Animal Rights Group Dupes Donors Into Believing It Takes Care of Animals
By BOB HARRIS
Outdoors and Free
Friday, May 16, 2008
According to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance USSA), of Columbus, Ohio, when a regional retailer, Meijer, received pressure from sportsmen to sever ties with the animal rights extremists in the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), some questioned why the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance acted to oppose the partnership.
“Most people simply do not know that the HSUS is actually an animal rights organization that is opposed to any use of animals for the benefit of humans,” USSA president and CEO Bud Pidgeon said. “The public deserves to to know the hidden agenda behind this is to deceive them.”
On April 24, 2008, the Human Society of the United States, the largest animal rights organization, announced a partnership with Meijer, a regional discount retail chain, to raise $5,000 for the organization’s fund to address the purported problem of abandoned pets as a result of the national home foreclosure crisis. The USSA, a national organization founded to protect the rights of sportsmen and women, responded with an alert asking hunters and animal owners to contact the retailer to protest the partnership with HSUS. Meijer quickly responded by canceling the agreement. Since that time, some animal welfare activists have questioned why the USSA would oppose a partnership alleged to benefit pets.
The Washington, D.C. based Humane Society of the United States, raised $100 million dollars, according to its 2006 IRS filing. Despite a name that seems tailor-made to animal shelters, the HSUS is in fact an animal rights organization. It advocates for restrictions on livestock farmers, bans on life-saving medical research performed on animals and opposes zoos, circuses and rodeos. And, of course, the HSUS also opposes any hunting. They do not operate or represent the local dog and cat animal shelters that exist across the United States, what-so-ever.
“With a name like the Humane Society of the United States, it is easy to see why a lot of people believe that there is a connection between it and local animal shelters, who struggle every year to make ends meet,” explained Bud Pidgeon. “The HSUS spends the bulk of its money on making
contributions to politicians, lobbying, lawyers and expensive 30-second advertisements to promote voter issues aimed at banning various uses of animals.”
According to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the Human Society uses campaigns, such as the Meijer campaign, as a public relations tool to help raise its $100 million dollar war chest for its animal rights crusade. Evidence of this is contained within its leadership. Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS,is the former executive director of the Fund for Animals, which was the nation’s leading anti-hunting group. Upon accepting the executive job at HSUS, Pacelle announced a merger with the Fund for Animals and quickly hired its most ardent hunting opponents as his top management staff.
The HSUS then swallowed several anti-livestock organizations, hiring their leadership as well. It’s takeover of the Doris Day Animal Leaque has given it access to Hollywood dollars, previously the home turf of the radical People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Unlike PETA however, Pacelle and the HSUS are not interested in making a large public relations spectacle using naked models or making outrageous statements comparing the Holocaust to the slaughter of chickens. Instead, HSUS has launched a series of campaigns that put it in a positive light with animal lovers in general.
Such was the case in 2005, when the HSUS created a fund to aid animals stranded as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Later, the Louisiana Attorney General’s office launched an investigation of HSUS when allegations surfaced that the money never made it to the pets in need.
In 2007, HSUS launched a campaign to address the issue of so-called “puppy mills”, abusive large-scale commercial dog breeding operations. Using sentimental images of suffering puppies, the HSUS is backing legislation in Pennsylvania that would devastate small hobby breeders, dog show kennels and sporting dog enthusiasts. The legislation is so radical that it has been opposed by the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club and even dog rescue shelters in the state.
“Taking advantage of the American people’s love for their pets, HSUS is able to deceive donors and the public into believing that the organization is in the mainstream of American values,” stated Bud Pidgeon. “It is this mainstream image that allows the HSUS to raise its 100 million dollar budget to take our hunting and fishing rights away. At the same time, by deceiving animal lovers, the HSUS robs financially strapped dog and cat shelters of critical funds needed to actually look after abandoned and abused pets.”
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance recommends that people who really want to help real animal shelters donate their money to their local animal shelter organizations. “Some animal rights groups masquerade as pet shelters, so donating to a local organization gives the contributor the opportunity to determine how their funds will actually be spent,” Bud Pidgeon commented.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Allience is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For further information regarding the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, you can call them at (614) 888-4868 or visit their website at,
www.ussportsmen.org. |
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Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at:
outwriter2@aol.com
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