U.S. Rep. Don Young (R, Alaska) refused an award from the Humane Society Legislative Fund this week, because, he says, "HSUS are hypocrites, plain and simple . . . They run anti-hunting and anti-trapping campaigns and are of the same cloth as PETA and other extremist organizations." No, they are anything but extremists.
HSLF is the lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the US. HSLF and HSUS are unequivocably animal welfare organizations. Unlike PETA, their goal is not to end animal use, but to regulate it. HSUS and HSLF take mainstream animal protection positions, campaigning against obvious animal cruelty like fur, trophy hunting and factory farming. In fact, some animal advocates were disappointed when HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle said in a 2009 interview that HSUS campaigns for more humane production, transport and slaughter, and does not push veganism. HSUS also backs the "Certified Humane Raised and Handled" label, for meat from animals who have been raised according to the standards of Humane Farm Animal Care. These are animal welfare positions, regulating the way the animals are treated instead of opposing their use.
Considering that Young received a score of only 20% on the HSLF Humane Scorecard, I was surprised that HSLF would offer him an award. I asked Mike Markarian, president of HSLF, about it, and he explained:
HSUS and HSLF give awards each year to members of Congress who are lead sponsors of animal protection bills, and we recognized Rep. Young for introducing the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments (H.R. 844) in the 111th Congress. We disagree with his views on most animal welfare policies, but we also believe in giving credit where credit is due and recognizing positive actions.
H.R. 844 would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and help rescue and rehabilitate stranded or entangled marine mammals.
As of April 5, 2011, Young was still listed as an award recipient on the HSLF website.
Animal exploiters like to call HSUS "extremist" because they want the public to oppose and fear mainstream animal welfare reforms. Personally, I would love to see HSUS adopt an animal rights position, opposing all uses of animals and explicitly campaigning for veganism. But that's not where they stand. An "extremist" animal rights group wouldn't have offered Young the award.
On the other hand, Young is a hunter and a board member of the National Rifle Association - an organization that openly and explicitly opposes gun registration, ammunition registration, criminal background checks for gun sales, bans on "cop killer" bullets, and bans on lead ammunition. And he's calling HSUS "extremists"?
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Sort of pitiful when you think about it…that such a pro-violence and killing person is selected for an award. This sort of stuff is what creates confusion for me re the notion of supporting any movement in the direction of improving the lot of our fellow animals.
Why on earth would this man deserve an award? I’m baffled.
I am tired of hearing that HSUS critics are greedy exploiters who fear animal welfare reforms and are threatened by HSUS’s effectiveness. HSUS’s biggest critics are leaders in animal protection. They object to HSUS’s deceptive fundraising practices; partnership with Michael Vick; Katrina profiteering that led to an 18 month investigation by the Louisiana Attorney General; and Wayne Pacelle’s long pattern of “theft of credit.” They include Friends of Animals, Bad Rap, Nathan Wingograd (read his “Betrayal and Deceit at the Humane Society of the United States”), Steve Dale, and dozens of rescuers/HSUS volunteers so outraged by what they witnessed, they complained to the AG. (HSUS couldn’t account for most of the $34 million and had to use the loophole that they don’t raise money for individual disasters but their disaster relief fund as a whole.) Critics also include Ronnie Graves, Allen Schwartz and the entire 12 member Emergency Rescue team, who quit in 2009 rather than work for Pacelle’s cowboy/SWAT team dude Scotlund Haisley. Many other good people have left, tired of trying to defend HSUS through scandal after scandal.
As far as Rep. Young goes, I agree with his reasons for refusing the award, which are less political than moral: using lies to get people to contribute, preying on animal lovers to finance a bloated bureaucracy filled with lobbyists and PR hacks. And don’t believe Pacelle’s phony statistics about how many members HSUS has (500,000 not “11 million”) or how many animals HSUS “rescues” and “provides direct care to.” He counts tens of thousands of animals that HSUS has nothing to do with.
Wayne who will support anything that benefits himself, has also lavishly praised/given awards to people like Rick Santorum, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and scandal-plagued pols like John Ensign, Chris Sweeney and Jim Moran. And he recently said Vick would be a good pet owner.
I agree. Wayne and the HSUS need to get away from welfare and more toward rights. Eliminate killing of animals for human wants, don’t accept it.