Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Cavalry Group Calls Out USDA For Misconduct

In July of this year, the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)  conducted an "educational symposium" for USDA licensees who own lions, tigers, and bears.  The Cavalry Group members who were in attendance of this symposium witnessed proof that the animal liberation movement's strategy is to infiltrate and influence government bureaucracies like the United States Department of Agriculture.  















Wednesday, August 27, 2014

TELL NEBRASKA FAIR MGR HSUS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO FILM AT FAIR


Discovery Communications channel, Animal Planet which has direct ties to the animal rights extremist organization, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been allowed unlimited access to film at the Nebraska State Fair. 

Our good friend, Trent Loos shared with us that while he attended the Nebraska State Fair this week he noticed an odd sign in the birthing pavilion that stated, "Animal Planet: Surprisingly Human."   (See image below)



Later on, after doing brief research about Animal Planet, Trent connected all the animal rights propaganda that the Animal Planet perpetuates with shows that oppose  pet stores , dog breeders, exotic animal ownership, and hunting, while promoting HSUS' annual Genesis awards. 

Trent asks these important questions: 
  1. Why with all the State Fairs that present birthing pavilions, how did Animal Planet choose the Nebraska State Fair?
  2. Has the recent stern statements by our Governor Heineman about HSUS not being welcome in the state of Nebraska some how encouraged this as an undercover operation?
  3. And finally who at the Nebraska State Fair approved Animal Planet to be on the fairgrounds and have free rein with the video cameras?

ACTION NEEDED:  Please send an email to the Nebraska Fair Manager and ask him why HSUS partner, Animal Planet is being allowed access at the Nebraska State Fair

Email: Joseph McDermott, Executive Director: jmcdermott@statefair.org

Thank you!

The Cavalry Group Team



Sunday, July 13, 2014

Protecting Your Way of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness


For centuries, those who raise, breed, and work with animals have been revered and lauded for what they do. Today, across America our rights to own and raise animals are under attack by animal rights activists and their increased influence on government and non-government agencies overseeing issues pertaining to animal welfare.  This onslaught regularly violates protection from illegal search and seizure, and a citizen’s right to due process of the law; all of which are outlined specifically in the U.S. Constitution.

The rule of law provides that Americans are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law based upon facts and evidence, not emotion and conjecture. Unfortunately for animal owners today, the opposite is prevalent.  Animal rights activists use false claims of animal abuse and anonymous tip lines to convince over zealous prosecutors and sympathetic judges to issue warrants when, in most cases, no facts or actual witnessed evidence is provided to obtain the warrant.

As a result, animal owners and animal related businesses live with the daily terror that fraudulent claims, anonymous tips, or an animal rights activists’ internet-campaign could result in law enforcement arriving at their door and their animals seized without due process. Coupled with this real fear, animal owners are then exposed to extravagant animal care bonds and charges for temporary animal care, possible sterilization of high value breeding stock, or euthanization of their animals.
  
These instances become a big payday for animal rights activists and their organizations as they raise big money from these circumstances, and often times confiscate and sell, or in their words, “rescue and adopt out,” the private property of the accused who has not yet been adjudicated in a court of law.  These are real possibilities before the animal owner has their day in court.

In many actual instances, the rush to judgment fueled by animal rights activists results in destroyed property, bankrupt businesses, and reputations that are damaged whether they are found guilty or not.

At the end of the court proceeding, if the accused is found not guilty, the activists, prosecutors, state or local government, and the judges all get to walk away with no legal or financial ramifications.

The property owner, even if found innocent, is liable for the cost to house his animals for months or years in some cases, coupled with the destruction of their business and reputation.

The severity and the regular occurrence of these abuses of our Constitutional rights strikes fear in the hearts of animal owners and animal related businesses across America, who know that their livelihood and animals are threatened by the very real possibility of illegal search and seizure or false claims of animal abuse.

The animal rights based organizations have made their ideology no secret, and daily they express their desires and promote their strategies in plain view to nudge public opinion to their point of view.  It’s no stretch to figure out what they intend to accomplish with their policies when one realizes that the truth behind the veil of their exploitation of animals is the abolition of animal ownership and a vegan agenda for all.

Most Americans are unaware that this abuse is taking place.  Either that, or they are willfully blind to the impact that the animal rights extremists are currently wreaking havoc on all animal related businesses and animal owners across our nation.

To add insult to injury, many of the associations organized to promote and represent farmers, ranchers, and pet breeders are ushering in animal rights politics and policies by allowing a façade of compromise and agreeing to unnecessary, onerous, prohibitive, and costly regulations at the expense of fewer farms, fewer farmers, and higher food prices.  All of which are the intended consequences on the animal rights extremists.

Furthermore, many rural Americans are unaware of their Constitutional rights, and are often railroaded through a bureaucratic system that defies common sense and standard agricultural practice in their systematic to attempt to regulate and inspect commercial animal enterprises.

Notwithstanding the animal rightists goal of terrorizing animal owners and destroying animal related businesses, the Achilles’ heel of the animal rights movement is the historic principle that animals are property, and that private property is protected under the fundamental foundation of our U.S. Constitution -- further reinforced under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. 

Our Founding Fathers' fundamental motivation behind the constuction of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution was the protection of private property and its direct link to Freedom and Liberty.

John Adam's words made it clear, "Property must be secured, or Liberty cannot exist."  

And more than one hundred years later in 1909, William Howard Taft's words still hold true today, “Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and the one which, united with that of personal liberty, has contributed more to the growth of civilization than any other institution established by the human race.”

Our sincere hope is that Americans wake up before it’s too late, and recognize that any individual or entity operating to usurp ownership of private property can and must be stopped by the recognition, comprehension, and protection of our U.S. Constitution.

Meanwhile, The Cavalry Group will continue to be on the frontlines to protect our members, their animals, and animal enterprise. Join us in the fight! 

Mindy Patterson is the president of The Cavalry Group, a member based company protecting and defending the Constitutional and private property rights of law abiding animal owners, animal-related business, hunters, and agriculture concerns legally nationwide.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Missouri: VOTE YES ON RIGHT TO FARM, Amendment 1

There has been quite a frenzy of propaganda and misinformation coming forth about Missouri's Right To Farm,  Amendment One. Those who oppose it have been putting out  misinformation intended to confuse conscientious Missouri voters without the merit of FACTS to challenge the legislation. Meanwhile, there are those who have fallen prey to the environmental and animal rights activists’ terminology which does nothing but perpetuate false claims and fear mongering about agriculture, while providing NO FACTS to back their claims.
The radical animal rights and environmental activist organizations have made their ideology no secret, and DAILY they express their intentions to weaken American agriculture. It’s not a stretch to figure out what they intend to accomplish with their policies when one realizes the truth behind the veil of their exploitation. Missouri farmers and ranchers continue to be in the crosshairs of these radicals.
It's easy math: Animal rights groups, especially the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), have used the ballot measure process to incrementally increase onerous and burdensome regulations on animal agriculture. Since 1990, HSUS has betrayed voters in fourteen states by passing ballot initiatives imposing onerous, unreasonable, and costly regulations negatively impacting the pet, animal agriculture, hunting, and fishing trades while using the deceptive and emotional propaganda to fool the voters into passing their measures. HSUS continues to mislead well-intentioned Americans with their slick, high-dollar media campaigns to buy votes, even hoodwink elected representatives, into believing that their mission is to increase welfare standards for animals. 
Missouri has already seen the negative impact of an HSUS-driven ballot initiative.  In 2010, "The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act", also known as Proposition B passed by a narrow margin.  The passing of this measure, despite the heroic efforts by our state legislature to remove the unconstitutional elements, resulted in HSUS' intended consequences of a death blow to licensed, legitimate dog breeders and small business across the state of Missouri.  75% of state licensees got out of the business of dog breeding to avoid the onerous and costly changes now required in the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act.    
When will Americans finally wake up to the fact that these so-called "animal cruelty prevention" laws do NOTHING to stop unscrupulous operators.

This strategy follows a pattern established by HSUS to incrementally regulate farmers, ranchers, and the pet industry out of business resulting in HSUS' goal of fewer farms, fewer farmers, higher food prices, and the growing concern of a domestic food shortage.  
Accordingly, as a protection to those who grow and raise our food in Missouri, Amendment One protects against legislation or ballot initiatives seeking to harm Missouri agriculture.
If one really understands that the animal rights movement is dangerous (as this Truth Farmer article claims)  then STOP using the HSUS’ terminology ‘Factory Farm’ to describe those who grow and raise our food! Yes, that even includes production agriculture. By using that term, it is a perpetuation of the false claims and images that the animal rights and environmental radicals are putting forth to promote their anti-private property and so-called "sustainability" and green agenda.
The Chinn family farm, one of the largest upstanding pork producers in Missouri, is considered a “factory farm” in the eyes of HSUS and environmental activists. Please read this blog by a family farmer who has been smeared by the radical animal rights and environmental groups and have labeled her family farm a “factory farm.”   Link
The U.S. feeds the world. A pretty miraculous feat considering that less than 2% of our U.S. population comprises our total populace of farmers and ranchers today. And they have the ability to do so because of innovation and modern technology including genetically modified organisms (GMOs). My friend, a life-long rancher explains it beautifully in her blog here:  Link
This link provides 600 peer reviewed studies about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), none of which have produced any evidence whatsoever of health issues in humans or animals from eating foods made from grains grown from GMO seeds, or that they are any less safe than any other food available. This provides proof that GMOs are safer since they are the most tested foods in the world.  
You will NEVER find a farmer on the Fortune 500 list, and the very reason farms are getting larger and implementing more modern husbandry methods is VERY simple: the price you get for animal based products, minus the cost of producing the end product, is shrinking every year, especially with all the onerous regulatory changes which gives farmers three options: 1.) Exit the business. (Which is what the activists want.) 2.) Become larger and expect to make income from adding more animals by adding up petty profits to make a larger one. 3) Market to get higher prices and/or reduce cost of production by whatever method available, including medical related products.
Do your research before you vilify our food system and before the activists hoodwink American consumers into fundamentally transforming American agriculture out of existence. 

Thanks to our farmers and ranchers, we are blessed to live in a country with an affordable, safe, and abundant food supply with consumer choices beyond measure!  

Protect our precious Missouri farmers and ranchers from the harmful intentions of the radical activists seeking to fundamentally transform American agriculture out of existence! 


VOTE YES on Missouri's Right To Farm - Amendment One on August 5th, 2014.

Mindy Patterson
President
The Cavalry Group 



Monday, June 23, 2014

Governor Jindal Signs Bill To Keep Tiger With Rightful Owner

The Cavalry Group is thrilled to share Michael Sandlin's press release and wonderful news that his Bengal tiger, Tony will be staying with him!

The animal rights groups have been pushing to remove Tony from Mr. Sandlin's care with false accusations and lies, and the result after much controversy was the recognition that Mr. Sandlin was and always had been in full compliance with the law, disproving the false allegations by the animal rightists who attempted to take Tony away from his rightful owner.

This is a huge victory for animal ownership.

Congratulations to Michael Sandlin and to Tony the Tiger.

The Cavalry Group Team


Tony stays with his rightful owner.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Signs Bill To Keep Tiger


(June 20, 2014 Grosse Tete La.) The effort to save a Bengal tiger from exploitation by professional animal activist exhibitors was successfully finalized June 18 when Governor Bobby Jindal signed Senate Bill 250 into Louisiana Law.

Activists had worked their way through legal loopholes to try to force Michael Sandlin, owner of the Tiger Truck Stop and its 14 year old tiger Tony, to give up his cat, but the Legislature made itself clear that a law enacted in 2006 was intended to allow responsible private owners who met all federal and state regulations to keep their exotic animals.

The bill was the subject of much controversy, and animal rights activists from all over the world became embroiled in petitioning lawmakers with their pleas to “rescue Tony”. Their knowledge about the condition of the tiger and his habitat was the result of misinformation, lies and deception on the part of a few activists that stood to gain from his relocation, according to Sandlin. “We spent a lot of time and energy putting the truth into the hands of the decision makers”, Sandlin said, “and at last the truth won out”.

Mr. Sandlin is known as an animal welfare advocate, which is borne out by the fact that at one time his facility had more live tiger births than any other facility in the nation. He stressed that the difference between welfare and “rights” activism is that the activist makes no real effort to follow up or care for the animal once it has been given its “human” rights. Animal welfare experts from around the United States have concurred that the habitat at the Tiger Truck Stop is one of the finest private exhibits in the country, and has excelled in diet, veterinary care, and spaciousness.

Claims have also been made by adverse activists that Mr. Sandlin has repeatedly violated United States Department of Agriculture regulations in caring for his animals, but these allegations have been disproven. USDA inspectors have certified that the Grosse Tete, LA facility meets or exceeds all federal regulations, and has never had its USDA permit revoked.

The State of Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also has a permitting process, and recognized that Tiger Truck Stop was fully in compliance with Louisiana Law in granting two permits for the tiger. The animal activists tried different ways to get the permits revoked, and were successful only when they got a court, in a suit against DWF by Animal Legal Defense Fund, an activist group based in California, to overturn the permit based on law that was later discovered not to apply to the exhibit at Grosse Tete. This injustice was rectified by SB250.

Denham Springs, La. lawyer Bob Morgan, who led the lobbying effort at the statehouse, commented that “once the legislators were told the truth about the tiger’s situation, it was a watershed moment for them. They did not like being lied to by the activists about the tiger”. Mr. Morgan is an attorney with expertise in Louisiana property law, and sees this as a clear cut victory for Mr. Sandlin’s property rights. “We applied the truth, and it won,” he said.

For Tony, and the thousands of visitors that view his exhibit at Tiger Truck Stop, the legislation means that he will be able to live his life out in the care and protection of Mr. Sandlin, in the spacious home with the people he has known since he was a 6 month old cub, and continue to delight visitors to the exhibit.
Schoolchildren mobbed the tables displaying information about Tony at the Capitol Rotunda during the legislative session. More than 1000 DVD's about Tony's life were given free to the student visitors and other interested people.

Mr. Sandlin offered his final comment - “We would like to thank Governor Jindal, Senator Rick Ward, Rep. Major Thibaut, the Louisiana Legislature, the Tiger Truck Stop legal & lobby teams, friends, family, employees, loyal customers and our local community, as well as the many supporters from around the world for taking a stand against animal rights terrorism. It is a great victory for private exotic animal owners, personal freedoms, and the protection of all of our animals.”

###

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Note to the Press: Do Your Due Diligence


Forgive me for being a stater-of-the-obvious, but shame on the animal-rights-coddling media.

This morning, I spent a considerable amount of time on the phone speaking with reporters from different regions of the U.S. to debunk the lies and propaganda that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has released (yet again)  about licensed dog breeders nationwide.

With each reporter interview, I found myself having to explain basic facts about HSUS' agenda and their assault on pet breeders, animal agriculture, and animal ownership across the nation.

One begins to wonder if these reporters are deliberately in step with the animal rightists' beliefs to the point that they are unwilling to acknowledge HSUS' insidious strategy to use lies and propaganda to pressure legitimate animal enterprise out of business.  I mean, you would have to be living under a rock to have never heard about any of the attacks that HSUS and other animal rights groups have made against the pet industry, horse industry, hunting, and animal agriculture, right?

In talking with one reporter from St. Louis, Missouri's KMOV Channel 4 this morning, I asked him how long he had been working as a reporter in Missouri.

He replied, "Several years."

I asked, "Were you working as a reporter in Missouri in 2010 during the campaign to defeat Proposition B -- also known as HSUS' Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act?"

The reporter replied, "Well... I was here working as a reporter in St. Louis, but I was covering things like drive by shootings, and fires."

One of the biggest election-year regulatory battles the state of Missouri has ever faced and this guy is telling me that he wasn't aware of it.  

Sorry, I don't buy it.

So, here was my response to Mr. KMOV Channel 4 reporter, and here is my rant to all the other reporters and journalists out there:

HSUS is not a credible source.  What they stated in their recent article about dog breeders is not factual and is not freedom of speech. This is slander. Repeating lies is the same as slander.  And by repeating the lies of HSUS, you are harming families and their businesses by not obtaining the facts.  

KMOV- St. Louis reporter then asked me for proof that HSUS is anti-animal agriculture and promotes veganism. 


In their own words, here are quotes from the leadership at HSUS which I shared with all reporters I spoke with today, courtesy of Humane Watch:



Fact: HSUS’s Food Policy Director Matt Prescott, a former PETA activist, created a national campaigncomparing farms to Nazi concentration camps. (See picture at right.) He has also written, “There’s never an excuse to kill and eat an animal.
Fact: HSUS’s past farm-animal vice president Miyun Park told an animal rights conference, “We don’t want any of these animals to be raised and killed [for food]….And so because of that, a number of organizations including the Humane Society of the United States, we work on promoting veganism.”
Fact: HSUS’s current farm-animal vice president Paul Shapiro has said, “Eating meat causes animal cruelty” and “The meat industry equals systematic murder.”
Fact: After Wayne Pacelle, a strict vegan, became president of HSUS, he declared a new food policy making all HSUS events vegan—no meat or dairy or eggs, no matter how they are produced.
Fact: Wayne Pacelle has written that eating meat is “speciesist”—meaning animals are discriminated against, similar to racism or sexism.
Fact: HSUS has been secretly investing money in start-ups such as “Beyond Meat” and “Beyond Eggs”—businesses that hope to replace meat and egg products entirely.
Fact: Wayne Pacelle has said that PETA has “visionary and professional leadership. There’s no doubt they’re creative and courageous.” He also said, “PETA has really done so much in a short time to…promote animal rights.”
Fact: John “J.P.” Goodwin, an HSUS director of animal cruelty, has said, “My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture.” Goodwin is a former spokesperson for the terrorist Animal Liberation Front.
The bottom line: HSUS is run by strict vegans who are only using smaller, organic farmers as a prop. These vegans are smart enough to know that 99% of the public eats animal products. So they provide lip service to small farmers for political and public-relations reasons to cloak their agenda.

My final note to reporters and so-called journalists in America:  HSUS doesn't care about people. And their mission has nothing to do with improving animal welfare. Maybe you should spend your time and efforts following the HSUS money trail. 
HSUS and their cohorts are determined to perpetuate propaganda and lies to smear legitimate animal-related businesses with the intent to bring an end to animal breeding, animal enterprise and, ultimately, animal ownership. 
Unless you check your facts, YOU and your news organizations are willing accomplices to the agenda of HSUS and their intent to harm. 
Rant over. 
Mindy Patterson, president, The Cavalry Group


   

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wayne's World: HSUS Liars, Cheaters, and Thieves


The assault against dog breeders continues as Wayne Pacelle releases his continuation of propaganda and lies in his most recent blog entitled, “Puppy Mills & 101 Damnations.” 

Once again, Pacelle turns to the disturbing tactic of singling out dog breeders and publishing their names, their addresses, and breeding establishments all obtained from the now anti-animal agriculture agency of USDA who willingly relinquished the private information and inspection photos via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The photos given to HSUS for their report are taken out of context in order to support exaggerated claims of abuse to coerce breeders to close up their breeding operations. 

Pacelle and HSUS lead the way in betraying well-intended Americans into believing that their focus is on the unscrupulous dog breeders, when the opposite is true.  HSUS and their ideology opposes animal breeding of any kind and especially those who do so for profit.  

So, when Pacelle says that they take their job of eliminating “puppy mills” seriously what he really means is that they want to eliminate ALL dog breeders including the ones who follow the law. 

Pacelle’s true agenda is illustrated in an HSUS tweet on Twitter from March of 2013 where HSUS gives the HSUS definition of a "puppy mill:" 
Furthermore, HSUS has stated on numerous occasions that they do not believe that pure bred dogs should exist, rather they promote legislation and regulatory reform that would make pure bred dogs prohibitively expensive, incentivizing consumers to “adopt.”  The HSUS definition of adoption really means that the consumer will purchase their new pet for $350-$500 from a shelter instead of a licensed breeder.   So these retail shelters are now the competition for pure bred dog breeders, and HSUS, as well as government at the local, state and federal levels, are doing everything in their power to over-regulate and eliminate the dog breeders.

The most insidious way in which this strategy has taken form can be found in the subversive way that organizations such as HSUS pressure, infiltrate, and influence government bureaucracies like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  By lobbying for the implementation of obscure rules such as the recently implemented “Retail Pet Rule” – these new regulations and rules pose disastrous problems for breeders across the country without consumers ever becoming aware of the situation.   
Make no mistake, HSUS is a multi-million dollar animal rights extremist organization which raises money to promote increased regulation on animal ownership and enterprise.  They promote government regulations that handcuff breeders, while rescues and shelters are exempt from abiding by the same rules.  That's not increasing animal welfare standards, it is purely crony capitalism favoring one group, while punishing another. 

The Cavalry Group favors a free market that allows consumers to chose among a wide spectrum of options, where ALL pet providers have to play by the same rules.  Unfortunately, Wayne Pacelle and everyone else at HSUS will lie, cheat, and steal to get their way as evidenced by another slanderous piece of propaganda intended to raise money to perpetuate the HSUS agenda.

Mindy Patterson is the president of The Cavalry Group, a member based company protecting and defending the Constitutional and private property rights of law abiding animal owners, animal-related business, hunters, and agriculture concerns legally nationwide.