I'm taking a moment to congratulate contributing author Nancy Kraus Womack on her outstanding work and dedication in exposing the Humane Society of the United States and what Missouri's ballot initiative Prop B is really all about. Nancy has been digging for weeks on end to bring us the information in her two part series. Part I is available at www.firsttuesdaypress.com. Well done, Nancy!
It is up to ALL of us to make sure that our neighbors know about this. PLEASE forward to all on your lists. You did a great job on helping pass Prop C back in August. Now let's do our part to defeat Prop B on November 2nd!
Prop B - Part II: The Money Trail, The Players and Their Strategies
By Nancy Kraus Womack
The so called ‘Humane’ Society of the United States is anything but ‘Humane’. It is deception and deception that abuses the emotions and VOTE of every kind hearted, animal loving citizen of Missouri. The Humane Society of the United States has pumped over $2 MILLION $$$ from sources outside Missouri into this ballot initiative Proposition B. They want this bad and the HSUS purposely targets States like Missouri that use the ballot initiative in order to bypass the legislature. It is much easier to use emotion to gather signatures on a petition and get their issues on the ballot. Wayne Pacelle, Pres. of HSUS, calls such initiatives targeting dog breeders, second tier or ‘low hanging fruit’. It will set the stage for his first tier agenda which includes ‘factory’ farming and an end to hunting.
Crazy? It is Pacelle’s own words. We'll get to that in a minute.
This PROP. is supposedly about shutting down ‘puppy mills’. It will do nothing of the sort. The Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA) 1992 is the law on the books. The state of Missouri is grossly underfunded and understaffed. There are only 8-12 inspectors at any given time to inspect 1600+ breeding facilities and another 1200+ non breeding facilities. Where is the call for funding in Prop. B to inspect and enforce anything? There is NONE.
The HSUS has chosen Missouri because there is a real problem in our state with puppy mills. The criminals and abusers know where to set up shop. Why do they get away with their ugly business? Because there is no one to stop them! There is no funding for more inspectors and law enforcement to shut them down and drive them out of our State. That is the core of the problem with Proposition B. It is simply a lie. Putting economically unfeasible conditions on the licensed breeder will do NOTHING to change the puppy mill situation. I’m sure the unlicensed and illegal breeders will be jumping at the opportunity to add those over sized dog runs and get the HVAC people out asap to install those heating and cooling units called for in Prop. B. Yes, I’m sure those people will be all over it.
Remember in the first article, that Pacelle aspires for HSUS to be the NRA of the animal rights movement? Well, he certainly admires their power and influence since he made sure that hunting dogs are EXCLUDED from Prop. B? What? Hunting dogs can’t be abused? A little inconsistent don’t you think? No—it is because Pacelle has no intention of taking on the NRA. Remember, he wants the easy pickings and the NRA would have none of this nonsense.
Seriously, does this make sense? It is an IMMORAL and DECEITFUL attempt by HSUS to pretend this Prop actually addresses these abuses. Manpower and funding is what is needed and there is NONE in this Proposition.
Tell me why this issue is appropriate as a ballot initiative? For example, what does the ordinary person know about the heat cycles of a female dog? I’ve owned dogs all my life and have no clue. Why are Missourians voting on telling dog breeders how to operate their business? This should be an issue for the legislature which calls for hearings and testimony from those who DO know about the business. Having the HSUS and the ASPCA(Humane Societies little brother) bringing this to a vote is like the fox guarding the henhouse.
Do you see the connections? Do you see the logical leap?
If it is alright for direct voter initiatives to tell dog breeders what and how to breed their dogs, what will be next? Horses, cattle, sheep? Trust me, all those industries have long been in the HSUS sights. HSUS has already had their way with the Pork Industry in Florida and effectively shut it down. They have basically shut down the egg producers in California and like Rahm Emmanuel, they never let a ‘crisis’ go to waste. Egg prices in California have risen 60%. The recent salmonella scare provided great fodder for the HSUS propaganda. There are regulations on the books that need to be enforced---not added to.
Missourians are being used and the puppy mills will still be here long after the HSUS is through with us. What it does is put economically unfeasible restrictions on reputable dog breeders who already actually abide by the regulations. The bottom line is this: the Humane Society of the United States is a money making radical organization bent on changing the world to their vision. We will all be vegans and like it. We will not have ‘pets’ since that is a human creation and a form of slavery. We will not breed animals because that is akin to rape. Crazy, huh? Nope. That is exactly what the HSUS has in mind. This is PETA cleaned up; PETA in a suit; PETA working the system to its advantage.
Find out about the Humane Society of the United States. Ask why Wayne Pacelle brought over so many people from PETA when he became President in 2004. Ask why every HSUS staffer at the DC Headquarters is REQUIRED to be a VEGAN and no animal products are allowed including WOOL SUITS! Ask why they have $162 million in assets and yet do not operate a single animal shelter anywhere! Prop. B is a SCAM and so is the HSUS. VOTE NO!
As promised, I gathered the information on the money, the players and how Proposition B reads and what it hopes to accomplish. The one thing it won’t do is put puppy mills out of business.
The Money
Business is good at the HSUS! According to the 2008 IRS form 990, Pacelle earned $228,981 in compensation plus another $22,252 from ‘other’ compensation from HSUS and related organizations. The reportable compensation for the HSUS was $2,634,996.00. Total revenue from fundraising: $1,197,221.00 Investment Income plus royalties: $2,268,183! And over 4 million for pensions and benefits; in excess of $5 million for travel. $2 million for grants to lobbying purposes/$1Million for rallies, speeches, and lectures. (source: 2008 HSUS tax return Form 990)
Total net assets: $162,217.44 and yet not ONE SHELTER MAINTAINED IN THE UNITED STATES
Beginning on the day of NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s 2007 dogfighting indictment, HSUS raised money online with the false promise that it would “care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case.” The New York Times later reported that HSUS wasn’t caring for Vick’s dogs at all. And HSUS President Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group urged government officials to “put down” (that is, kill) the dogs rather than adopt them out to suitable homes. HSUS later quietly altered its Internet fundraising pitch. Vick now gives HSUS “sponsored” speeches. And most of his dogs have been rehabilitated—without any help from HSUS.
If you sent money every month on the Wendy Malick ads, some animal somewhere might receive around $1 per year. What a great deal for animals! Tell me, if people who contribute when they see those ads knew, what would HSUS' income look like then?
Katrina brought HSUS $34 Million. Until the Louisiana Attorney General investigated HSUS for 18 months the HSUS had done NOTHING. After the investigation, the Attorney General determined that $7 million actually went to reuniting dogs and owners.
The Players
I related in Part I, I related how the animal rights movement is anti Judeo-Christian. They believe there is no hierarchy of creation; All creatures are on the same level and judged by whether they have the capacity to suffer. Wayne Pacelle, Pres. of HSUS is one smart, shrewd fellow. He knows the opposition and he fights hard and smart. In his most recent blog, he waxes poetic about St. Francis and the blessing of the animals that many churches observed October 2. If one knew nothing of the true nature of the animal ‘rights’ movement that would seem perfectly normal. However, knowing the truth about the HSUS, one would be hard pressed to believe that Pacelle has come 180 degrees and given up the animal ‘rights’ belief’s he has held dear for his entire adult life.
Wayne Pacelle, President HSUS
“I’ve always particularly admired writers whose works have activated people and strengthened our movement. Very few books will have the impact of Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation”. Accessible in its prose, logical in argument and jarring in detail, it triggered a wave of grassroots animal activism still being felt 33 years after its original publication.’ HSUS website June 2008. See part I for details on Peter Singer. Part 1 is available at www.firsttuesdaypress.com
“We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.” Wayne Pacelle, “Animal People” May 1993
“We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States…We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state.” Full Cry Magazine, Oct.1, 1990
“If HSUS differs from other groups markedly, it may differ in tactics, but less in ideology.” Speaking Out for Animals 1994
Wayne Pacelle is a strict vegan that converted to the animal ‘rights’ position after reading Peter Singers “animal liberation”. He worked for the anti hunting group Fund for Animals six years, then helped Paul Watson of the violent Sea Shepard Conservation. He assisted Alex Pacheco and PETA.
And from Wayne Pacelle again:
“Raising 10 billion land animals in the United States annually for food is simply not a sensible plan of action…the science is clear that a diet that is primarily plate based is better for our personal health, and it’s obviously better for animals and the environment.”
Pacelle has led efforts for passage of more than a dozen federal laws, 15 statewide ballot initiatives and countless state statutes. His stated objective is to be the NRA of animal rights---powerful, well connected and well funded.
According to Pacelle, dealing with puppy mills is on the second tier of campaigns. The first of his objectives if influencing policy makers and the media for a grassroots effort to get his goals passed.
His goals in order of preference are as follows:
“Factory Farming”
Felony penalties for animal cruelty
Revive the campaign against the fur industry
Stop ‘inhumane’ hunting.
Prop B is just a a step in the direction of his agenda. In regards to hunting, here are a few of Pacelles own words from an article written in the 90’s. “… hunters seem to be engaged in a unilateral arms race” and this about a goose slamming into the head of a hunter “…a rare instance of justice…”
Another gem, "Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting. Our opponents say that hunting is a tradition. We say traditions can change." Wayne Pacelle, Quoted
in Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Oct. 8, 1991
Ominously, Wayne Pacelle was quoted in Blooties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993 p.266 “If I had my personal view, perhaps that might take hold. In fact, I don’t want to see another dog or cat born.”
J.P. Goodwin of the Animal Liberation Front---arsonist and stated goal---the abolition of all animal agriculture. HSUS’s senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as “terrorists” by the FBI.
HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant. In 1997, when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer’s feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises), Goodwin replied, “We’re ecstatic.” That same year, Goodwin was arrested at a UC Davis protest celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an ALF arson at the university that caused $5 million in damage. “We found that civil disobedience and direct action has been powerful in generating massive attention in our communities…and has been very effective in traumatizing our targets.” National Animal Rights Convention June 1997 and “My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture.”
Martin Stephens, HSUS VP, of Animal Research Issues stands with PETA against the use of animal organs to replaced diseased human organs. (I.E. that pig and cow valve that saved my Mother in Law’s life two years ago is opposed by HSUS).
Heidi Prescott, Senior Vice President for Campaigns
"The six states where school shootings have taken place since October 1997…are all major sport hunting states. When a tragedy like this happens once, it is a fluke. When it happens six times in eight months, and becomes a pattern, we must seriously re-evaluate the core values that we are teaching our nation’s young people." - Animal People, 1998
Paul Shapiro, HSUS staffer. “Nothing is more important than promoting veganism” 2004 National Student Animal Rights conference
Former members of COK---Compassion Over Killing, the, group that works for a decrease of animals raised and killed for food and to eventually eliminate the consumption of meat, eggs and milk. that now are affiliated with HSUS include Carter Dillard, Michael Greger and Miyun Park who is now HSUS VP of Farm Animal Welfare and is the former President of COK.
A former HSUS consultant, Rober Baker, told US NEWS and World Report that “the humane Society should be protecting animals from cruelty. It is not doing that. The place is all about power and money.”
Gene Bauer, Vice Chair, Humane USA Board of Directors.
“Our food system has profound consequences for animals, the earth, and our own health, and tragically, we have been eating our way to death and destruction by ingesting products of violence, gluttony and injustice.”
Pricella Cohn, PhD, HSUS Board of Directors
“…if we think about human animals and nonhuman animals, we will come to respect the other inhabitants of this planet and we will appreciate differences, rather than taking a HIERARCHICCAL view where we consider ourselves superior to all other creatures. “ People promoting and people opposing animal rights 2002
Mary Max, HSUS Board of Directors
“Stop eating animals, it’s the number one thing.” Greenpoint Gazette Oct. 2008
John Hoyt, HSUS CEO in a 1991 speech. “Don’t breed dogs, don’t buy, don’t even accept giveaways”
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) merged with HSUS
“Moreover, we believe the overpopulation crisis is of such grave magnitude presently that the breeding of any cats, dogs, rabbits or others, regardless of whether they are mixed breed or so called purebred animals, should be limited to that necessary to ensure survival of the species.”
What's In the Bill?
The following link compares the bill with what is already on the books. 1992 Animal Care Facilities Act. http://www.box.net/shared/7j22ho66o9
This link spells out how Prop B will effect dog breeders. From the Alliance for Truth:
PROPOSITION B SPECIFICALLY TARGETS THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY LICENSED AND INSPECTED BY THE MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND WHO ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS. IT DOES NOTHING TO ADDRESS THOSE WHO COLLECT ANIMALS LIVING IN HORRIBLE CONDITIONS AS LONG AS THE ANIMALS ARE NOT BEING BRED TO PRODUCE PUPPIES FOR SALE AS PETS. PROPOSITION B IS SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT ELIMINATING THE LEGAL, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL DOG BREEDERS IN MISSOURI WHO PRODUCE HEALTHY, HAPPY PUPPIES.
PROP B CREATES A CLASS C MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF "CRUELTY" FOR ANY VIOLATION DURING AN INSPECTION OF A KENNEL BY THE MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, INCLUDING A DROP OF FOOD IN A WATER BOWL, A COBWEB IN THE CORNER OF A BUILDING, A SCRATCH ON A PAINTED SURFACE, ETC.
STACKED CAGE ENCLOSURES WITH TRAYS BELOW EACH FOR EASY CLEANING AND SANITATION WOULD BE A CLASS C MISDEMEANOR FOR A LICENSED BREEDER WHILE VETERINARIANS, SHELTERS, HUMANE SOCIETIES AND RESCUES COULD USE THE SAME ENCLOSURES AND BE TOTALLY EXEMPT FROM THE LAW. SHOW BREEDERS WITH MORE THAN TEN INTACT FEMALE DOGS COULD NOT CRATE THEIR DOGS FOR ANY PURPOSE WHILE PREPARING FOR SHOWS, GROOMING OR KEEPING INTACT FEMALES SEPARATE FROM MALES.
LEGAL, LICENSED BREEDERS COULD HAVE NO MORE THAN 50 DOGS, REGARDLESS OF THE EXCELLENT CARE THEY RECEIVE WHILE ANYONE NOT BREEDING DOGS COULD HAVE UNLIMITED NUMBERS OF DOGS LIVING IN FILTHY CONDITIONS. PROP B CREATES THE FIRST STEP IN HSUS AND OTHER ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS DICTATING THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS ONE MAY OWN.
PROMPT TREATMENT FOR ANY ILLNESS OR INJURY WOULD BE REQUIRED BY A LICENSED VETERINARIAN, INCLUDING SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS AN UPSET STOMACH, TORN TOENAIL, CUT ON THE NOSE, OR ANY MINOR ISSUE OFTEN TREATED BY THE BREEDER. COSTS FOR VETERINARY CARE FOR MINOR ISSUES WOULD SKYROCKET, RESULTING IN FEWER PUREBRED DOGS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC DEMAND.
PROP B REQUIRES CONSTANT AND UNFETTERED ACCESS TO AN OUTSIDE EXERCISE AREA WHICH WILL BE DEADLY TO NEWBORN AND NON-WEANED PUPPIES THAT MAY CRAWL OUTSIDE TO FOLLOW THEIR MOTHERS AND CANNOT FIND THEIR WAY BACK INSIDE. BABIES WILL DIE OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND DEHYDRATION IN THE SUMMER AND HYPOTHERMIA IN THE WINTER. DRAFTS OF AIR CREATED BY REQUIRED INDOOR/OUTDOOR RUNS FOR MOTHERS WILL ENSURE UPPER RESPIRATORY STRESS AND PNEUMONIA FOR BABIES, RESULTING IN THE DEATHS OF MANY NEWBORN PUPPIES.
BREEDERS OF HUNTING DOGS ARE EXEMPT FROM LICENSING UNLESS EVEN ONE OF THEIR DOGS OR PUPPIES IS SOLD AS A PET OR LIVES INSIDE THE HOME OF THE PURCHASER.
THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR ELIMINATING TENDERFOOT FLOORINGWHICH ALLOWS FOR EASY CLEANING AND STERILIZING OF ENCLOSURES.
PROPOSITION B INTERFERES WITH THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A BREEDER AND HIS OR HER VETERINARIAN ON THE HEALTH OF THEIR DOGS AND THE FREQUENCY OF BREEDING. THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WOULD BE CHARGED WITH DETERMINING THE BREEDING FREQUENCY OF DOGS IN LICENSED FACILITIES.
HSUS HAS INTRODUCED PROP B AS A MEANS OF ELIMINATING THE LEGAL, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL DOG BREEDERS IN MISSOURI. ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, NO CURRENT LICENSED BREEDER CAN COMPLY WITH THE REGULATIONS PUT FORTH IN PROP B, NO MATTER HOW CLEAN AND WELL RUN THE FACILITY. COST PROHIBITIVE SPACE REQUIREMENTS COUPLED WITH MISDEMEANOR CRIMES FOR THE MOST MINOR OF ISSUES WILL ELIMINATE THE LEGALINDUSTRY IN OUR STATE.
ONLY UNLICENSED, SUBSTANDARD BREEDERS WILL BE LEFT TO PRODUCE PUPPIES WHILE CONTINUING TO HIDE FROM STATE LAWS.
Pacelle's full Apr. 27, 2009 speech to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting with Q&A is at http://agwired.com/2009/04/27/hsus-challenges-american-agriculture/ and direct atwww.zimmcomm.biz/nafb/ww-09-hsus-remarks.mp3 In his speech, Pacelle discussed how fears over BSE (mad cow) were tied to images of workers using legal and illegal methods to get cattle to their feet when the animals refused to stand after a long transport to a slaughterhouse. The result? 50 nations shut their doors to US beef ignoring the fact that cattle are often transported long distances as a direct result of the closure of local slaughterhouses.
HSUS raised lots of money, sadly, on a problem they appear to have helped create. Ditto for the battles over horse slaughter. HSUS believes that this option for horse owners should not exist. In Nebraska, the Farm Bureau donated hay to feed neglected horses that had been transferred from the BLM to private ownership, another HSUS campaign gone awry. But listen to Pacelle complain that cowboys didn't want to work with HSUS when it organized a photo op with the neglected horses as props. Attacks on feral horse control and horsemeat, combined with closure of slaughter facilities (resulting in longer transport times for horses), appears to be tied to an increase in abandoned horses. This has overtaxed the safety net of humane shelters set up by responsible animal owners. HSUS uses this sad state, which they helped create, as one more opportunity to raise more money and while little goes to hands-on animal care and much goes to promoting policies that exacerbate the problem. No wonder the cowboys are angry! Perhaps it's time for HSUS to spend some of its $200 million in reserves on actually caring for horses and other animals in distress.
A shocking report in the American Sporting Dog Alliance
WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States is asking President Barack Obama and Congress to require everyone who raises dogs and cats to be regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, documents show. HSUS also is asking for the creation of an animal protection division within the U.S. Department of Justice that is "similar to the Civil Rights Division, to ensure strong enforcement of federal animal protection laws," thus granting animals rights similar to humans. HSUS also calls for a new position of animal protection liaison in the White House.
A fourth provision calls for a ban on hunting on new public lands. Those are only three of the 100 recommendations that HSUS has sent to Obama in what is called a "change agenda for animals." The American Sporting Dog Alliance has obtained access to this document, which has been sent to animal protection organizations asking for their support. HSUS is a radical animal rights group. Despite its name, it does not operate a single animal shelter, but exists only as a political organization. The long-range goal of HSUS is to gradually eliminate all animal ownership and use, including their use as companion and food20animals, and to ban hunting. The 100 goals sent to Obama reflect many issues, but this report will concentrate on the issues that most directly affect dog owners, with added emphasis on the sporting breeds.
However, we urge our readers to read the full HSUS document, which includes a crackdown on alleged farm pollution, tough animal and poultry husbandry and slaughter rules, and many environmental and wildlife management measure. The link to the actual document used to be found at
http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/change-agenda-for-animals-1-14-09.pdf. but has been removed. In a letter to a New York horse owners' association that was made available to the American Sporting Dog Alliance, HSUS President Wayne Pacelle asks for support of the 100-point agenda."With the changing of the guard at the White House comes the prospect of new possibilities for moving our goals forward, and to mark his latest transfer of power, the HSUS and the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) are advancing a 100-point 'Change Agenda for Animals,'" Pacelle wrote. " Never before has the animal protection movement so carefully articulated a vast array of critical animal protection reforms in the domains of so many federal agencies-Agriculture , Interior, Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, State, and others."
Butting heads with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari Club International (SCI) were groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fund for Animals, along with local animal-protection groups, some headed by hunting advocates. "The last election saw more signature-driven initiatives on state ballots than ever before," says David Sostman of HSUS. "And 1998 promises to bring even more."
Among those leading the initiative fight was HSUS' Wayne Pacelle who, since 1990, has organized 10 statewide ballot initiatives, nine of which have won.
Winning initiatives (in Massachusetts, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington) included banning bear, cougar, bobcat or lynx hunting by use of baiting or hounding; eliminating bear hunting season in the spring when mothers emerge with newborn cubs; banning steel-jaw traps and body-snaring traps; aerial tracking and hunting of wolves, lynx, foxes and wolverines; and eliminating the requirement that hunters or trappers hold a majority of seats on state wildlife and fisheries boards. - by John Yates
And lastly, if this has not convinced you that the Humane Society of the United States is not a radical animal ‘rights’ group, then do your own research. I feel like I’ve been in the belly of the beast, but I will not be fooled again. I will only contribute to local shelters that always seem to be struggling, no thanks to that great, wealthy bunch, the HSUS.
I will find out from here on out the how’s and who’s of what is on our ballot. It makes me question the wisdom of ballot initiatives. It bypasses our ‘republic’ governance and goes to direct democracy. That makes it imperative to know the motives and background of those behind any ballot initiative.
Additional links:
http://www.ncraoa.com/articles/AR/WaynePacelleVegan.comInterview.pdf
http://www.seattleweekly.com/content/printVersion/957226/
http://www.glaserprogress.org/news/ns_E_magazine3.asp
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/04/9/editorial9.04.html
http://www.ncraoa.com/articles/AR/HSUS_ItsNotAboutAnimalShelters-Oliver.pdf
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/meet_david_wills/
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/people/detail/paul_irwin/ big bucks being with HSUS
http://www.humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/meet_the_old_hsus_more_crooked_than_the_new_hsus/
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/documents/detail/excerpt_bloodties_nature_culture_and_the_hunt_ted_kerasote_1994/
http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.Iml?Article=191870
http://www.satyamag.com/jun05/pacelle.html
This is an interesting interview with Pacelle
http://www.ncraoa.com/articles/AR/WaynePacelleVegan.comInterview.pdf
