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Amazon.com supports animal cruelty
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In an age where the ethics and morality of executives have been called into ever greater question, where the means justify the end, and extracting the very last penny from the marketplace is more important than making ethically and morally sound decisions, it should come as no surprise that Amazon.com would rather make a few more pennies than take a stand against animal abuse and cruelty.
In the last few weeks, the press has been reporting that Amazon.com was selling Feathered Warrior, a cockfighting magazine. However, today’s perusal of Amazon.com’s choices also reveals such “great” reading as:
- The Game Cock: From The Shell To The Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise On Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditioning, etc. (History of Cockfighting Series) - $40.45
- The Art of Cockfigthing – A Handbook for Beginners and Old Timers - $34.99
- Cockfighters: The Interviews (DVD) - $85
- Handling and Nursing the Gamecock - $26.95
- The Game Cock – Being a Practical Treatise on Breeding, Rearing, Training, Feeding, Trimming, Mains, Heeling, Spurs, etc. - $26.95
(See, the link to Amazon.com's "choice" literature below)
Cockfighting is an “activity” involving two roosters thrown into a pit, called a cockpit, to fight -- sometimes to the death. These are birds specially bred for aggressiveness toward other males, stamina and strength and are “equipped” with 3-inch long razor-sharp metal or plastic spurs, resembling curved ice-picks, which the birds are taught to aggressively use. Fights can last from a few minutes to over half an hour and usually results in the death of the one or both of the “combatants.” Common injuries include punctured lungs, broken bones, and pierced eyes.
Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states, and transporting the birds or cockfighting paraphernalia across state lines is now a federal offense. Of course, that is not say that cockfighting (much like dog fighting) does not go on. Law enforcement has connected cockfighting to drug use and distribution, as well as acts of violence. However, the primary purpose of cockfighting is gambling and thousands of dollars can be wagered on a single fight.
Amazon.com, led by its CEO Jeff Bezos, has argued that it has a right to sell these items under the Free Speech clause of the Constitution. However, Mr. Bezos forgets that just because you have a “right” does not make it “right.” Perhaps Mr. Bezos believes that the means justifies the end, and damn the moral or ethical stance, when it comes to increasing Amazon.com’s balance sheet and, no doubt, his personal bank account.
For the fiscal year of 2008, Amazon.com reported that revenues increased by 39% to a total of $14.84B (yes, billions), while profits increased by 69% to a total of $655MM. Amazon.com does not break revenues and profits it makes on each item it sells.
The Humane Society of the United States provides a link to send Mr. Bezos an email requesting that he stop selling animal cruelty books and DVDs (see the link below).
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