I just received a response to my request for public records regarding correspondence between Animal Services and the producers of Animal Precinct from Linda Barth.
She writes:
"Your request of January 7, 2008, regarding information related to correspondence between the Department's General Manager and producers of the Animal Planet television series has been received by the custodian of records. The Department believes that additional time, in excess of the 10 days called for under the Public Records Act, will be necessary to research, collect and review all of the records requested.
"The Department is therefore advising you that an additional 14 days to respond to your request is necessary."
Linda. Barth,
Assistant General Manager
I guess Linda and Ed can’t find their emails with the Animal Planet's producers. Perhaps I can help.
Animal Planet has agreed to pay Granada Media from England for six shows that will follow the Animal Cruelty Task Force. The producer is Marie Thomas and her email address is marie.thomas@granadamedia.com.
Sent to me:
"It's not enough to tell only Thomas about what the task force did to Ron Mason and how all his cats were killed for nothing. She will try to cover everything up because she has already sold six shows to the Animal Planet and she does not want the Discovery Channel to know the Task force and Boks are frauds. You have to tell Ron Mason’s story to the people at Discovery."
I guess the concept of offering help without arrest and conviction isn't sexy enough for a TV series.
I talked to Animal Planet President Marjorie Kaplan, who seemed genuinely stunned when I told her about the Mason bust. Of course, after the stun wore off, she couldn't wait to get rid of me.
Discovery Communications is the parent for Animal Planet and its shows, such as Animal Precinct. It is huge; it is the largest non-fiction communications-entertainment company in the world. Discovery has operations on four continents, each with its own headquarters.
Marie Thomas is most closely associated with the European headquarters at Discovery House, London - Tel: 44-208-811-3000
The central
address and phone number is for all executives is for Discovery World Headquarters:
One Discovery Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 240-662-2000.
The key people other than Thomas to contact and voice your opinion about LAAS and Boks are:
Marjorie Kaplan, President and GM of Animal Planet.
Be VERY nice to her. She is in charge of all contracts between Animal Planet and producers, such as Marie Thomas. She is THE key person and sounds sympathetic. Tell her that Boks hides lack of substance with spin and show, including her show.
The Discovery executives below are all located at the world headquarters in Maryland at 240.662.2000.
John Hendricks, Founder and Chairman of Discovery: john_hendricks@discovery.com
David Zaslav, President and CEO: david_zaslav@discovery.com
Clark Bunting, President of Discovery Studios. He is the immediate overseer of Animal Planet network. clark_bunting@discovery.com
Hopefully there will not be many more posts about the Mason case after a week or two. Maybe there will be an amicable settlement. Maybe in the future LAAS will provide actual help for people with too many animals and arrest those who genuinely abuse animals.
Imagine all the man/woman hours and days wasted to destroy Mason. Thirty plus people for a half to a full day, well over 200 hours. Did Al Capone have half this many people present when he was arrested?
If Boks/Boswell had used just 1/10th of that manpower over the months prior to the Mason raid helping him out as he requested, the problem would have been fixed.
.
7 comments:
Instead of doing their job and helping people with too many animals, they raid them, publicly humiliate them, take the animals and kill them, all for ratings. That is animal cruelty. Animal Planet, the Department, Boks, do they really care about animals? Or just money, fame, looking good in the public's eye? We live in a sick world where NOT doing your job will get your money and praise.
Maybe we can get them to understand it in a business context. Viewers of the humane law enforcement shows know big chunks of the shows are given over to adoptions, rescues, foster caregivers and happy endings. Even a cursory look at LAAS is going to show Animal Planet that these are areas they'd better not delve into.
I'm betting Boks did what he always does, snowed them with PR and fancy program names. But what happens when the producers say, "Let's film thus-and-so program in action!" and all they get is a blank look from LAAS staff?
What happens when they want to see an exciting rescue, only to be told LAAS doesn't rescue kittens in walls or dogs caught in traffic? Or when they ask about dogfighting busts and get told there are none in gangster-filled L.A.?
And what happens when they look at the Mason bust on YouTube and see that (if Discovery Channel did in fact tape there) they may already have some liability because there were no disclaimers about Ron being innocent til proven guilty, that LAAS basically calls him crazy on-camera, then pretends to get his legal consent to question him and film his house?
And (this would be funny if it wasn't so sad) what happens when they try to do their heartwarming follow-up stories, only to find out that not only are all the cats they were trying to "save" dead, but that they were killed in direct violation of the law, while they were still evidence?
Not exactly going to make for a heartwarming show...
Boks will fake the heart warming stories like he always does. When he knows cameras are rolling at the shelters, the cages are clean, no overcrowding, lots of employees and volunteers, everyone running around with a smile on their face. When the media isn't there, most employees call in sick, very few volunteers, no one cleans the cages, they allow dogs to fight each other to the death, they drag animals down the mail hallway to the kill room and most of the animals have runny eyes, nose, open wounds.
If Animal Precinct asks to see some of the "rescued" animals like Muffin, they will be shown other animals instead. They'll just grab any healthy kitten and say, voila, this is one of the raid animals that we "rescued." They won't show them to the freezer and show them the real "rescued" animals. This is just what Boks does. Hides the truth and flaunts the happy lies.
Re #3
All you say is true. But from a business standpoint, how long can faking out an international audience last?
If Discovery Channel and Animal Planet think about the future they're going to see there is none working with LAAS as it currently stands. Besides all the people in L.A. and environs who will make it their life's work to root out every Boks lie televised, don't you think if he starts getting national exposure the people who hate him and who are still trying fix his lies and fiscal messes in Maricopa County and New York City will get right on the bandwagon?
This is Boks, incompetent even at being incompetent, and not smart enough to see two feet into the future.
Buncha crybabies here. Stop wasting your energy and just let Animal Precinct expose the lies and errors you claim are rampant. Wouldn't that be a more efficient use of your time?
Animal Planet was on board in LA before the Mason raid so all of this spinning to try to link the two just comes of as paranoid conspiracy-theory ranting that makes us wonder what else you're getting wrong.
One of the latest comments sent in did not post for some reason. It stated Boks and Animal Planet producers went on field trips together. The comment immediately above says AP was on board before the Mason raid.
This is entirely beside the point.
It does not matter anymore whether the Mason raid was done as an audition tape or not, or whether just practice for upcoming AP episodes. The raid was just for show, either now or later.
The point is that the Mason bust was so immoral and cynical, with no caring for the 37-50 animals it seized and killed, that AP needs to know who they are dealing with.
Maybe Ed will share with AP what happened to all of Mason's cats, something he hides from Mason and us. Maybe Ed will share with AP Mason's vet records as well as the LAAS vet impound records, as well as the results of any lab tests.
Boks is not sharing any of that with us. Has he shared this with the commenter, or is the commenter taking Boks word regarding the vet's professional opinion?
Maybe Ed or Boswell will explain to AP why the ACTF was so sloppy that the DA didn't charge Mason for the felony Animal Neglect charges.
Maybe because the supposed "ample evidence" that animal neglect was taking place as Boks claims on the LAAS website, was not so ample after all?
Maybe Boks will tell AP how 35 people got to Mason's house at 6:00a.m. on October 11 for a televised raid also with a major newspaper reporter to "rescue" and then kill 50 cats?
How often are there arrests for any crime by the LAPD that have so many City officials involved?
Does anyone believe for one moment that AP producers and crew will not see or have not seen the Mason raid already?
This goes way beyond conspiracy; the Mason raid shows Boks' and the ACTF's moral corruption. They didn't care about the cats or Mason's life, they cared only about the TV footage and Dana's pro-ACTF article as they knew the cats did not have Panleukemia.
It is interesting to learn about the Boks and AP field trips together.
Ed M. is right (and Ed B. or Ed B.-surrogates, AGAIN - stop trying to muddy the waters).
If Boks had nothing to hide he would produce the documents that have been legally requested.
And if the Mason bust had been legitimate then Ron Mason wouldn't have spent November 6th sitting by himself all day in San Fernando Courthouse, waiting for a City Attorney who never showed up for his hearing. If Ron were a felonious animal abuser Cocek wouldn't decline to prosecute.
The thing you people who visit this blog to discredit Ed M. forget is that YOU ARE SCREWUPS. Even with a guy like Ron, who basically offered himself up to you by being so open in his dealings with LAAS - you can't do one thing right. You invite a City Inspector who isn't in charge of Ron's area. You hang cats in mid-air and let a news photographer take a picture of it. In the space of one 22-minute video you say Ron has good intentions, but you're charging him with a felony, oh -- and that you've been dealing with him for years -- so apparently it wasn't THAT BAD of a felony until now. You call him crazy and then think you can obtain legal consent to question him on-camera, in handcuffs, no less.
You freaking go after a guy, steal his records, AND THEN HIRE HIS STRANGELY NO-LONGER-COOPERATIVE VETERINARIAN AT LAAS!
Although you are criminals you are no good at crime. Although you are liars, you are no good at trying to sow doubt on this blog. You are sad, incompetent power freaks who choose defenseless animals and almost equally defenseless humans as your vehicle to fame. You are idiots and even if Antonio Villaraigosa is so stupid and shortsighted as to not see what you are - WE DO.
So go follow your own slime trail home. You can't wreak your damage here.
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