Ryan Tannehill was selected with the eighth overall pick, by the Miami Dolphins, out of Texas A&M University in the 2012 NFL Draft. Since then he’s established himself as the Dolphins QB1, and a better than average signal caller in the National Football League.
He also hasn’t been shy about expressing his social conscience, and today he sent a very powerful letter, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to his alma mater.
Tannehill’s letter urges A&M to end cruel muscular dystrophy (MD) experiments on golden retrievers and other dogs in the University’s laboratory. The letter alludes to the video embedded below, which you should definitely watch, as it conveys the seriousness of the situation.
However, we must warn you that it is more than a bit shocking and disturbing.
The video, showcasing footage obtained by PETA, conveys dogs deliberately bred to develop a very crippling and extremely painful form of Muscular Dystrophy.
As the disease ravages the canines’ bodies, the poor dogs struggle to walk, swallow, and even breathe.
These experiments, funded by our hard-earned tax dollars by the way, have been going on for more than 35 years but still haven’t led to a cure for MD in human beings. The experiments bring to mind some of the cruel and unusual acts being performed on cats at the University of Wisconsin research lab. Ryan Tannehill joins a long list of star pro athletes working with PETA, and/or standing up strong for the cause of animal rights.
That list includes: Sacramento Kings point guard Ty Lawson, Arizona Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard, Chicago Red Stars forward Christen Press and Denver Broncos CB Chris Harris.
The Ryan Tannehill letter to Texas A&M University:
Michael K. Young
President
Texas A&M University
Dear President Young,
I’m writing to you as one of the many people who have seen this heartbreaking footage released by PETA showing the conditions of golden retrievers and other dogs at Texas A&M’s canine muscular dystrophy laboratory. As a dog lover and as an alumnus of your university, I implore you to make the compassionate decision to call for an end to the experiments, stop breeding these dogs, and release them for adoption.
The images from that video will never leave my mind. Muscular dystrophy is indeed a terrible disease, and there’s no question that a cure must be found. But subjecting trusting dogs to a shortened lifetime of difficulty, pain, and loneliness is not the way to do it. This cruelty is completely unjustified. Texas A&M’s years of experiments on dogs have not led to a cure or even to an effective treatment. It’s time to reject this failed approach and to put resources into better methods now being used elsewhere.
Please put a stop to this cruel and fruitless work and adopt these dogs out to compassionate families who will give them all the care and attention that they deserve for the remainder of their lives. Thank you for your attention to this crucial matter.
Sincerely,
Ryan Tannehill
For much more information on the efforts of Ryan Tannehill and other athletes working with PETA, go to PETA.org.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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