Quack whack. (Scan).

I know an Atlanta hospital that has more than its share of quacks. This is not to suggest a lack of expertise or dedication among the staff physicians. You see, the hospital houses the AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service for children. It and other pediatric oncology centers across the country benefit from the financial generosity of AFLAC, the Georgia insurance company whose commercials have made the duck with the raspy quack a national icon.

But not everyone is pleased to see the bird squawk "AFLAC" on national TV. Because the AFLAC duck is sometimes shown in treacherous situations in the commercials, such as falling into the Grand Canyon, or hanging upside down in a bat cave, the animal rights group United Poultry Concerns has cried foul. The hazardous scenes are obviously played by a robot duck, not a real one, but one UPC official with ruffled feathers has branded the commercials "degrading to ducks," and claimed that animal abuse could be fostered by them.

Even more berserk is the stand taken by UPC president Karen Davis. It is "specieist," she believes, to think that "the ...