Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
A fan sent us a direct mail piece that he received recently from HSUS. Once again, it’s raining cats and dogs in a manner that surely fools its recipients. Click here for a copy. (We encourage anyone to send us copies of HSUS materials. Email info@HumaneWatch.org
for details.) Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
Michigan wolf management is now in the hands of a Washington D.C. federal district court judge. At issue is whether wolf populations have fully recovered. On one side of the matter is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which claims that the gray wolf still needs protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); on the other side is the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) and others such as Michigan United Conservation Clubs defending the 2011 delisting rule against the HSUS lawsuit.
The decision may well determine whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has the authority to delist recovered populations of a species, and return that recovered population to state management, while continuing to manage populations of the same species in different locales under the ESA. Read more
Nearly 80,000 signatures were delivered to the Secretary of State’s office this afternoon – enough, say activists, to get a bear hunting referendum on the ballot this November. The group Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting wants to end the practices of baiting, trapping, and hounding. Details of the HSUS’ interference with sound game management are here…
This from www.HumaneWatch.org
Whenever we point out that the independent watchdog CharityWatch gives the Humane Society of the United States a C-minus grade, HSUS usually retorts that it gets four stars (out of four) from Charity Navigator, a different evaluator. No more.
Today we learned Charity Navigator has downgraded HSUS from four stars to three. The reason? After we filed an IRS complaint against HSUS last fall, alleging that HSUS had improperly inflated its revenue for several years, HSUS filed amended tax returns. (Independent experts, such as CharityWatch and a Minnesota tax attorney, also thought HSUS was in the wrong.) Based on this amended data, Charity Navigator has revised its rating of HSUS and downgraded the group. Read more
The troop leader of the Navarra Boy Scout Troop located in Florida has come under scrutiny from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after demonstrating how to clean and cook two rabbits during a 36-hour wilderness survival training lesson. James Gary received a letter from PETA expressing their disapproval after he posted a photo of his scouts holding a dead rabbit on his Facebook page. Read more
Because there is no dispute that the wolf populations in the Great Lake states have met and exceeded all recovery goals, HSUS has advanced baseless legal theories that, if accepted, would make it extremely difficult to ever take any species off the lists of endangered or threatened species.
Over the last six months, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) has been hard at work defending against a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) seeking to return the recovered wolf population in the Great Lakes states to the Endangered Species List (ESA). Just last week, USSAF submitted its last brief in the case and is now awaiting the judge’s decision. Read more
Fish and Game prefers to manage wolf populations using hunters and trappers and only authorizes control actions where harvest has been insufficient to meet management goals.
Idaho Fish and Game, in cooperation with the USDA Wildlife Services, has completed another wolf control action in northern Idaho’s Lolo elk zone near the Idaho/Montana border to improve poor elk survival in the area.
In February, Wildlife Services agents killed 23 wolves from a helicopter. The action is consistent with Idaho’s predation management plan for the Lolo elk zone, where predation is the major reason elk population numbers are considerably below management objectives. Read more
This from www.HumaneWatch.org…
Several years ago the Humane Society of the United States launched “Humane Society University”—but don’t let the name fool you, it wasn’t a legitimate institute of higher education. HSU was not accredited as a degree-granting institution. And it now seems to be a nearly non-existent entity.
HSU’s website announces that classes are suspended indefinitely. HSU “is currently not accepting applications for enrollment into the College of Arts and Sciences”—we presume this is a liberal use of the word “college”—and “Online professional development programs are under review and no courses are being offered during the Winter term.” HSU president Michael Blackwell has abruptly become a senior director at HSUS, where he can be a white-coated flak. The website is lacking much of the content it had previously.
Translation: School’s out. Perhaps for good. Read more
Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain, Jay’s Sporting Goods, Frank’s Great Outdoors and many other great outdoor retailers in Michigan are helping us protect our hunting and fishing rights by letting us collect signatures for the Scientific Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act petition in their stores!
This is the petition that will make sure that Michigan’s fish and wildlife are managed with sound science, defeat the anti-hunters, fight Asian carp, and preserve free military hunting and fishing licenses.
All we need is volunteers like you willing to spend a few fun hours collecting signatures and talking to fellow outdoorsmen and women about protecting our hunting rights.
Our goal is to make sure someone is collecting signatures in each of these stores every day that they’re open – will you help? Sign up today!
Paid for by with regulated funds by Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, PO Box 11082, Lansing, MI 48901
The Arizona House of Representatives voted to approve two measures that will make life more difficult for sporting dog owners and those interested in getting involved with hunting dogs. Read more