A reader sent me an email the other day criticizing my continued rhetoric against the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS). He told me that writing about them is a waste of breath and that whether we like it or not, HSUS is here to stay and we need to sit down and listen to them and learn to get along.

That sounds nice and dandy if we were talking about reasonable opponents. Perhaps if they were genuinely interested in improving animal welfare in the livestock industries and proposed realistic changes we could implement, then I would be more open to sitting around a table and discussing priorities.

However, HSUS has clearly indicated on many occasions that it wants to abolish animal agriculture, and HSUS staff and volunteers plan to do it through lobbying, litigation, legislation and slowly chipping away at our bottom lines by regulating us out of business.

HSUS is currently in a lawsuit fighting the beef checkoff, so they clearly have their sights set on the beef cattle industry. We’ve watched them bully the veal, pork, equine and dairy industries for years, and it’s led to more regulations, increased consolidation, skyrocketing protein prices, more imports of eggs from other countries, and possibly the worst — a growing population of starving, malnourished, abandoned horses because of the ban on horse slaughter.

Don’t believe me? You can read an entire timeline of HSUS’ activities dating back to 1954 by clicking here.

The list was put together by the Sportsmen’s & Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance, which says, “To understand the true agenda of this enormous animal rights organization, HSUS, one needs to examine the beliefs of its leaders, not the slick media ads for donations that claim to be for animal welfare. The HSUS agenda is not much different than that of PETA, only the tactics used separate these two groups. Make no mistake, the ultimate goal is to end human use and contact with animals.”

Despite what some in the ranching community have been duped to believe, HSUS isn’t our friend. The lobbying group is even heavily involved in the 2016 presidential election, and you might find it interesting to note that the animal rights group is endorsing Hillary Clinton as a champion for the animal rights agenda. They are working hard to get her into office through smear campaigns against Trump, while also appealing to folks’ emotions through tear jerker TV commercials to drum up donations for their cause.

Read about HSUS’ endorsement of Clinton here.

According to Humane Watch, several politicians have taken notice of HSUS’ agenda, including Maine Governor Paul LePage, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Read about how they have denounced the animal rights group by clicking here. 

I guess when the fox gets into the chicken coop, I don’t invite him to help himself to my hens and pretend it’s a compromise. Instead, I chase the fox away and sturdy the walls to secure what’s mine, but that’s just me. I think it’s time for the beef industry to align together to protect the nest (so to speak) and determine the best way to safeguard the future of beef cattle production in this country.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Penton Agriculture.

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