Amazon selling dogfighting DVD

C

carolynjane

Cathlete
I know there are lots of animal lovers here, so I wanted to let everyone know that the Humane Society of the United States has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com for carrying publications and DVDs about dogfighting and cockfighting. I can't believe that Amazon would do that! Here's the link to the story:

http://www.hsus.org/acf/news/pressrel/amazon_lawsuit.html

I just emailed Amazon to tell them that I will not purchase anything else from them until they quit selling these awful materials. I have bought all of my books from them for a long time, but I can't do business with a company that thinks it's okay to sell this stuff!

I wanted to let everyone know - if you are an Amazon.com customer please email and let them know how outraged you are about this! Thanks!

Carolyn
 
YEAH!!! Carolyn. I was going to post this today. I sent Amazon an email about this last week after signing the petition. Now, this one is a toughy for me...I buy lots of stuff from them. But not anymore, until they stop this practice. I hope everyone will support this petition.:)
 
Thanks Pippa!
I buy tons of stuff from them too - I'm that if they hear from those of us who are "volume" customers it will make a difference.

I also decided this is a good time for me to get a library card and quit spending so much money on books from Amazon!
 
I have to admit that it is a little disconcerting that is has to come to this. I mean, they can't really be making that much money off these two magazine subscriptions and the videos(which they don't always carry). I'm disappointed that I have to *threaten* them to get them to stop selling these things. I would think they would have more of a social conscience than this. :-(
 
As a loyal amazon customer as well, I find this offensive as well, and will be doing my book buying elsewhere until they stop.

Jerry
 
I was just going to order something from them today. Glad I read this. I order from them frequently and am going to write and tell them I will not be oredering anything else until they remove these items. DISGUSTING...
 
I feel ill - I just ordered my veggie cookbooks from them this morning. :-(
I'll be emailing them that that will be the last of my orders.
Disgusting. Next, they'll be selling kiddy porn, too. Sick.
 
Has anyone verified that Amazon hasn't pulled the offensive items from stock? I see the article was written in February. I too order lots from them and will support a boycott if they haven't.

Has anyone gotten a response to their Amazon letter?
 
Bad news, my DH orders from them constantly, will tell him about the disgusting DVDs. Hard to believe Amazon sells this total crap, really hard to believe.Thanks for the heads up.
 
I just checked the HSUS web site and it is still listed under their "Action" items. You can go to the web site, look under Legislation and the action area and click on a letter/petition that you can fill out and email to the head of Amazon.
 
>Has anyone verified that Amazon hasn't pulled the offensive
>items from stock? I see the article was written in February. I
>too order lots from them and will support a boycott if they
>haven't.
>
>Has anyone gotten a response to their Amazon letter?
>
>
>
Yes...Amazon still carries the magazine subscriptions(well..as of last Friday when I checked). They do NOT always carry dogfighting videos but as Carolyn mentioned if you look at the details of the lawsuit on the HSUS website, Amazon is fighting to be ABLE to sell them in the future.

I have bought from Amazon since their origination. My DH and I are 'big spenders' there and, NO, I haven't heard back from them, which I think is very disappointing. DH ahs agreed to the boycott too!
 
You're probably better off going to Amazon.com, clicking on help, and entering your account info - then sending an email. Signing a petition on the internet does not do much. If enough customers email them directly and offer to take their business elsewhere, eventually Amazon will get the message.

Plus they have the added incentive of being able to view your account - so they can see that you are a customer and you will impact their revenue by not ordering.
 
That's a great point Christine!

I emailed them directly this morning.
It is
not easy to find their customer service section but I finally found it. I told them I was a long-time customer, so hopefully they will look up my account and see how much I have spent with them over the years.
 
Dispicable. And B&N is planning to sell that damn OJ book. The world is just going down, down, down. I hope Borders has more morals. I'll just start shopping there instead. What is with society and the "anything for a buck" attitude. shameful
 
Okay - here's an exact response from Amazon on this topic from http://www.dogster.com/forums/Dog_Laws_and_Legislation/thread/432085/last:

My name is Peg Anderson of Amazon.com’s Executive Customer
Relations. Our Investor Relations team has brought your e-mail to
my attention because my group’s mandate is to address and resolve
the most acute problems our customers encounter.

Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your concerns. I understand
that you feel very strongly about this issue.

Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred
or criminal acts; we do support the right of every individual to
choose his or her own reading material or entertainment.

As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest
selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item
they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which
many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on
our web site represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of
topics.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles
because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we
will continue to make controversial works available in the United
States and everywhere else, except where they are prohibited by
law. We also allow readers, authors, and publishers to express
their views freely about these titles and other products we offer on
our web site. However, Amazon.com does not endorse any opinions
expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers.

We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for
taking the time to send us your comments about this issue. Although
we will not be able to comment further on this topic, we hope you
will allow us to continue to serve you.

Regards,

Peg Anderson
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com
 
Her response disgusts me. If it was about books telling pedophiles how to solicit children or white supremacist propaganda, they would be pulled in a heartbeat.


Here's the form letter from that link that you can use:

Michael Vick’s career as an NFL Quarterback is over due to his involvement in an animal fighting ring. This should be a wake up call to all engaged in the support and promotion of these cruel and horrific acts against animals; the American public is not going to tolerate any person or company associated with torturing animals. The backlash against animal fighting and cruelty is not just directed at those running these fights, it also includes those who sell books and magazines aimed at promoting animal fighting, which includes amazon.com

I was disgusted to discover that amazon.com continues to sell publications that promote and support animal fighting, a practice that not only hurts and kills hundreds of thousands of animals but also puts adults and children at risk of attack. Despite repeated pleas from the Humane Society of the United States to stop selling these magazines and books, amazon.com refuses to neither stand against animal torture nor comply with federal laws banning the sale of such publications; and in fact seeks to weaken the laws against such acts.

If a plea by the Humane Society of the United States and threats of lawsuits for violating federal laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of materials aimed at promoting animal fighting is not enough, perhaps it is time for your customers to send an even louder message and stop purchasing from Amazon until these publications are pulled from your virtual shelves. Your online audience is your lifeline, and as this same audience learns of the support you lend to the animal fighting industry by continuing to sell these barbaric publications, your sales will surly start to plummet.

There is no First Amendment right to sell publications promoting and soliciting the purchase of fighting animals and weapons. These publications are as morally repugnant as child pornography and selling these publications makes you no better then those actually engaging in torturing these animals. I urge you to not only comply with federal law, but do the morally and ethically right thing by pulling animal fighting publications from your sales line. The community of animal lovers dedicated to stopping this practice by boycotting amazon.com will hurt your sales much more then pulling animal fighting publications from your virtual shelves.
 
I sent an email earlier to amazon and have not gotten a reply from them. I assume this is a standard reply and I will receive the same. Time for the Humane Society and PETA to weigh in against amazon. If I receive this same email signed by an individual I will reply to that individual by name. I think that is important. Definitely time to put some economic pressure on amazon and get it out to the public that they are supporting this cruelty by selling DVDs and magazines that promote it. I am sure most amazon users have to idea that amazon sells this crap.
 
I received a lovely reply from Amazon (basically a nice little form letter at the end telling me that they will work hard to ensure I receive accurate service...guess they didn't read my first letter statign that I would no longer be buying from them!):

"Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your concerns about the
animal fighting books and magazines.

First, I would like to thank you for your heartfelt e-mails and I
can only imagine how frustrated you must be with us at this point,
I appreciate the admirable restraint you exercised in your message.

But, please note that as a retailer, our goal is to provide
customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find,
discover, and buy any item they might be seeking. That selection
includes some items which many people may find objectionable.
Therefore, the items offered on our web site represent a wide
spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles
because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we
will continue to make controversial works available in the United
States and everywhere else, except where they are prohibited by
law. We also allow readers, authors, and publishers to express
their views freely about these titles and other products we offer on
our web site. However, Amazon.com does not endorse any opinions
expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers.

As a representative of Amazon.com, I want to assure you that your
voice has been heard and I have forwarded this to our investigation
department for consideration. Please know that we'll continue
working hard to ensure that you receive accurate service, and to
minimize the chances of anything like this occurring again.

We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for
taking the time to send us your comments about this issue."

This is what I sent back to them:

This material is not only "objectionable" it promotes an illegal act. It makes me wonder if Amazon would also carry magazines aimed at pedophiles or white supremacist propaganda. From the statement I received, it appears so.

I WILL NOT be ordering from Amazon.com any longer and will urge everyone I know (who hasn't already sent emails) to do the same.

I am very disappointed that a company that I have purchased from for years would take such a stance, especially in light of the Michael Vick issue. It is surprising that Amazon would rather choose to make money on these items, selling to a few sick individuals and engage in a HSUS lawsuit and have many people boycott, instead of making a majority of their customers happy. It makes one wonder if Amazon is doing this not to take a stand on "censorship" but for money and publicity.

The acts that these publications are promoting are beyond reprehensible. They promote an ILLEGAL act. I am surprised Amazon would condone something illegal.

I assure you others will be boycotting Amazon as well. Especially in light of Amazon's unwillingness to remove these items and promote such a horrible crime.


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