There is no such thing in the world as “consensus” let alone a “unanimous vote” on opinions that pertain to life and death. And, in the US, there should be no such thing as stifling lawful public free speech and debate, on any topic.
Euthanasia (of animals) meets the First Amendment here. Euthanasia in itself is a massive issue that will never see any kind of consensus, whether it concerns people, or dogs and cats – companions for thousands of years and a part of their lives.
So – let people discuss it.
Yet – San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) decided it was its way or the highway for hundreds of Facebook comments. More precisely, the organization decided that even if those were merely the voices heard on ACS’s Facebook page, they had to be, well – destroyed.
ACS appears to be enthusiastic about its policy about dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, getting promptly “put down” as a way of handling abandoned pets. Naturally, not everyone agreed. But ACS just removed those comments as well.
At this point, the issue became the right to freedom of expression, and, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said, that there were some 400 comments hidden by ACS, 80% of which were critical of the organization’s practices.
This number of censored comments is reported to have happened in just four weeks since the start of May this year.
Fire decided to remind ACS that the First Amendment does not let them cherry-pick which reaction to their conduct they will allow to be publicly heard – instead, “it must allow all commenters to express themselves freely.”
A letter sent to ACS on September 11 that went into its practices, and what the US Constitution says they must adhere to as far as letting people have their say, received a prompt response on September 23.
According to FIRE, they “agreed to stop hiding or removing comments.” Or, as FIRE suggested – creating a false perception that everyone agreed with them.
Some of the comments previously removed include citizens accusing the local ACS of putting puppies on the “kill list” the day after their return from foster families, and similar issues critics were describing as an inhumane cycle started by irresponsible owners, and perpetuated by San Antonio ACS.
