Debate continues today on the Continuing Resolution in the U.S. The bill would fund the government for the rest of the current fiscal year. Many amendments have been proposed and AFBF has taken a position on 22 of them. Today an amendment was approved that would cut $2 million from the Bureau of Land Management’s [...]
Archive for the ‘Animal Welfare’ Category
11 Feb
Washington Egg Bills Aim to Short-circuit HSUS Initiative
Egg producers in Washington are working to prempt HSUS and its planned ballot measure to limit the food choice of citizens in the state. Two bills which carry bipartisan support are working their way through the Washington legislature would establish minimum standards for egg laying hen farms. The bills would codify the United Egg Producer [...]
20 Jan
HSUS Targets Washington State
Earlier this week two animal activist groups, The Humane Society of the United States and Farm Sanctuary, filed initiative language on egg production in Washington State. The language is similar to the text of Prop 2 in California in that it would require egg producers in the state to give hens enough room to turn [...]
30 Dec
Pacelle, Vick, and the Quote of the Year
By now you will have all heard about Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, saying that convicted dog torturer Michel Vick “would do a good job as a pet owner.” HumaneWatch has followed the story and the fallout closely, first here and then here.The comment is preposterous of course and HumaneWatch wonders if Humane Wayne has [...]
21 Dec
Food Network Host Praises U.S. Beef Processing
Ellie Krieger, a dietitian and host of Food Networks, “Healthy Appetite” was featured on the digital pages of the Huffington Post this morning praising the beef industry after touring a Cargill meat packing plant in Texas. Rather, I am stunned by how humanly the animals were treated and by the detailed attention given to food [...]
16 Dec
Nearly Half of Every Dollar Raised by HSUS Goes to Overhead
The Humane Society of the United States spends nearly half of every dollar donated on fundraising and other overhead costs, according to the Center for Consumer Freedom. The data comes from an analysis of HSUS’ 2009 federal tax return by Animal People News. Earlier this year, the American Institute of Philanthropy (which runs CharityWatch.org) downgraded [...]
10 Dec
Nebraska governor on HSUS: ‘We’re going to beat them’
The governor of Nebraska is sending a strong message to the Humane Society of the United States—if the animal rights group goes after the state’s livestock industry, it’s in for a fight. “The Humane Society of the United States is anti-agriculture and they’re out to destroy animal agriculture—and if they want to come to Nebraska, [...]
5 Dec
Rabies Vaccination Recommended
The High Plains Journal reported Colorado State University veterinarians’ recommendation to vaccinate livestock and horses against rabies due to an increased number of infected skunks in the state. Increased infected wildlife is creating concern and imposing a need for precaution. Although bats have spread the disease for years, the increase in other wildlife infections is [...]
4 Nov
HSUS, Campaigns, and You
If you haven’t heard, the state of Missouri passed Proposition B by a vote of 51.6 % to 48.4%. This measure was aimed at bringing increased regulation to commercial dog breeders and was heavily supported by HSUS. The fact that HSUS supported Prop B is not a big story. They will support almost anything that [...]
4 Nov
Pickens’ Horse Sanctuary Gets a ‘NO’ from County Commissioners
Elko county commissioners rejected supporting Madeleine Pickens’ plan for a wild-horse sanctuary. Madeleine, the wife of T. Boone Pickens, shared her vision of Mustang Monument, a sanctuary where wild horses could roam free, which would attract tourists as well with covered wagon rides, campfires and other amenities. The commission followed precedent and declined to support [...]
7 Oct
What Can You Do with a Pig?
From the blog Animal Wrongs… Debunking the Animal Rights Campaign of Misinformation Check out this interesting and informative lecture given at a TED talk. Christien Meindertsma, author of “Pig 05049″ looks at the astonishing afterlife of the ordinary pig, parts of which make their way into at least 187 non-pork products, from bullets to artificial [...]
7 Oct
Consumers Believe HSUS, PETA Over Ag Groups
New research from the Center for Food Integrity shows most consumers are twice as likely to believe the Humane Society of the United States and People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals over farm organizations when it comes to humane treatment of farm animals. The research was released Wednesday at the CFI’s Food Summit, held [...]
17 Sep
Media has Negative Effect on Meat Consumption
Media attention to animal welfare issues corresponds to lower demands for meat both in that quarter and the following quarter, according to an economic analysis from Kansas State University. The researchers created an index of stories about animal welfare presented in top U.S. newspapers and magazines from 1982 to 2008 for the analysis. All indices [...]
15 Sep
AVMA Executive Takes on HSUS
HumaneWatch brought our attention this morning to a YouTube video which shows Dr. Ron DeHaven, the Executive Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), speaking last August. Mr. DeHaven takes the Humane Society of the United States, and specifically HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, to task for favoring scare tactics and emotionalism over science [...]
17 Aug
Activists Share Anti-Agriculture Agenda at Conferences
Animal agriculture was under attack at the Animal Rights 2010 Conference and the Humane Society of the United States-hosted Taking Action for Animals, two of the nation’s largest animal rights events. Both meetings were held in Washington, D.C. during July 2010. AR 2010 and TAFA brought together more than 1,000 activists to discuss the political [...]
17 Aug
HSUS and Its Uncharitable Ways
The relationship between the super-rich Humane Society of the United States and the thousands of (often very poor) U.S. pet shelters is the stuff of legend in the animal rights movement. We’ve heard stories about HSUS using its checkbook as both carrot and stick, and a large number of pet sheltering professionals—the folks who do [...]
12 Jul
San Francisco Considering Banning the Sale of Pets
If you sell a bird or a snake in San Francisco, you could wind up in jail. The city’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare will consider an ordinance tonight that would make it a crime to sell pets – including dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats — everything except for fish. If the ordinance is [...]
23 Jun
California Passes New Imported Egg Bill
California restaurants and supermarkets will be required to import only eggs produced in compliance with the 2008 ballot measure Proposition 2, or Prop 2, according to legislation that has now passed the California General Assembly and is heading to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his signature. Prop 2 requires that hens have sufficient space to sit [...]
25 May
Senate Vote on Murkowski Resolution Expected by June 10
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for a vote on her resolution that essentially vetoes the Environmental Protection Agency’s scheme to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Debate and a vote is expected by June 10, after the Senate returns from its Memorial Day [...]
25 May
Judge Dismisses Nevada Wild Horse Roundup Lawsuit
A federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by horse activists that sought to halt the roundups of wild horses in Nevada and the stockpiling of the animals in Midwestern facilities. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington, D.C. dismissed In Defense of Animals, Craig Downer, a Nevada wildlife ecologist, and Verdi children’s author Terri [...]
25 May
CSU to Host Beef University
Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences is offering Beef University, a hands-on workshop on Thursday, June 3 and Friday, June 4 at CSU’s Agricultural Research Development and Educational Center, 4482 E. County Road 56, Fort Collins. This day-and-a-half workshop is open to all individuals seeking beef knowledge. The workshop topics include: Beef quality Cattle [...]
12 May
Americans Buy Conventional Eggs 40:1
When it comes to eggs, choices being made in the U.S. marketplace seem pretty overwhelming. A report published by Feedstuffs Online revealed today that Americans buy conventional eggs from cage housing systems in a ratio of 40:1 compared to cage-free eggs. That information originated from Information Resources Inc. (IRI), a firm that tracks checkout scanner [...]
16 Apr
McDonald’s Urges ‘No’ Vote on Cage-Free Eggs
The board of directors of McDonald’s has recommended that the company’s shareholders vote against a proposal to require that 5 percent of the eggs purchased for the chain’s restaurants in the United States be the cage-free variety. The proposal was advanced by the Humane Society of the United States. The McDonald’s board said that the [...]
9 Apr
Ohio Governor Appoints Members to Livestock Care Board
The naming of the members of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board is “a great step toward Ohioans taking control of animal care issues,” according to John C. (Jack) Fisher, executive vice president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF). “Now we all have the responsibility to participate in the process,” he added. The majority [...]
6 Apr
4-H Gets Pushback for HSUS Presentation
Head, Heart, Hands and HSUS? The National 4-H Organization is catching heat for allowing the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to make a presentation at the National 4-H Conference in late March. The focus of the conference’s workshops was supposed to be civic engagement, community service and youth volunteerism. However, some of those [...]
5 Apr
HSUS Downgraded by Charity Evaluator
New ratings from Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities, show a downgrade for the Humane Society of the United States. “Charity Navigator now gives HSUS a lower level of trustworthiness than the notoriously radical People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),” the Center for Consumer Freedom points out in a press [...]
18 Mar
Kentucky House Committee Passes Farm Animal Care Bill
Kentucky’s House Agriculture and Small Business Committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a revised version of a Senate bill that establishes a commission to set care standards for farm animals. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration. Kentucky Senate Bill 105 seeks to prevent extremist animal rights groups from setting policy, while also [...]
16 Mar
Canada Confirms New BSE Case
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the country’s 17th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) since 2003, in a 6-year-old beef cow in the province of Alberta. No part of the animal’s carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems, according to the CFIA. Officials report that the birth farm of the [...]
8 Mar
A ‘W’ for Western Civilization
Voters in Switzerland this weekend roundly rejected a proposal that would have provided abused animals with defense lawyers. The rejection was a disappointment for animal advocates in Switzerland, a country that currently has the worlds strictest animal care laws on the books. According to the AP… Tiana Angelina Moser, a lawmaker for the Green Liberal [...]
3 Mar
Majority of Americans Wrongly Believe HSUS is a Pet Shelter ‘Umbrella Group’
Consumer Group Reminds Americans that Less than One Percent of Donations to HSUS Benefit Local Pet Shelters Seventy-one percent of Americans questioned in a new opinion poll wrongly believe the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an “umbrella group” for America’s local humane societies. Sixty-three percent incorrectly think their local “humane society” is [...]
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