I suspect Pacelle & H$U$ are pulling this stunt in hopes of spring boarding an international fund raising campaign on the backs of trumped up charges that Ohio is a cruel animal husbandry state. H$U$ is that greedy and certainly that devious.

Farm & Dairy HSUS trash talk? Bring it on!by Susan Crowell November 11, [url=2009http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/hsus-trash-talk-bring-it-on/13502.html][url=2009http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/hsus-trash-talk-bring-it-on/13502.html][url=2009http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/hsus-trash-talk-bring-it-on/13502.html]2009http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/hsus-trash-talk-bring-it-on/13502.html[/url][/url][/url]

I should have known better.


Did I really think the Humane Society of the United States would leave Ohio farmers alone after voters spoke soundly at the polls in favor of a livestock care standards board? Did I really think Wayne Pacelle,HSUS CEO, would admit defeat and simply turn his attention and money to a weaker farm state?

No, I guess not, and so, ready or not, here they come.

The Humane Society of the United States, I remind you, is NOT affiliated with local or county humane societies that shelter unwanted pets, or promote spay and neuter programs. It has a stated goal, one of its Three Rs, of “replacing meat and other animal-based foods in the diet with plant-based foods.” In other words, the “humane” in HSUS means the activists believe there is no “humane” treatment of meat-producing animals. Period.

Unhappy with the outcome of Ohio’s Issue 2, HSUS’ Pacelle has declared the group will wage its own ballot initiative in the Buckeye State,saying the livestock care standards board was “cooked up” to block real reform (meaning the HSUS’ definition of reform).



He said details are forthcoming, and called on Ohioans to help gather the 400,000 valid signatures required to get the issue back on the ballot. And he’ll probably want your money, too, saying “we’ll need a major effort to reach voters in Ohio with our message of sound science and basic values.”


Like the old song goes, “People get ready.”


Get ready for lots of TV ads that show images of abused farm animals as if it was a common scene on your farm. Get ready for celebrities to lend their voices to the HSUS cause herein Ohio. (Some of us are old enough to remember Meryl Streep and Alarin 1989, or Oprah and her beef brouhaha in 1996.)



Get ready for a targeted message to urban residents, who are likely to know the least about today’s agriculture and livestock production.

Get ready to hear the phrase “factory farm” leveled at your family farm.


Patti Strand, director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, calls it “Defamation for Dollars,” and says HSUS is not above deceiving the public into voting away the welfare of animals.


HSUS is saying “forget the board consensus, we know what’s best for Ohio consumers and farmers.” If you believe that, I’ve got some ocean-front property in Columbian a County, Ohio, I’d like you to see.


If you were part of the silent majority who quietly supported Issue 2,you’re going to have to stretch your comfort zone and share your story. Practice explaining why you do what you do in 60 second or less— your own mini sound-bite, if you will. Think about how your story would sound to someone who knows nothing about farming.


The next 12 months will be critical for Ohio agriculture. We need to get the legislation for the new board; we need to seat the new board,and the new board needs to kick it into gear with meaningful dialogue with all sides.


We also need to get ready for the coming HSUS battle. Their war chest is deep and their p.r. machine is slick. Issue 2 was a cake walk compared to what’s coming.

Bring it on.

This reminds me of the mess in Colorado. CDOW convinced trappers that they should support severe limitations on leghold traps because otherwise the animal rights folks would get "even worse restrictions."

Colorado put on some restrictions and the AR's came in and socked them with even worse ones.

The "slippery slope" argument is a valid one in most of these examples.

It points out how vigilant we must be and how we must fight to hold on to what we have.

And NEVER inflict restrictions on yourself to protect yourself from AR interference. It would seem to make sense, but in the world of AR politics, it simply does not work...

Pete

Maybe this is why H$U$ is pushing the envelop. By creating a mountain out of a mole hill called "animal use in Ohio,they can get movie stars and other loons on the H$U$ needs money donations bandwagon.Whatever the purpose is , I wonder why folks would believe Pacelle & company with regards to how to practice animal husbandry when it is obvious that H$U$ doesn't understand animal care.



NOTE: The New York Attorney General’s office has released its
“Pennies for Charities” annual report on telemarketing campaign
results for 2008 (see:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/charities/pdfs/reports/2009_Pennies.pdf).
According to the report’s findings The Share Group, Inc raised over
$1.95 million nationally on behalf of HSUS in 2008, yet returned only
$103,141, for a net-to-charity rate of only 5.29%. The average
net-to-charity return rate for all campaigns in 2008 was 39.5%. We
feel this is pertinent because HSUS continues to contract with the
Share Group year after year, despite returns significantly below the
industry average.
-----------------------------------

Center for Consumer Freedom
Sucker, Can You Spare a Dime (for HSUS)?
November 18, 2009
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/h/4034-sucker-can-you-spare-a-dime-for-hsus

Wayne Pacelle, president of the animal-rights advocating Humane
Society for the United States (HSUS), sent out an urgent appeal
(http://action.humanesociety.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=6564.0&dlv_id=9522)
yesterday: HSUS needs to raise $25,000 in order to run pressure ads to
badger a restaurant company into using only “cage free” eggs. We have
to wonder: With a $100 million annual budget and $200 million in the
bank, doesn’t HSUS already have enough cash to throw its PETA-inspired
weight around? After all, it’s not like HSUS’s bottom line is burdened
by, say, contributing any more than 4 percent of its budget to the
real “humane societies” that operate hands-on dog and cat shelters.

If the past is any indication, this is just another animal-rights
switcheroo. You might remember that after Hurricane Katrina hit in
2005, the tel-evangelical Pacelle went on national TV and pledged to
reunite pets with their owners. HSUS, of course, just needed people to
send in checks.

How’d that work out? In May, investigative reporters at Atlanta's
WSB-TV did an exposé on the murky finances and accounting of HSUS
following its Katrina money haul. (An alternate link to the report is
here: http://www.vidoosh.tv/play.php?vid=4360). WSB reported that of
the $34 million that HSUS raised in the wake of Katrina, only $7
million could be publicly accounted for. Is it any wonder that the
Louisiana Attorney General opened an 18-month-long investigation?

Let’s not forget that HSUS has an abysmal record of waste when it
comes to its fundraising. A 2008 Los Angeles Times investigation found
that less than 12 percent of money raised for HSUS by California
telemarketers actually ended up in the animal rights group’s bank
account. (The rest was kept by the telemarketing firm.)

It’s laughable to see the head preacher of a $100 million
animal-rights megachurch practically begging for another $25,000.
Picture Bill Gates holding a sign that says “Will work for food.” (Of
course, money sent to Microsoft just might bring something of value in
return.) But what’s not so funny is this: For every dollar Pacelle
shakes out of the naïve and unwise, farmers and research scientists
move one step closer to holding that sign themselves.