The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) has hired Dr. Rebecca Niemiec as the manager of the Bureau of Animal Protection (BAP) program, which has a mission “to prevent the neglect, mistreatment and abuse of animals in Colorado.”
Niemiec is a social scientist, whose work and research have focused on the relationships between humans and animals, as well as enhancing community engagement in environmental stewardship, according to CDA. She is also an assistant professor in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department at Colorado State University and the director of the Conservation Action Lab.
She also has a connection with the animal rights group Mercy for Animals, as she conducted a $500,000 study with the group and the city of Boulder, focusing on promoting plant-based foods. The abstract for the study reads, “Shifting the public towards plant-based diets is critical for achieving environmental and public health outcomes.”
The study also examines messaging strategies for motivating dietary change and whether they are more effective to change people to plant-based diets, “as compared to more traditional messages that highlight the environmental, personal health or animal welfare implications of factory farmed meat consumption.”
In the past, Niemiec has also conducted a study analyzing the factors that influence decisions to support wolf reintroduction in Colorado.
“Animal welfare will always be a complex issue that brings a wide range of passion and concerns,” Niemiec said in a CDA statement. “I look forward to exploring how the BAP program can use education and outreach as our primary tool to take a proactive approach to prevent animal abuse, rather than a reactive approach once that abuse has occurred.”
According to a report by The Fence Post, open records requests show Gov. Jared Polis (D) may have had a strong influence in the appointment. The Fence Post reported Deputy Ag Commissioner Steve Silverman and the selection panel selected four finalists to interview for the job, which included a Colorado county animal control supervisor with BAP experience, a specialist in animal cruelty investigations and prosecutions with a metro district attorney’s office, a state director for the Humane Society of the United States, and a senior executive of Mercy for Animals.
Polis then put forward three picks, none of whom were included on the recommendation list, and Niemiec was offered the position at the end of January. Niemiec will begin in her role on March 7. The BAP manager oversees 100 commissioned BAP agents, who respond to complaints of animal cruelty and neglect.
The move comes shortly after animal rights activist Ellen Kessler resigned from the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine following backlash from her social media posts calling ranchers “lazy” and “nasty.” Kessler was appointed by Polis to the board in 2020, and her last day was Feb. 11. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
