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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Family Court Judge Who Beat Daughter Reinstated; Rescuing the Animals
Aired November 09, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, brace yourself, because this video is not easy to watch. It shows a Texas judge beating his teenage daughter with a belt at least 17 times. This judge presided over family court. And guess what? He has just been reinstated. That`s right, put back on the bench. I will talk to his daughter, the one he beat, next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, outrage boils over as the Texas judge who beat his daughter as she begged him to stop is reinstated. The brutal beating caught on tape sent shockwaves across the country. Now this judge will be back on the bench. Is this justice failed? We`ll talk live to his daughter tonight.
Then, real housewives of Miami star, Joanna Krupa, and our own rescue mascot, Little Rico, join other famous animal lovers to get rocking for rescues in Sandy`s wake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE WILLIAM ADAMS: Bend over that bed.
HILLARY ADAMS, DAUGHTER: Dad.
W. ADAMS: Bend over that bed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The video is difficult to watch. It shows a Texas father punishing his 16-year-old daughter for using the computer to download video games.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That man is a judge in the family law system. His daughter`s a 16-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. (inaudible), this is ridiculous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Judge Adams admits it`s him in the video.
W. ADAMS: In my mind I haven`t done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m as shocked as you are. And I apologize for all the mess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had personally taken over 250 calls since this morning when I got here at 8:00.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, do you have any regrets at all?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, ugly family secrets exposed when a Texas judge is caught on tape beating his disabled 16-year-old daughter with a belt. And now breaking news, that judge, Judge William Adams, who handles family court matters of all things, has been reinstated. That`s right, put back on the bench.
Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell here. If you think that`s outrageous, you`re not alone. Here`s the videotape from Youtube that started it all. And we warn you, it is not easy to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
W. ADAMS: Bend over that bed. Bend over the bed. Bend over the bed.
H. ADAMS: Stop. Stop.
W. ADAMS: Bend over the bed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The girl in that video, Hillary Adams, secretly recorded the beating she got from her father back in 2004, and then released it just last year, saying her father needs help. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H. ADAMS: I`m very relieved that these things have been brought to light. And not because I want to see my father burn or anything like that. That`s a hideous way of thinking. I don`t want to inflict that upon him. I just, I cannot stress enough, I can`t repeat myself enough that he just needs help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And tonight Hillary joins us on this show to talk about the court ruling that allowed her father to return to the bench as a family court judge, despite this horrifying incident. Court documents say Hillary was struck more than 17 times with a belt, while her father, Judge Adams, yelled profanities and threatened her with physical harm. Here`s what he says about this videotape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
W. ADAMS: In my mind, I haven`t done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing. And I did lose my temper. But I`ve since apologized. It looks worse than it is. There is a story. It will come out in due time, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you do acknowledge that that`s you --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what makes this even worse, Hillary has a rare form of cerebral palsy that affects balance.
Judges are supposed to be wise, credible, trustworthy, good morals, good ethics, a community leader. After seeing this video, would you trust this man in a courtroom? By the way, we`ve reached out to him and haven`t heard back, but he`s invited on our show any time. I`ve got a lot of questions I`d like to ask him.
I`m honored to have his daughter, Hillary Adams, here with us tonight. Hillary, what was your reaction when you heard the news that your dad has been put back on the bench, despite this video of him beating you, which millions of people have now seen at this point?
H. ADAMS: I am -- I`m hurt. I`m disgusted. And I`m let down by the Texas Supreme Court`s ludicrous, hateful, clueless, uneducated decision. How could they let a child abuser into family law, to judge other child abusers? They should just let murderers in to judge murder trials while they`re at it, if that`s how they think. Why don`t they just go all the way?
I am almost at a loss for words. I`m so unimaginably upset and hurt. And we also have to remember, that it`s not only about me and my mother and my sister. This is about every person in the world who`s been treated as subhuman by an abuser, and had their entire personality and their life oppressed, and not being able to fulfill anything that they want.
I think I speak for everybody in the world who`s been treated like that when I say that I am let down and incredibly disgusted that these people -- this Texas Supreme Court that we`re supposed to trust to protect us would do this. Why?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: These are the individuals who reinstated this judge. Take a look at these individuals. These are the members of the Texas Supreme Court, the minds that decided this was a good idea. And they are invited on our show as well any time. I`d like to discuss it with them.
Despite the video showing Judge Adams beating his daughter with a belt, his employees at the time seemed to support him. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA GARCIA, JUDGE`S ASSISTANT: He might have gone a little overboard. I mean, if you look at it. But my personal opinion is there`s two sides to every story. And I still think he`s a good judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Critics say the powers that be failed to take this case seriously from the beginning. Just look at the judge`s nonpunishment punishment. Yes, Judge Adams was suspended, but with pay. Yes, the Texas Supreme Court issued a public reprimand, but it came with no public consequences. The judge`s salary was cut, but by 1.6 percent. Who cuts somebody`s salary by 1.6 percent? He still makes $144,000 a year.
I`d like to get a judge`s perspective on this, because to me a judge has to be a person with good judgment. And looking at this video, in my humble opinion, this is a man who not only doesn`t have good judgment, but who needs help, who needs psychological help.
Judge David Young, you`re a former Miami-Dade County judge. What does this say about the Texas Supreme Court that they allowed this judge -- that they proactively reinstated this judge to the bench?
JUDGE DAVID YOUNG, FORMER HOST, "JUDGE DAVID YOUNG": Not only am I a former Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge, Jane, but I also served on the discipline panel for judges throughout the state of Florida. So this is a special significance to me.
When I heard that this judge was reinstated, I thought to myself, what in God`s name were these judges thinking? How could you put a man like him, an abuser, an obvious child abuser, what he did to child, back in the courtroom, period? I don`t care, I wouldn`t have him do parking tickets. He doesn`t have the mental ability to serve as a judge over -- judging over other people. Absolutely not. It`s a disgrace. And I got to tell you, I know that the supreme court in Texas is elected. And if I was living in that state, I`d vote them the hell out quicker than you could say JR Ewing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: If you don`t like this decision, write to the Texas Supreme Court judges.
YOUNG: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They`re the ones who reinstated Judge Adams. I want to show you the Texas Supreme Court again. Put up their faces. Because these are the brilliant minds that made this decision. These are the minds that decided that this man should get his job back. If you are upset, write them a letter.
Now, the judge`s ex-wife even wrote a letter to these justices, begging them not to lift Judge Adams`s suspension. But, Hillary, I have to go back to you for a second. Court records show your mom was also in the room when that secret videotape was recorded, and that she yelled at you as well, and she also hit you with a belt. Is that true?
H. ADAMS: Yes, it is. There are a lot of dynamics, however, that people who have not been in that kind of environment don`t understand. I mean, that`s fortunate that people don`t understand how that works, but I also feel like people need to be educated on this.
I do not hold my mother at fault, because we were always best friends and we were only pitted against each other when it was convenient for my father to have us against each other. What my mother was trying to do in that video -- I mean, you can hear her in the hallway. I believe she tries to tell him, that`s enough, please stop. But -- so in that messed up environment, the only way she had left to get him to maybe stop was to appease him by hitting me herself. But it didn`t work. Because usually getting her to punish me made him happy. It made him happy. But it didn`t this time. He just -- he had to come back.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to show the video with a little natural sound again before we get the reaction from a Florida prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H. ADAMS: Stop! Stop! Stop!
W. ADAMS: Bend over the bed. I`m going to keep beating you on your legs. Bend over the bed. Stand up.
H. ADAMS: No!
W. ADAMS: Stand up. (inaudible), bend over the bed. Bend over the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) bed, damn it!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. All right. Stacey Honowitz, Florida prosecutor, they said that he can no longer preside over physical domestic abuse cases, but he`s back in family court. What about psychological and emotional abuse? How can this man be expected to rule in the best interests of children and females?
STACEY HONOWITZ, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, you just said it. There is absolutely no way that a man of this caliber, as an abuser, can sit as a judge and preside over any of those cases. I mean, look what he`s done himself.
I don`t understand what the thinking was. I don`t know how anybody who goes before him could ever think they could get a fair and impartial trial, or anything coming out of his mouth, because of what he`s been through. So I think, like you said, people have to go forward and try to petition and say this is an unbelievable verdict on their part.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break, more. We`re going to play more of this video and get more of your reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
W. ADAMS: In my mind, I haven`t done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing. And I did lose my temper. But I`ve since apologized. It looks worse than it is. There is a story. It will come out in due time. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you do acknowledge that`s you in the video?
W. ADAMS: Yes. Absolutely. That`s me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, but I didn`t do anything wrong. You heard him right there. He has not really owned up to why this is wildly inappropriate and abusive behavior. He`s basically saying his daughter was stealing, which we`re going to get to in a second. But I want to know why this judge wasn`t charged with a crime. When the beating video first came out, this is what police had to say. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TIM JAYROE, ROCKPORT, TX POLICE: We need to see the original video. We`re always concerned with seeing an original when possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is the so-called hot sauce mom. She poured hot sauce down her son`s throat. As punishment, she got three years probation. But the judge didn`t get any kind of criminal charge filed at all. Now, Joey Jackson, they said, well, it`s because it was made in 2004, seven years had passed before -- between the time it was made and the time it was released. Is it really too late to press charges?
JOEY JACKSON, ATTORNEY: You know what, Jane, as a result of that, they do have a point. There`s a statute of limitations that attaches, and because of the nature of the crime, it would be too late. But what we`re talking about here of course Jane is whether or not it was handled properly and appropriately by the authorities in a noncriminal form.
And I have three major concerns. The one concern is that what message does it send for people who are supposed to have the faith in the judicial system and judicial process, that there`s going to be wink and nod justice, that they`re going to protect their own? No. 2, how could you have a person like this, who can`t comport himself, who can`t judge his family appropriately, make judgments on everyone else?
No. 3, Jane, how do you have a person that doesn`t acknowledge, I didn`t do anything wrong in my mind? Really? How about I`m sorry? How about I acted inappropriately, improperly, it would never happen again, and, oh, my goodness, I don`t know what I was doing with myself. This is outrageous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is. I got to go back to Hillary. You were beaten on this tape. It`s your father being reinstated as a judge. He said, oh, well, you were stealing. But on the Youtube video, there`s a commentary that says something to the effect of, well, it was actually downloading music or video games illegally, because you have cerebral palsy, you are disabled, you can`t be doing some of the things that some other kids your age were doing at the time. And yet it claimed that your dad had quote/unquote backward views on technology. Tell me about that, if there`s any truth to that at all, or we can debunk it.
H. ADAMS: There`s a lot of truth to what you`re saying, actually. Because, I mean, I have a disability -- cerebral palsy, that affects cerebellum. It`s basically you`re permanently physically drunk. I have poor motor control, poor balance. I have to concentrate to stand up straight and walk properly every day. It affected my ability to play sports. I could never play sports. So I was drawn to Internet and video games, because this is something I could really --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But what about your dad? Did he object to you using any technology? Or was it just that you had illegally downloaded it, allegedly?
H. ADAMS: It was all of the above. He hated that I wasn`t a normal, thriving, physically OK kid. He hated that. He hated that that I wasn`t into the things that he liked. He hated that I didn`t go outside. He hated video games. He didn`t understand that they`re just simply a form of mixed art. That`s all they are. They`re like movies or painting or anything else.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think your dad needs psychological help? That he has deep emotional and psychological problems and a rage issue?
H. ADAMS: Yes. Yes, he does. In fact, we think -- of course we`re not doctors, so we can`t say, but I mean, after having decades of being able to look at this, we think he`s probably a psychopath. Psychopaths cannot feel empathy. They can`t. They can`t feel remorse. And that means that other people are just tools to them. They are objects to be manipulated.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on a second. We want to say, look, we`ve called his office. He`s invited on any time. There are different sides to different stories. I am completely open to hearing -- I want to hear his side. He`s invited on any time. I want to say that because I want to be fair.
More on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARCIA: He might have gone a little overboard. I mean, if you look at it. But, you know, my personal opinion is there`s two sides to every story. And I still think he`s a good judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A little overboard? OK. Judge Adams is up for re-election in 2014. A lot of people are mobilizing against him. There`s a Facebook page called "don`t re-elect Judge William Adams," with 32,000 likes, with comments like "the judge is a monster and a pathetic human being."
Again, we`ve reached out to Judge Adams and never heard back. He`s invited on our show any time.
Florida prosecutor Stacey Honowitz, if he makes a ruling, could this video essentially be used by a defendant, by somebody in the family case, even though it`s misdemeanor cases, to challenge his ruling?
HONOWITZ: Oh, absolutely. I was going to tell you that any lawyer, any person that goes in front of him that has an adverse ruling will make a motion to recuse. Forget even the rulings, even if they`re put before them in that courtroom, they will make a motion right off the bat to recuse, because they`re going to say a guy like this can`t be fair and impartial.
And I am surprised, I don`t really know if the Supreme Court asked him to get any kind of psychological help. Not only are they putting him back on the bench, they`re not even saying that he needs to seek counseling. The whole ruling is ridiculous, and he will have opposition, and that person will win.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`d like to go back to Judge David Young, formerly of the "Judge David Young Show." Here`s a clip of the show from Youtube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Denial is not a river in Egypt, and it does not flow through this courtroom, sir. You are in denial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The final word from Judge Young, is this going to essentially reduce people`s faith in the judicial system?
YOUNG: At least in Texas, it`s going to, because that judicial qualifications commission, Jane, could have done a large good for this system. They could have done so much. They could have mandated that this guy get counseling. They should have had him psychologically analyzed. They should have had him evaluated. And before the Supreme Court in that state of Texas reinstated this jackass on the bench, they should have, they should have, Jane. They should have had him evaluated. It just boggles my mind. And it`s disgusting. I`m shocked. And it takes a lot to shock me.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, fantastic panel. Thank you, Hillary Adams, for your honesty.
In just minutes on "Nancy Grace Mysteries," love, lies, an extramarital affair, a secret life and murder. The true story of Laci and Scott Peterson, Nancy reinvestigates one of America`s most infamous crimes, tonight 8:00 Eastern on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what if your beloved pet has gone missing because of this storm? How do you track them down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are still some people that are holding out. Some elderly with their pets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we shouldn`t be near the water, your pet shouldn`t be near that water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How`s the dog doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dog`s doing great. Getting a lot of attention.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s not a waste of time. When people are already stressed, sometimes they just want to be near their pet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight a big win for animals and the people who love them. In the wake of the devastation from superstorm Sandy. After a quarter of a million pets were left behind to drown or fend for themselves when people evacuated during Katrina, there was such a national outcry that a new national pet evacuation law was passed that demands government officials let people evacuate with their pets in major disasters.
This time, during superstorm Sandy, most cops and officials seemed to have gone out of their way to help reunite people with their furry family members. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that my cat? No. Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, you guys, so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Our pets are members of our family. I know. Look, my chihuahuas are like my children. And tonight, we`re going to talk about expanding our circle of compassion to include animals that aren`t just dogs or cats, like for example Scribbles the goat. Take a look at this little guy. And we`re going to talk live to the glamorous "Real Housewives of Miami" star Joanna Krupa, straight from Poland, about her crusade to stop people from wearing fur.
But first, straight out to animal advocate Jane Garrison. Jane, observers are saying that the treatment of pets during evacuations for superstorm Sandy is a sign of real progress for animals. What made the difference this time?
JANE GARRISON, ANIMAL ADVOCATE: Oh, it was a huge difference from the beginning. You know, I spent seven weeks in New Orleans rescuing animals after Hurricane Katrina. And the problem there was people were being told to evacuate and not take their animals. But with Superstorm Sandy, people were told if you`re going to evacuate, take your animals.
So from the very beginning it was important to tell people that you need to evacuate, but you can bring your animals. A lot of people died during Hurricane Katrina because they wouldn`t leave without their animals. I met a man whose father, 80 years old, died in the storm because he wouldn`t leave his dog. So a lot of things were done right this time.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I`m happy to hear it. But despite all the progress, I still ran into a couple of people who were told according to them that they were ordered to evacuate and informed they could not take their pets. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGEL DELGATO, LOST FOUR DOGS IN SANDY: I lost three snakes, I lost four dogs. It was kind of powerful because I basically raised all of them for the last almost nine and a half years.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How did you lose them?
DELGATO: When the cops came in to remove everybody out the houses, what they did was they didn`t give me time to go grab anything. I didn`t even grab a jacket. Somebody donated this jacket. What happened was that they told us to leave and leave everything behind no matter what, that they`ll survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Apparently it has not gotten down to every single law enforcement officer on the ground. I want to go to Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States.
To me, Wayne, that`s an outrage. So what should a person do in future situations like this if they are ordered to evacuate and told, come on, just do it fast. You can`t -- leave your pets. It will be fine.
WAYNE PACELLE, PRESIDENT, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, obviously that really places an incredible burden on the pet owner at that time. A situation of stress, a law enforcement officer is providing that directive, it`s pretty difficult to defy. So many of us would defy because we care so much about our animals we would never leave them.
But I think Jane, you had it right. There are a few outliers here but the general message really has resonated with law enforcement, with emergency response agencies, with so many others with local elected officials, state elected officials, governors. They`re now recognized that the human/animal bond is so powerful that if we don`t recognize it and honor it, we`re going to undermine the human rescue response.
And we live in these homes, we live in these communities together and you cannot separate the animals from their people and expect to have good outcomes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Meantime, it`s getting cold out there. As temperatures plummet, some people still feel that means it`s time to put on a fur coat. One of the women on the forefront in the fight against fur is supermodel and "Real Housewives of Miami" star Joanna Krupa. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOANNA KRUPA, ANIMAL ADVOCATE: I don`t even know if I`m going to see him tonight because he`s just been really --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
(CROSSTALK)
KRUPA: Well, because he wants to make sure everybody sees -- you know how he is with the clients. The clients are the star.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joanna`s also been involved in PETA`s "I`d rather go naked than wear fur" campaign. She joins me now from Poland. Joanna, thank you for being here.
KRUMPA: Hi. Hi, honey.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why have you made the fight against fur your passion Joanna?
KRUPA: I`ve always been so passionate about animals. And why I`m so focused on the fur is especially during the winter season I want to keep sending the message that these animals are skinned alive in fur farms. They`re raised just for fashion. And sometimes they`re drowned, they`re beaten. And we as human beings we need to understand this is only for fashion. There`s no reason for it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re going to talk more with Joanna and other members of our panel.
Now, time for your "Shocking Video of the Day" -- this daring motorcycle heist caught on tape inside a shopping mall in London. Imagine the surprise of shoppers when three motorcycles pull up to a jewelry store intending to rob it. Six guys get off carrying bats and axes. Some of them stand guard. Others begin to smash windows and steal expensive items from the store. Not long after they collect their loot they all jump back on their bikes and zoom off.
This is something out of a movie, but it`s real. Cops later find the three motorcycles abandoned near a golf course. They still haven`t located any suspects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I am a sugar addict. I cannot eat regular sugar because I eat too much of it so I`m always trying to come up with these healthy alternatives.
So this is what I do with a blender. You can do it too. I take dates, right? Then I put in some strawberries, then I put in a banana, then I put in some shredded coconut, then I put in some soy milk, or you can also do coconut milk, whatever, and I add some Stevia which is natural 50 times sweeter than sugar, has no calories and does not affect your glycemic index. And I put it all in the blender.
Look at that. It`s fabulous. Totally healthy, totally wonderful and delicious sweet but it`s not bad for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s your "Viral Video of the Week". President Obama celebrating his re-election win, Gangnam style. Well, maybe it`s not really the President.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop. Don`t shop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We can only show you a tiny fraction right there of video of animals being killed for fur. We can`t even focus on it because it`s so graphic. It`s too graphic for television. But critics say that these innocent defenseless animals are tortured. They`re anally electrocuted, skinned; even the fur trim on coat collars, critics say that many times even dog can be used in some cases.
Now, the Fur Information Council of America`s Web site says quote, "The production of farmed and wild furs in the U.S. is regulated by state and federal government and that under current anti-cruelty statutes, anyone who mistreats an animal faces investigation, prosecution, fines, jail time and even loss of animals."
Wayne Pacelle, the Fur Information Council says that they`re doing nothing wrong, that there`s no cruelty here. What say you?
PACELLE: Jane that is just such a bunch of nonsense and propaganda. There has never been anyone prosecuted under federal or state law from the fur industry for the most heinous acts of cruelty. There is no federal statute. I don`t know what they`re talking about.
I mean they`re really trying to pull the fur or the wool over the public`s eyes in this. These animals as Joanna Krupa said are killed for fashion when we have equivalent alternatives. You have fake fur that is indistinguishable from real fur. You have other synthetic and natural fiber coats that can keep us warm and keep us stylish. There`s no reason to kill animals for their fur in the 21st century.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Chris DeRose, president of Last Chance for Animals, I am holding in my hand my mom`s little guy, Rico, and he is the mascot of "Rico`s Rescues". And we helped him. He was rescued off the streets of Puerto Rico. And he`s now a mascot to help others rescue.
So many people have compassion for dogs, but do they expand their compassion to understand that animals are also involved in things like fur?
CHRIS DEROSE, PRESIDENT, LAST CHANCE FOR ANIMALS: Yes. You know, Jane, if you spend any time around any type of animal -- you get pigs, goats, sheep, you know, rabbits, rats, mice, I had two rats that were going to be used for food for a python. And I took them into the office years ago and I named them Bada and Bing like bada-bing and they lived to be about four and a half years old. And they got a personality. I learned so much from them.
Let me have a couple rats in the office so when I get interviews in the office, people will see that these animals do have feelings, they got personality. And it`s not like, oh, rat, I don`t want to be near it. When you start hanging around them, you start being near them, you start to really pick up their personalities. And that goes for all animals as long as we don`t close our minds off and we`re not ignorant toward this, you will learn. And it actually enriches your life just to be around them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Just because an animal is small doesn`t mean that they have any less feelings. Just because an animal is disregarded, someone once told me we have the most contempt for animals that can survive in our midst like pigeons and rats. But we`re talking here about dogs, cats, pigs, fox - - foxes, all sorts of animals. And, again, it`s about expanding our circle of compassion beyond just dogs and cats.
On the other side we`re going to visit a very special farm. But it`s not really a farm. It`s a sanctuary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Time for our "Pet o` the Day". Send your pet pics -- that`s Lucy, Rich Dewel (ph) one of our producers` dog. Lucy, you`re gorgeous.
Bugsy, looks like you`re on vacation. Spencer and Swiper -- what a team. And Miss Gracie, what a classic look. Ditto for Chaos.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Take a look at that happy little fellow. Scribbles from Farm Sanctuary, a very special sanctuary where farm animals rescued from the industrial farming world go and they get to see the air and live outside, live normal lives.
But this is what real industrial farming looks like today. This is a completely different situation. Take a look at these pigs in gestation crates. Millions and millions of pigs in crates the size of their bodies, never able to turn around.
You know, this is the secret shame of industrial farming. And when Americans who are decent people found out about this, they demanded change. And change is happening. State after state, company after company saying we don`t want pigs or veal calves stuck in crates.
Bruce Friedrich, you`re with Farm Sanctuary, what is happening in terms of Americans becoming aware of the farm animal movement?
BRUCE FRIEDRICH, FARM SANCTUARY: Well, more and more Americans as you rightly note, Jane, are recognizing that farm animals are no different morally or ethically from the dogs and cats with whom we share our lives. So there is no moral difference between cramming a pig in a crate like that or cramming a dog or a cat in a crate like that.
Similarly there`s no moral difference between eating a chicken or a pig and eating a dog or a cat, which is why vegetarianism is becoming so much more popular. At Farm Sanctuary we spend our lives with more than 1,100 farm animals and we know them as individuals. So we know that behaviorally and cognitively they are every bit as complex and every bit as morally worthy as any dog or cat. More and more Americans are learning about that as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you`re seeing video of animals seeing video of animals in many situations, you just saw laboratory animal, laboratory monkey and now you`re seeing pigs in gestation crates.
This is a live animal transport. Sheep, millions of sheep and other animals are transported around the world from country to country in horrific conditions, and we`ve covered this story many times. Chris DeRose, president for Last Chance for Animals, I know your organization has done a campaign against live animal transport.
What are the horrors that Americans don`t know about when it comes to live animal transport? And we can only show you a little bit because it`s just too graphic to see.
(CROSSTALK)
DEROSE: Jane -- yes, the transport is -- one of the biggest countries in the world that do it is Australia and we have banned live animal export going out of Australia.
Animals in Australia -- two ladies have gone into Indonesia and into the Middle East and had documented what goes on in there. In my 35 years of doing this, I`ve never seen anything so horrific in my life. When I saw these guys actually sticking their fingers into the eyes of the cows just to try to get it to move over a little bit I was horrified by it. They`re actually pulling out the eyes on the cows.
It`s on the tape. It`s something that`s so horrific. And when I saw this, I said we`ve got to do something about it and we did. We`ve been very much involved in bringing that whole issue over to the United States. It`s sheep and goats going over to the Middle East and the cows going over to Indonesia. I can`t tell you which one is more horrific because you see how they take the sheep.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, there`s video of these sheep being -- they`re stuck in cars. The horror is once they get to the location, they`re dragged and they`re stuck in the back of cars and trucks without water, without food. They`re going to be sacrificed in some cases, so people say why bother even feeding them. It`s beyond comprehension.
I know this might be upsetting to some of our viewers but let me tell you something. The reason why we`re telling you this is that there is hope, there is optimism because there`s something you can do. There`s action you can take. You can get involved with various organizations.
The Humane Society, Last Chance for Animals -- all sorts of organizations - - Farm Sanctuary; and you can tell your members of congress about the Great Ape Protection Act. The Great Ape Protection Act, right now going through Congress, would phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research and release the more than 500 federally-owned chimps in sanctuaries and ban future breeding of chimps for invasive research.
Wayne Pacelle, in this day and age of technology where we`re dealing on the molecular and submolecular level, a major medical organization studied this issue and said that basically the use of these animals is virtually unnecessary for anything.
PACELLE: Yes, Jane, you`re right. The National Institutes of Health convened the Institute of Medicine and they determined the use of chimps is largely unnecessary. They said in the areas where chimps are used and there is some insight, we have alternatives that can be used. There`s no reason for these chimps to be languishing in labs.
We have about a thousand chimps in laboratories right now. We`ve got this federal legislation. We can get it over the finish line in this lame duck session of Congress. We`re the only nation in the world that is conducting invasive experiments on chimpanzees. The other was Gabon in Africa and it stopped. I mean what sort of circumstance are we in where we`re the outlier in the world when it comes to treating our closest living relatives with some measure of decency and humanity.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: More of Joanna Krupa from "Real Housewives of Miami", on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joanna is one of the sexiest women on the planet, one of the "Real Housewives of Miami". How do you tell some of the other fashionistas that you deal with that cruelty is not cool?
KRUPA: I try, you know, but some people are so stuck and blindsided in their own world that they don`t really care. One of the girls on the show, Alexia, she`s like "I wear fur and love it and I`m always going to wear it"; just rudely said it without any heart or anything, you know.
Some people you can`t change their mind but I`m going to fight to the day I die and it`s not only about fur, it`s any type of cruelty because people should have the heart to stop doing all these horrible things to animals. It`s like they`re being bullies. We talk about kids bullying other kids, but this is like bullying animals, because they`re voiceless and defenseless.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Very well put. Very well put. And that lady you mentioned, she can come on. I have some questions I`d love to ask her. She`s invited on any time.
Jane Garrison, we rescue animals here. I have little Rico who was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico. Who have you got there?
GARRISON: I have little Patty who is a gorgeous, adorable 1-year-old Maltese who was dumped at the shelter and she`s available for adoption right now at Best Friends Adoption Center in Los Angeles.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And there`s also Adopt a Pet nationally. You put in your zip code and any animal you want comes up. Right, Jane?
GARRISON: That`s right. Adoptapet.com is a great place to find a dog or cat where you`re looking to adopt. We just have too many animals right now in the United States and we need to stop people from breeding them. We need to stop pet stores and backyard breeders.
You think that right now we`re killing four to five million animals in shelters every year. That`s one animal every six seconds that is killed in a shelter. It is outrageous. And we need to stop the breeding.
Here`s an interesting statistics. Every day in the United States, 10,000 humans are born. But every day in the United States, 70,000 puppies and kittens are born, so we need to stop the breeding in order to stop the killing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to thank my fantastic panel. I want to thank our audience for listening, for having the courage to bear witness to some of the difficult images that we are showing.
But the good news is that things are changing. Join us. Let`s all speak for the animals. They are voiceless and if we don`t speak for them. They simply have nobody on their side.
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