Category: Animal Rights

SCI Members on This Morning’s “Today Show “ on NBC

Between 7:40 and 8:00 a.m. this morning, (Safari Club International) SCI members Tess and Andrew Talley will appear on NBC’s “Today Show” along with SCI President Paul Babaz. The Talleys will recount the savage social media attacks they suffered after social media trolls dredged-up a photo when she took an old giraffe on a legal hunt in South Africa.

The appearance is part of SCI’s new communications effort to engage the media in order to get the facts about the good things hunters and hunting do around the world –and countering the lies of anti-hunters with the best science-based research possible. SCI recognizes the danger of direct engagement – misinterpretation- but says it is an “acceptable risk” in order to counter the so-called “facts” used by anti-hunting groups.

Animal Rights, Hunting

PETA Defends Extremist Group’s Illegal Activity

This from HumaneWatch.org…

If you thought PETA had moderated itself since PETA provided money to an Animal Liberation Front member who burned down a university lab—think again. PETA seems to be heading into a full-fledged romance with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a zealous group of young activists with the urge to yell and scream at people enjoying meat in restaurants.

DxE, with the goal of “total animal liberation,” was founded by Wayne Hsiung, who is now facing felony charges after allegedly trespassing on a farm and stealing a baby goat. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk swiftly jumped to Hsiung’s defense saying he shouldn’t have to go to jail and saying that actions like his are “necessary” for a successful movement.

And that’s not the only time PETA has defended members of DxE. In May, six DxE operatives (including Hsiung) were charged with felonies for burglary and theft after reportedly breaking into a farm in Utah. Following this incident, the official PETA Twitter account posted a message saying the activists “shouldn’t be punished.”

PETA’s connections to DxE don’t end there. Last October, Newkirk spoke at a DxE event where Hsiung also spoke, showing that PETA is willing to share the stage with someone willing to break the law. And in San Francisco, DxE hosted a rally with city supervisor Katy Tang, who later received an award from PETA. Read more

Animal Rights

SCI Counters Antis’ Lies About Federal Commission

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Contact: Steve Comus
Email:scomus@safariclub.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Safari Club International isn’t about to sit by idly as anti-hunters attack a federal conservation council and its members.
Anti-hunters never let facts get in the way of an emotionally-based false argument, as is evidenced in their attacks in the media on tomorrow’s meeting of the International Wildlife Conservation Council in Atlanta, GA.
“The shameful criticisms of the IWCC from the anti-hunting community are not surprising but are characteristically unfounded and disappointing,” said SCI President Paul Babaz. “Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has assembled an advisory group of individuals with scientific expertise and hands-on experience with the conservation strategies that are succeeding in Africa and elsewhere around the world.
“Not only is the hunting carried out by the members of the IWCC and their constituencies sustainable, but it has been recognized by scientific authorities around the world, including by the IUCN and CITES, as having a significant role in the conservation of many species.  It is time for the anti-hunters to grow-up and recognize that hunting has historically played and will continue to play an important part in international wildlife management and conservation,” Babaz stated.

Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Report: HSUS Pays Twice What it Receives in Fundraising

HumaneWatch recently wrote about the bizarre tale of HSUS fundraiser Loop NYC, which appears to raise money by soliciting random strangers on the New York subway system. For anyone who’s ever been on the system, this has to be one of the dumbest strategies: People want to avoid other people on the New York subway, not give them their credit card info.

One thing that caught our eye was the claim from the marketing firm that for every dollar a solicitor raised for HSUS, he received two. This is what one might call “fuzzy math.” Here’s how it works—and why it’s terrible for charities to do.

A charity, in this case HSUS, pays a solicitor money to attempt to raise funds. In some cases, the payment may be more than a solicitor actually raises (if the solicitor charges by the hour or by the call, for instance). Some veterans charities have been called out for operating in this way, whereby they raise millions but the solicitor keeps close to 100% of what’s raised and the veterans see next to nothing. (Or, in HSUS’s case, homeless animals see next to nothing.)

The charities defend this practice by saying they are essentially prospecting—they’re paying for a fund raiser to build a mailing list of donors that the charity can then reach out to, on its own, years down the line. But this fact is not made clear to donors, who think their money is being used now for charity—not put into the pockets of a fundraiser.

If solicitors were honest about it, people wouldn’t donate. That’s how you know it is a deceptive fundraising practice. And blame should be shared equally between both the solicitor and the charity, since they have an agreed-upon, detailed contract about the solicitation activity.

Animal Rights

They Cull Lions, Don’t They?

By Steve Scott

Editor’s Note: This feature first appeared in The Outfitters Wire (www.outfitterswire.com)

Remember Cecil the lion; the “iconic” lion shot by an American client of a professional hunter who didn’t have the requisite permit? The fallout was memorable:  from internet trolls to the Ricky Gervais’ and Jimmy Kimmel’s of the world condemned the hunter in particular and lion hunting in general as a barbaric act with no place in our modern society. And with the outcry of the masses, the Obama administration leapt into action, barring any further import of lions into the United States. It was a victory for the lions, right? Well, not exactly.

In what has come to be known as the “Cecil effect,” big-game hunting in Zimbabwe, especially for lions, has seen hunter’s numbers diminish to historic lows. And though a few lions from certain countries under certain conditions can be imported under new Trump administration rules, lion hunters are not exactly coming back in droves. The fear of capricious prosecution from a third-world government, or more likely, the fear of the social media equivalent of a tar and feathering has led to reluctant hunters and a dangerous lion overpopulation in one of Zimbabwe’s few quality wildlife areas, the Bubye Valley Conservancy. Because the lion’s numbers are skyrocketing due to lack of a sustainable hunting harvest, Bubye Valley Conservancy will likely have to cull at least 200 of the 500-plus apex predator’s roaming within its borders.

In a dramatic case of lions behaving…as lions, the big cats are taking a bite out of the populations of numerous species of antelope as well, including sable, kudu, and giraffe just to name a few. But it’s not only the antelope who suffer. Lesser predators such as leopard, cheetah, and the endangered wild dogs are finding it harder to make a living in the dwindling game fields.

Fortunately, there is a solution, but it is a harsh one; Nature’s solution. Lions will devour the ever decreasing herds of antelope to a point where there are so few game animals left, the hungry predators start killing domestic cattle, goats, dogs, indigenous people, you know, a sequel of The Ghost and the Darkness until eventually, mass die-offs of most species and then voila! No more lions. Oh a few will survive, but in such small numbers there will be time for the other species to rebound. It is Nature’s way. For in a world with 7.3 billion people and growing, wildlife has to pay its way. And since lions are no longer pulling their metaphoric conservation weight, 200 of their number are going to have to die anyway. Only this way, it is without the approximate $1,000,000 sustainable use hunting would have generated for the benefit of conservation. So congratulations to the anti-hunting lynch mob. You win and lions lose.

 

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife ,

CharityWatch Downgrades Humane Society of the U.S. to “D” Rating

On the heels of the Humane Society of the United States being downgraded by Charity Navigator and losing its accreditation from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a third charity watchdog has some bad news for America’s supposed “most effective” animal charity. The respected CharityWatch has downgraded HSUS to a “D” grade in its most recent rankings due to HSUS’s highly inefficient spending practices.

CharityWatch takes a broad look at the consolidated finances of several HSUS entities and finds that 48% of HSUS’s budget is spent on overhead costs. (By our math, if you just count HSUS’s spending, over half of its budget goes to overhead.)

Even worse, HSUS cloaks millions of dollars in overhead as program costs. Essentially, HSUS counts fundraising material as “educational” costs. Imagine a direct-mail letter in which 75% of the letter is written off as an “educational” program expense, but only the last paragraphs asking for money are counted as “fundraising” overhead–even though the entire mailing is designed to raise money. HSUS counts millions of dollars as “program” expenses in this way.

This appears to be legal under accounting rules, but it’s a misleading and deceptive practice. HSUS tells people that 70 or 80 percent of its budget is spent on programs, when in reality it’s closer to just 50 percent.

If you want to effectively help animals, don’t give to the Humane Society of the United States. Instead, give to your local shelter.

Animal Rights

Houston Safari Club Awards Grant to Sportsmen’s Alliance

Houston, TX  – Houston Safari Club (HSC) continues its support of Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation through a grant of $15,000 to support their incredible efforts to defend hunting, fishing and trapping against lawsuits, legislation and ballot issues initiated by animal rights and anti-hunting organizations.

For 40 years, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation has been able to achieve a 95% success rate of defeating anti-hunting led initiatives. Unfortunately, the number of new anti-hunting initiatives is increasing and the only way they can meet those challenges is with increased funding from supporters like HSC. “We’re extremely grateful that the Board and members of the Houston Safari Club continue to demonstrate the importance of fighting to protect our heritage,” said Evan Heusinkveld, Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation president and CEO. “It’s through the commitment of organizations like HSC that we’re able to engage in battles all across the country.” Read more

Animal Rights, Fishing, Hunting

BBB Removes Accreditation of Humane Society of the United States

Things just keep getting worse following the sexual harassment scandal at the Humane Society of the United States. Following the resignations of CEO Wayne Pacelle and Vice President Paul Shapiro earlier this year, the charity has now lost its accreditation from the Better Business Bureau’s charity-accreditation arm, the Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA). This news comes after Charity Navigator downgraded its rating of HSUS to just 2 stars out of 4—including a lowly 1 star for financial metrics, indicative of financial waste at the nonprofit. Animal Charity Evaluators, which recommends animal-rights nonprofits, has also pulled its approval of HSUS.

While the BBB hasn’t issued a statement for the removal of HSUS’s accreditation, it’s safe to assume the HSUS board’s initial decision to retain Pacelle after its internal investigation turned up several credible accusations of sexual harassment was the impetus for BBB WGA to initiate a review.

What’s particularly noteworthy is that the BBB WGA has been notorious for having weak standards. The BBB WGA has come under fire in the past for taking thousands of dollars from the charities it accredits in licensing fees for the BBB logo, which creates a clear conflict of interest to keep the bar low for accreditation. But even the thousands that HSUS has given the BBB couldn’t keep them in the evaluator’s good graces in the wake of HSUS’s #MeToo scandal.

Animal Rights

HSUS VP Dines With Potential Animal Rights Terrorist

The Humane Society of the United States is not the cute, fuzzy group it sounds like based on its name and its ads. It is a group run by animal-liberation radicals from PETA and other groups who simply market themselves as moderates in order to raise cash—money that they use to fund their campaigns. HSUS leaders have defended the Animal Liberation Front (an FBI-designated terrorist group) and praised PETA, among other things.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that last week HSUS vice president Josh Balk had dinner with Wayne Hsiung, leader of the extremist group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE). The phrase “direct action,” according to the FBI, is “criminal activity designed to cause economic loss or to destroy property or operations.”

DxE has openly admitted to breaking into farms and stealing animals. The FBI is reportedly investigating following a DxE theft of piglets at a Utah farm. Under the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, passed in 2006, it is a crime  if someone “intentionally damages or causes the loss of any real or personal property (including animals or records) used by an animal enterprise … for the purpose of damaging or interfering with” its operations.

By its own admission, DxE appears to fit the legal bill of animal-rights terrorism. (DxE, of course, spins law-breaking as “open rescues” that are morally acceptable vigilante actions against “the system.”)

DxE is also known for its publicity stunt such as harassing restaurant guests eating a meal or haranguing people at the supermarket. DxE goes after animal protein suppliers that are considered by some to more humane, such as Whole Foods suppliers, because the group is against all meat, cheese, and eggs no matter how the animals are raised. DxE has the proposed goal of banning meat in Berkeley, CA, by 2025—and eventually everywhere. Essentially, they have the same agenda as PETA, except with more aggression and less killing of pets.

Why is an HSUS executive hanging out with this guy? Use Occam’s Razor. HSUS and Direct Action Everywhere have similar goals to stop Americans from enjoying meat, even if the means are different. HSUS needs to raise $100 million a year, so it’s not likely going to steal animals from farms and risk a federal investigation. But it seems to be another example of how HSUS leadership is quite cozy with the more radical members of the animal rights movement.

Animal Rights
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