COURIER L 14 IFE, NOVEMBER 8-14, 2019
PUPPY PUNK: Councilman Justin Brannan (right) founded a death metal band, Caninus,
that starred two pitbull vocalists. MOSH PITTIE!
Brooklyn lawmaker behind animal rights bills
played in metal band fronted by pitbulls
BY ROSE ADAMS
The Bensonhurst lawmaker behind
the suite of animal rights bills
approved by City Council on Wednesday
once played guitar in a hardcore
death metal band — which was
fronted by two pitbulls!
Vegetarian Councilman Justin
Brannan formerly shredded with a
New York City grindcore band, called
Caninus, which featured four-legged
vocalists Basil and Budgie, and he attributes
his activist leanings in part
to his furry band mates
“The hardcore scene in the ‘90s
was a lot of people talking about social
issues and animal rights,” said
Brannan. “I really got my start as a
teenaged animal rights activist, and
that’s something that has never left
me.”
Brannan introduced two bills included
in a package of animal welfare
legislation that passed Council on
Oct. 30, the fi rst of which requires the
formation of a new city agency, called
the Offi ce of Animal Welfare, which
will oversee animal regulations, propose
animal-friendly legislation, and
host educational programs on the humane
treatment of animals.
The second bill calls on legislators
up in Albany to ban puppy mills from
operating throughout the state, while
legislation introduced by other council
members, but approved alongside
Brannan’s, included laws that ban
horse-drawn carriages on hot or humid
days, prevent people from capturing
pigeons and other wild birds, and
forbid the sale of foie gras — a luxury
dish of fatty goose liver — among others.
Brannan voted in favor of all the
bills, which he called “a long time
coming.”
“We’ve been talking about doing
this forever,” said Brannan.
Brannan, a Bay Ridge native, has
long been a vocal supporter of animal
rights. In the early 2000s, he and
members of his successful hardcore
punk bands Indecision and Most Precious
Blood, which mostly sang about
animal welfare and human rights,
formed a spin-off group called Caninus,
whose two vocalists were rescued
pitbulls.
The human-animal ensemble released
songs including “New Yorkie
Crew (Loyal Like a Stone),” “Bite the
Hand That Breeds You,” and “F--- the
American Kennel Club.”
The group enjoyed some success
— one song, “No Dogs, No Masters,”
has racked up over 700,000 views on
Youtube.
According to Brannan, he and his
bandmates wrote actual lyrics for
their various tracks — but they were
all sung by dogs!
“We pretended like they were singing
the lyrics,” Brannan said.
Caninus disbanded in 2011, but
Brannan’s animal activism is still going
strong. Two months ago, the vegetarian
councilman and his wife adopted
two greyhounds that used to be
race dogs named Fiorello and Luna.
“These dogs were basically disposed
of once their racing career was
over,” Brannan said. “We kind of fell
in love.”
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