The Humane Society Myth...

Briefly, in a previous poorly written thought of mine, I mentioned that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has a very different agenda than what you see on TV. I realize that saying something like that without any explanation makes it a fairly empty statement, so hear is what I was referring to.

We have all seen the HSUS ads featuring some compassionate celebrity and a bunch of pictures of abused and ragged looking pets asking for your donation of a small monthly fee to help stop the cruelty. Animal abuse is an unnecessary and unacceptable occurrence, so we are emotionally moved and feel the need to help out financially. Unfortunately, what the commercials leave out might be more important than what they include. According to John Dillard, an insightful student at Richmond Law School (I came across his article via a link on beefmagazine.com - check out the website), the HSUS is NOT a nationwide organization of animal shelters like they lead you to believe. They, in fact, do not have any connection to the local shelters we depend on to collect and care for abused and/or stray animals found around our communities. The Humane Society's real agenda (where your donated funding actually ends up) is the complete elimination of animal agriculture in the US. This is not a joke, and this is not some made up fact created in a desperate attempt to win over your approval, it is simply the truth. The organization is completely removed from agriculture (they do not understand it) and well funded - significantly more than $100 million is collected every year that is used to lobby against farmers.

Dont believe me? Think about this: the local animal shelter (that is desperately needed) in Shippenville closed recently due to - get ready - a lack of funding! Why on earth would a collection point that really does help animals (remember how many they cared for before the doors closed?) shut down due to a lack of money if the national organization is pulling down $180 million a year without batting an eye? The answer is simple enough: there is no connection between the HSUS and our small animal shelters. Keep this in mind: if you or someone you know feel the need to help out dilapidated animals, donate your money directly to the shelter in your area where it will actually be used for good, not by credit card in response to a commercial. When your money stays in the area, you will be able to see the benefits instead of watching them disappear.

It frightens me that such a sly organization with a hidden agenda is calling the shots for farmers. HSUS is using their money to place completely unreasonable regulations on agriculture that they have never been a part of and do not understand. Once they have moved enough money around through the right people and succeed with their latest "great" idea, they high-five and move on to the next farm-restricting project while the farmers (like my dad and uncle, our friends who own farms, and every other farm family in the country), the people who provide YOUR food, are left scrambling in the wake trying to comply with new restrictions and stay in business (this is costly and nearly impossible).

Think about the most recent California fiasco (proposition 2) involving chicken, dairy, and hog farmers. Thanks to some tricky ballot placements and some celebrity endorsements (yes, they give most of their money to celebrities instead of directing it to help find homes for abandoned pets), the Humane Society made voting "yes" for the proposition seem like a kind and necessary gesture. Proposition 2 takes effect in 2015 and requires California farmers to completely redesign animal facilities to comply with the HSUS agenda, costing them millions of dollars that simply are not available. Rather than changing to comply with the laws, farmers are going to stop producing in the state. Production will be moved far away to states with reasonable regulations, concentrating animal production even more and increasing the cost and food miles of products in California grocery stores. Good plan, HSUS, way to think that one through.

Unfortunate situations such as this would not occur if media, politicians, and the public would listen to agricultural experts rather than a group of ignorant outsiders. A reality of the coming years is farmers must make a connection to the public in any way possible and spread the real story. Make some effort to learn about new farming technologies and seek out what farmers are doing to help minimize their effect on the environment (I bet you will be surprised - the media is leaving out a lot). Our nation must open its mind to the truth instead of blindly following whoever has the most money and celebrity endorsements before agriculture is forced outside of our borders...if you think depending on other countries for oil is bad, wait until we rely on them for food...