… but eggs are worse. Mercy for Animals’ Daniel Hauff is among many gay folk passionate about animal rights
ARNOLD WAYNE JONES | Life+Style Editor
jones@dallasvoice.com
In an area of the country where meat consumption and hunting are often equated with American values, taking on an industry can seem like an uphill battle. But it’s one Daniel Hauff is happy to fight.
Last week, Hauff — the national director of investigations for Mercy for Animals, the pro-vegan, animal rights group — held a press conference where he reveals horrendous treatment of catfish in local fisheries. He called on the district attorney to take action, and the Texas Legislature to prohibit the vivisection of animals, including fish, in the state.
It’s just another day at work for Hauff, whose job is to reveal the truth behind how animals are treated in a variety of contexts.
“Absolutely everything that has to do with protecting animals goes back to an undercover investigation,” he says. And he’s the one responsible for getting it done.
Eddie Garza, MFA’s campaign coordinator in Texas, says there are few people in country who do what Hauff does — and he’s probably the only gay person doing it.
“There are a lot of the LGBT community” who are active in protecting animals from cruelty at all levels, Hauff says. MFA itself was founded by a gay 15-year-old, Nathan Runkle, more than a decade ago. Garza is also gay.
“MFA at one point had a campaign coordinator who was transgender. I think a lot of the reason for that is commonality of looking at oppression. I assume a lot has to do with growing up gay and having to deal with people spitting on you for who you are. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes [is common for us], and I am now a lot stronger person for having endured it.”
Hauff certainly has the background to give weight to his cause. He attended DePaul University, where he read international studies with a concentration in human rights and social justice. “I was studying genocide and intending to get my hands dirty in human rights work,” he says. Instead, he shifted his focus to animal rights.
Hauff had been a vegetarian for several years, starting in high school, but eventually abandoned it. Then in 2005, he saw a video that churned his stomach: A raccoon dog being skinned alive.
“That sort of opened my eyes,” he says. “My partner Reeve came home and knew something was wrong. I was actually crying in the alley after I saw that video. I knew that there wasn’t a difference between my dogs and the animals we were eating.”
It so affected him, Hauff decided to do something he hadn’t before: He went completely vegan overnight. Reeve supported his decision and went vegetarian that week, eventually becoming a vegan as well. (Their pets are also vegan.) And he became active volunteering with Mercy for Animals.
“Within a year I had become so involved with MFA I applied for a job. I decided to do my year in-service for animal rights instead of human rights,” Hauff says. He expected the work to be a brief stopover on his path to human genocide studies, but five years later, it’s still his profession.
It’s not easy work, but it is important — to him and the creatures he seeks to protect.
“The first undercover investigation for MFA that we did that was employment-based,” meaning operatives for MFA go undercover in slaughterhouses and other animal-based industries, applying for jobs and then cataloging abuses and law violations. On the last day of the investigation just concluded in Texas, Hauff himself was wired with a hidden camera, interacting with the people in the abattoir (though he admits his duties generally don’t put him undercover).
Hauff also works with veterinarians to improve treatment, as well as with Temple Grandin, the advocate for humane treatment of animals celebrated in a recent TV movie. But in truth, Hauff sees everything short of veganism as half-measures.
“Temple reduces suffering, but it’s not kind in any way. I have never seen an animal going to their death without fighting for their life. We could walk into any slaughterhouse Temple Grandin has designed and still be horrified,” he says. “It’s often standard practice that we’re revealing.”
Hauff says he considers the egg and dairy industry far crueler than meat consumption itself. He doesn’t expect everyone will ever become a vegan like he is, but that’s not really the point.
“There are less cruel ways of doing things,” he says. “It’s about reducing suffering.”
And the more people know, the better they will be about making choices.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition Jan. 28, 2011.
Inspiring story. Veganism is the least we can do to help the world.
Thank you for an interesting and inspiring read. I don’t think I could be an undercover investigator and witness the cruel treatment of animals, but I’m grateful there are people doing this kind of work. I would love to see more stories on animal issues and how to transition to a vegetarian/vegan diet.
Daniel and Nathan do remarkable work and I’m very proud to call Daniel a friend.
I find the juxtaposition of the “Fur is Murder” animal right article and the piece on the leather scene interesting (pages 26 and 27, print edition). Was this intended to be ironic or was it just coincidence?
There is no excuse for making animals suffer for fashion or food. Good work.
I applaud Daniel, and thank you for this informative profile on his courageous work. The only way to live a truly compassionate life is to go vegan. It would be great to see vegan recipes here and other helpful tidbits on how to go vegan.
Kudos to anyone who works to make the world a kinder place for animals! We desperately need more people like Daniel, as well as everyday people who make a huge impact simply by choosing veggie burgers and shampoos that haven’t been dripped in animals’ eyes. Thank you, Daniel!
@Paul, I was AWARE of the irony of the juxtaposition, but it was not intentional — or at least, not intended to be ironic. It was merely the exigencies of the print editions page configuration. But I realized it before it went to press and wondered whether anyone would catch it. Good job! You win your choice of a mink stole or lifetime supply of soy milk. (Offer invalid on planet earth.)
Really? With all of the problems facing our country right now, I’m supposed to worry about a catfish? I don’t think so. Now, pass the filets and hushpuppies, and I’ll sit here in my fur coat, leather shoes, leather belt and eat.
Thank you for profiling a true hero. It’s people like Daniel who are changing the world.
I think it’s wonderful when people want to make a change in their world. Animal Welfare is also a wonderful thing. But celebrating an extreme ideology such as animal rights is frankly just too much. You don’t need to support animal rights to support the alleviation of animal suffering. However the current push in media is just that. https://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/quacks_like_a_duck.pdf
And I truly find offense with the title. It’s stated like it;s a fact, instead of an opinion. The very real truth is the vast majority of Americans don’t see hunting, fishing, eating of meats or use of animal by-products as murder.
I encourage you to support your community and those on their quest for the greater good. Share his story for what it’s worth, his opinion and his personal ideology. Then qualify his story with some links such as to places where people can learn the difference between animal rights and animal welfare and not be mistakenly led to believe that to support animal welfare you have to support equal rights granted to animals.
Not sure what is so “extreme,” Mr. “Get Real” about treating animals with compassion. You sound like you’re from some animal abuse industry with this post. And who is asking for “equal rights” for animals? Sounds like you, “Get Real” are the extreme one here.
And Ben, get some class, my friend. I thought my gay brethren were better than this.
I, too, get the connection between LGBTQ and animal issues. I am the Organizer for VegOutNYC – a social group for LGBTQ & friends. As humans, we’re supposed to be clever – have the upper hand as it were – and evolve. Part of that evolution means moving away from our baser instincts and insisting that we trade up away from animals products to compassionate choices. You can get anything and everything from other sources besides animals. We need to let our need to dominate animals go and move on. We’re worth it and so are the animals. Once you make that connection that other issues come into focus quite clearly. Everyone who has commented negative on this article should abstain from animals products for 21 days. That will show you the light. You might actually experience true joy and happiness for the first time in your life – really. Check out Kathy Freston’s book Quantum Wellness if you need further guidance.
@ben, i didn’t realize it was an either/or. that’s the beauty of speaking up for animals… you can still speak up for other groups while also voting with your dollars and abstaining from the cruelties inherent in animal products. anyway, the irony is that a lot of people who say things like “i’m supposed to care about catfish?” don’t do anything for the greater good in their lives… they just spend their time criticizing people like dan who actually do something.
loved this article. thank you, dallas voice, for featuring a true hero.
To Ben, caring about one issue doesn’t mean someone doesn’t care about others. Compassion is not a zero-sum game. Here’s a guy who should prove that, with his background in human rights. Comments like yours make me think you don’t worry about catfish or anything else besides yourself, despite all the world problems you mention.
To “Get Real,” just because a majority of Americans believe something doesn’t make it true – and you may want to rethink using that argument here. A majority of Americans opposed equal rights for people who aren’t like them. A majority of Americans once believed smoking was harmless. Many opinions once seemed “extreme” that we now take as a given in society. Try not to let it offend you that you might be on the wrong side of this one.
yeah…well said, ben! there are real problems in the world, so we should go on supporting oppression of animals because that like, totally helps, like, um, get rid of like, people-based problems…or something…yeah!
What a magnificent human being is Mr. Hauff. I am inspired by his kindness and perserverance. I also like what he says about Temple Grandin. She’s spoken of as a hero but killing is killing. Thanks for running this excellent interview.
What a great story. Mr. Hauff and his colleagues and the organization they work for sound truly wonderful. I, too, went vegan about five years ago after seeing a video of fur farms and an egg farm. I have been pleasantly surprised to watch veganism become more and more mainstream in recent years. Shaving minutes off my running times, staying skinny, rarely getting sick, and glowing skin are just added bonuses of my vegan diet.
To those who have criticized Mr. Hauff for his concern for animals when other problems exist in the world, I say this: Compassion is not some exhaustible resource that must be divvied up and allocated to the most worthy causes. In fact, concern for animal suffering does not inhibit concern for human suffering, it enhances it.