Make No Mistake - HSUS Has Targeted Hunting for Extinction/PETA UPDATE

[vermonster13]

Ban dove hunting in Michigan – check. Outlaw trapping in California – check. Prohibit black bear hunting in Colorado – check. Sue to stop hunting on federal lands – check. Merge with other anti-hunting groups to form multi-million dollar mega animal rights group –  check.

This is how the Humane Society of the United States plans to pick off your hunting and trapping heritage – and it is only getting started. A recent online message from HSUS President Wayne Pacelle spells out what aspects of the traditional lifestyle are next on the hit list.

Family Hunting Opportunities in the Crosshairs

Right off the bat, the HSUS has its sights on the Families Afield campaign.

Families Afield is promoted by the USSA, National Wild Turkey Federation and National Shooting Sports Foundation to breakdown hunting barriers and increase hunter recruitment. Through the program, the partnership works to eliminate hunting age requirements and ease hunter education mandates for first-time hunters.

The HSUS falsely claims the program "places children in unnecessary danger." It hopes to feed on the public’s weariness of children with firearms, but sportsmen must accurately convey the message that youth hunting is safe.

"Research documents that the most important factor affecting youth hunting safety is the presence of a responsible, attentive adult hunter," said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president. "Available data from states that have implemented Families Afield initiatives reveals that apprentice hunting license programs brought nearly 34,000 new hunters to the field in 2006, without a single hunting-related shooting incident."

Any Given Sunday

For the sportsmen who work during the week, Sunday may be the only chance they have to sit in a tree stand or try out a new game call, but the anti’s shake their fingers at that as well.

"The Humane Society misrepresents the truth when it claims that ‘hunters have six days a week to themselves in the woods,’ and it calls on the public to oppose Sunday hunting opportunities," said Pidgeon. "The group’s statement gives the impression that Sundays are the only days that non-hunters may enter the woods during hunting season, which is obviously completely false."

The truth is 39 states permit Sunday hunting to make it more convenient for families to find time in the field together. Eleven states prohibit or heavily restrict Sunday hunting. Ohio reports Sunday as the day with the fewest hunting complaints.

There’s a Coalition for That

The USSA’s Sporting Dog Defense Coalition and the Bear Hunter Rights Coalition were formed as the anti’s threats to the particular hunting activities grew more frequent and more severe. Many bear hunters, houndsmen and sporting dog enthusiasts recognized the plight and have already joined the coalitions, but for those who have not, let this be your wake-up call - HSUS considers your hunting method "unsporting" and it is about to kick efforts to ban the activities into high gear.

The elimination of bear baiting is one of HSUS’s top priorities. The USSA has worked to defeat the organization’s efforts to abolish the activity, including ballot initiatives in Maine and Alaska, for example. The Bear Hunter Rights Coalition went head to head with HSUS to defend legislative threats to bear hunting at the state and federal levels.

Now, HSUS is revving its engine and spreading emotional rhetoric to gain traction with the public and leave black bear hunting in the dust.

Let’s not forget the houndsmen and sporting dog enthusiasts - HSUS sure hasn’t. Consider yourselves warned. The recent flood of efforts to interfere with and ban sporting dog activities was just the beginning. HSUS has officially called you out. You can bet that the worst is yet to come.


"The Sporting Dog Defense Coalition has battled a recent influx of anti-sporting dog regulations and legislation from Rhode Island to California," said Pidgeon. "The anti’s are subtly attacking sportsmen who hunt with dogs by advocating blurred animal cruelty laws, oppressive dog care regulations, and other vague bills that will do away with sporting dog activities and training programs, including field trialing."

The Future is in Your Hands

Sportsmen cannot be idle while HSUS and the anti-hunting movement bulldoze the outdoor heritage. Join the USSA to protect America’s heritage of hunting, fishing and trapping. Unite with us to protect against legal and legislative attacks by the anti’s. Join the effort to ensure the outdoor heritage by involving families in the outdoor experience and share the good news about the sportsman’s stewardship role in wildlife conservation.

Visit  www.ussportsmen.org  to learn more about the USSA and discover the importance of becoming a USSA member

[Texas Tinman]

Thanks for posting...I'm passing this on to others as well!

[Ray Hammond]

joined as a Bowhunter member...you should too. these folks do great work.

[TSHOOTER]

Just now joined as well...lets all do our part to preserve our rights!  Thanks for the post V13.

[vermonster13]

Thats what I do. The USSA can be a pain to work with sometimes but they are still a good group.

[vermontrad]

Scary... Another use for the term freedom isn't free! I'm joining USSA...

[vermonster13]

PETA HAS PROPOSED AN EXCISE TAX ON MEAT!

Are you a meat and potatoes kind of guy? If you like a good burger and fries, or fried chicken and biscuits, animal activists think you ought to pay more for your meal.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has kicked off a new “Tax Meat” Campaign, proposing a $.10 per pound excise tax to be paid on meat, the same way that gasoline, tobacco, and alcohol taxes are paid so that tax is calculated into the retail price.


PETA suggests that money raised by its “Tax Meat” scheme could be “put into health education and preventative medicine.” Translation – the money could be used to advocate vegetarian and vegan diets and promote the animal rights movement.

Animal activists have also asked federal lawmakers to give tax breaks to those who have sworn off the consumption of animals.

On May 30, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk sent letters to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nanci Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging them to extend vegetarians the tax breaks that hybrid car owners receive for purchasing vehicles with low carbon emissions. She claims vegetarians are responsible for fewer greenhouse-gas emissions and environmental degradations than meat-eaters

[vermonster13]

(Columbus) – The Humane Society of the United States is trying to dodge the spotlight that is illuminating its anti-hunting agenda.

 

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), the nation’s premier sportsmen’s advocacy organization, exposed the group’s agenda when it called on Microsoft to end an enormous fundraising project that will finance HSUS campaigns to ban hunting.

 

In the wake of controversy over Microsoft’s donation to the animal rights group, HSUS Executive Vice President for External Affairs Michael Markarian made claims that his group has no agenda to eliminate hunting. He all but said such a stance would be unpopular as he highlighted his organization’s healthy membership base and said, “you don’t build that type of support unless you have a mainstream mission.”

 

The Humane Society of the United States tries to market itself as a ‘mainstream’ organization to which every dog and cat owner should belong, but the USSA won’t let HSUS hid the anti-hunting skeletons in its closet. Here are some recent examples of the Humane Society of the United States’ anti-hunting position:

 

·                     Led a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Michigan (contributing $1.6 million to the effort);

·                     Successfully lobbied for the cancellation of the 2006 New Jersey black bear hunt;

·                     Opposes hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and is a plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit to ban hunting on federal lands;

·                     Took the lead in a 1994 ballot campaign to ban cougar hunting and bear hunting in Oregon, and has opposed recent efforts to allow hunting to control these wildlife populations;

·                     The organization’s Wildlife Land Trust Program permanently bans hunting and trapping on properties that come under its control.

 

A recent decree from HSUS President Wayne Pacelle spells out which aspects of the traditional lifestyle are next on the organization’s hit list.

 

Pacelle referenced HSUS opposition to hunter recruitment campaigns that encourage newcomers and children to participate in outdoor sports. He also highlighted the organization’s efforts to eliminate legal bear hunting practices and hunting with hounds.

 

“The Humane Society of the United States invests millions of dollars in efforts to ban hunting and trapping, and it’s time that companies like Microsoft stop adding to the warchest,” said USSA President Bud Pidgeon.

 

The USSA and American sportsmen have sounded off to Microsoft urging the company to end its relationship with HSUS.

 

On June 5, Microsoft brushed aside thousands of calls, letters and faxes it received from sportsmen and issued a statement that it “will continue its affiliation with the Humane Society of the United States.” It went on to express excitement with the partnership and tells sportsmen that it does “not plan to make changes in our relationships.”

 

Sportsmen have been protesting the relationship since the USSA last week informed the conservation community of the software giant’s $100,000 commitment to the anti-hunting group. The HSUS is also to be part of a pilot fundraising venture that will generate uncapped donations.

 

Sportsmen should continue to contact Microsoft and demand that its financial support of HSUS be terminated. Contact Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (425) 882-8080. Fax: (425) 936-7329.

 

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs.  For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website,  www.ussportsmen.org.