Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
LEWISTON, Idaho – The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is aiming to control wolf populations with helicopter gunners and government trappers in north-central Idaho. Animal activists are sure to provide a howling response.
A court refused the Animal Protection League’s attempt to block the six-day bear hunt, and now the group has requested permission to protest at the weighing station in Franklin, N.J. They are whining because passing motorists might see bears being weighed.
Maybe they should keep their eyes on the road.
I sure don’t know how many times I have consumed horsemeat. But, I do remember when McDonald’s got in trouble for sneaking it into its burgers years ago – many years ago when I was a kid. No, I am not horsing around. I have a vivid memory regarding the horsemeat/fine announcement, although I have yet to find anything on the net referencing anything more than rumors.
I don’t recall the specific year, but I do remember where I was when I heard about it. I was returning from Plumbrook Golf Course (in suburban Detroit) with my father, after caddying for him in a golf league event. So, this would have put the matter on the calendar about 50 years ago. The news came over the am radio in the car on the way home, that McDonalds had been fined for using horsemeat in its burgers. Seems like the fine was $15,000 but I wouldn’t be on it.
Now, Obama has gone back on his campaign promise made to animal-rights whackos to keep horses from being slaughtered for meat.
Without getting into the debate about eating relatives of Mr. Ed, the point of this post is simple: Obama lied – again when he said he would support “a permanent ban on horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption.”
Guess what administration stopped the practice of killing horses for food. Yep, Bush did it when he stopped the funding of federal inspections in year 2006, thus ending the practice.
Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, has resigned amid inner turmoil of the whacko group and its current mission. So, who cares?
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/11/18/1911997/sierra-club-leader-unhappy-with.html
Here is the latest charity rating guide from CharityWatch (formerly the American Institute of Philanthropy). And once again, the Humane Society of the United States—a national animal-rights group, not a pet-sheltering organization—gets a “D” grade.
CharityWatch finds that HSUS spends as little as 49 percent of its budget on actual program costs, meaning the rest is overhead costs (salaries, pension plans, etc.). CharityWatch also determines that it takes HSUS up to 49 cents to raise every dollar.
For an organization that raises over $130 million a year, that adds up to considerable money spent on direct mail and telemarketers. In fact, HSUS spent almost $50 million on fundraising in 2010. All those tote bags and other doodads are tying up a lot of dollars that could be helping shelter pets. (Click the picture to enlarge.)
This is the fifth straight CharityWatch report in which HSUS has received a “D” grade, though it probably deserves an “F” for honesty given how much HSUS misleads Americans. That’s over a year and counting. Does anybody at HSUS care? Or are they satisfied with blowing doggie dollars, so long as it keeps the cash flowing?
When we formally launched HumaneWatch in February 2010, one of the first things we reported on was that the Humane Society of the United States and two of its lawyers were defendants in a federal racketeering lawsuit. There are some key updates that you should be aware of.
First, some background: A decade ago, animal-rights groups sued Feld Entertainment (parent company of the Ringling Brothers circus) alleging elephant abuse in violation of the Endangered Species Act. That lawsuit was dismissed by a US District Court, and a US Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal the other week.
The key witness in that case was a former circus employee named Tom Rider. The case dragged through the court system for years before a federal judge ruled in December 2009 that the animal-rights plaintiffs, which included the Fund for Animals (which merged with HSUS in 2004/2005), had engaged in essentially a pay-to-play scheme with Rider, who received at least $190,000 as the lawsuit made its way through the courts (his “sole source of income,” according to the ruling). Here’s part of the ruling (Markarian is an HSUS executive who used to run the Fund for Animals): Read more
Flying mullets? No, not a hairpiece blowing in the wind. Florida fish flinging, that’s what. Of course, it’s too much fun for Peta to bear…
MISSOULA, Mont.-The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has learned that an Oregon court has agreed to consider in its final ruling the RMEF motion outlining the need for science-based, state regulated wolf management. The court is reviewing the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s authority to manage and control wolves as part of a state-approved plan. Read more
Seems when the CBD decided to sue the U.S. Forest Service about cattle grazing allotments in 2002, it accused Arizona ranchers Jim and Sue Chilton of stewardship abuse. Read more