6 percent of voters selected as the replacement for Gray Davis. Aspirants included the former child actor Gary Coleman, the online publisher Arianna Huffington and the Hustler magazine mogul Larry Flynt. The campaign became so antic and bizarre that one of the debates was hosted by the Game Show Network.Tag, a half-ton Kodiak bear, ate chicken and creme sandwich cookies.Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesWill the list be long and bizarre again? Well, does a bear sleep in Kern County?Among those running again this time are Mary Ellen Cook, a former pornographic film actress who worked under the professional name Mary Carey, and Angelyne, a 70-year-old former Los Angeles billboard model. Many more have publicly flirted with the possibility, including the actor Randy Quaid, who tweeted last month that he was “seriously considering” a run despite pending criminal charges. Other announced candidates include Kevin Faulconer, the recent mayor of San Diego; Doug Ose, a former congressman from Sacramento; and Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist, reality show celebrity and transgender activist.The barriers to enter the race are low: State rules allow candidates to file any time up until 59 days before Election Day, as long as they can produce 7,000 signatures from supporters or pay a fee of about $4,000.Tag does not work as cheaply. Mr. Cox’s campaign paid about $6,000 to Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife, animal wranglers in Frazier Park, Calif., for the bear to make appearances at news conferences and in a commercial, according to Mr. Martin and Keith Bauer, Tag’s trainer.Mr. Cox’s campaign sought to rebrand him with a tougher image after the San Diego businessman was trounced by Mr. Newsom in the 2018 election. It changed his Twitter handle to @BeastJohnCox, and labeled Mr. Newsom a “pretty boy” whose looks had carried him into office. Tag’s job, apparently, was to drive home the “beast” theme and represent California.In that respect, he was technically miscast. He is a Kodiak bear, and the official state animal is the brown California grizzly. The bear on the state flag is a grizzly. So is “Bacteria Bear,” the famed 800-pound bronze statue outside the governor’s office, so nicknamed for all the small, sticky hands that have petted it during elementary school field trips.But the grizzly has been extinct for a century in California. Born nine years ago in a private zoo in Ohio, Tag, at least, is alive and “is brown,” Mr. Bauer explained.Tag has worked for the past seven years. He has appeared in “Yellowstone,” the Western television series starring Mr. Costner, with Tracy Morgan in an ad for Rocket Mortgage and in the Apple TV+ series “See” with Jason Momoa. In an upcoming plumbing company ad with a Goldilocks theme, Mr. Bauer added proudly, “he plays all three bears.”At the Sacramento news conference on Tuesday, the trainer cued Tag to nod as Mr. Cox spoke, and rewarded the bear with creme sandwich cookies and chicken from Walmart. An electrified cord — unplugged because Mr. Bauer said the bear had long since learned not to go near it — separated Tag from the press.Tag is part of a rebranding effort for Mr. Cox, a San Diego businessman who lost to Mr. Newsom in 2018.Renée C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee, via Associated PressMr. Bauer, who has trained Tag since he was a cub, said the bear had the personality of a golden retriever.“We wrestle and I tickle the inside of his thigh, which for a bear that’s like tickling the bottom of your foot,” the trainer said.Still, he expected trouble. Once, an Instagram influencer in Los Angeles hired Tag to pose with a crowd of bikini-clad women in a mansion, and animal rights groups complained, charging that the bear was insufficiently separated from the women. Mr. Bauer and Mr. Martin, the owner of the animal business, said state fish and wildlife inspectors interviewed them for several hours after the complaint.Records shared by animal rights groups show a handful of citations involving issues with the company’s care and housing of animals over the last decade, but none involving Tag. This week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals immediately criticized the Cox campaign for hiring the bear, saying that the use was exploitative and that the handlers appeared to have violated the federal Animal Welfare Act by letting Mr. Cox stand too close to his mascot.California opinion writers charged that the use of the bear was ethically and politically tone-deaf.“Pro tip: Nobody cares what you say when there’s a half-ton omnivore lurking behind you,” the Sacramento Bee’s editorial page editor suggested.And at the Capitol, a Democratic state senator from San Diego, Ben Hueso, charged that Tag’s handlers had violated the spirit of a law California passed in 2019 to prevent animal cruelty in circuses.“An innocent wild animal shouldn’t have to suffer harassment, confinement and humiliation because Mr. Cox has a problem generating interest in his campaign,” Mr. Hueso said.“Humiliation?” countered Mr. Bauer. “That bear will walk away from you and fart in your face and it doesn’t mean a thing to him. He burps in my face all the time. Doesn’t mean a thing to him.”Meanwhile, on Twitter, it appeared that the bear’s message had been hijacked. “Why’s everybody gotta make a big deal about my weight?” tweeted a new account, @SadJohnCoxBear.Mr. Bauer said he had done little this week but defend himself to reporters. “They make it seem like I’m up here with a cattle prod and it’s not like that,” he said.In fact, during the shoot for that plumbing commercial, he said, he and Tag had played off camera with soap suds. It did not fit the beastly brand, but “he enjoyed the hell out of that.” More