Desperately Seeking Credibility, Pacelle Distributes Capitol Hill Memo

March 18, 2015

The statement below was distributed to Members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill this morning, March 18, 2015, by Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO of the Humane Society of the United States in an attempt to further cover up the truth about their lies and their betrayal to Americans.

In light of his lies during yesterday's testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing about the Bipartisan Sportsman's Act of 2015, this Capitol Hill memo (below) seems par for the course of a person and organization scrambling to gain credibility.

The Cavalry Group Team

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You may have received an email from a group trotting out a mixture of decades-old and false quotes about people associated with The Humane Society of the United States.  Independent news investigations have repeatedly exposed this PR and lobbying shop’s underhanded schemes of attacking public interest groups including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Izaak Walton League and many others.  For more information on why we’re under attack, please visit whoattackshsus.org.

Here’s the truth about who we are:  The Humane Society of the United States and our affiliates are the leading provider of direct animal care through our veterinary services, rescues, sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and other programs.  We’re a charity, not a foundation, so we do the work directly, not exclusively by giving grants to other organizations; and we’ve always said we’re for the humane treatment of all animals, not just dogs and cats.  We’re also advocating for public and corporate policies to protect animals from mistreatment associated with puppy mills, animal fighting, horse soring, and marine-mammal slaughter, and other abuses.  We’ve been consistently rated as the nation’s most effective organization for animals, and our reach has improved the lives of billions of animals.  For more information about our work, please visit humanesociety.org.

 Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

2015 Will Be No Different

To herald in the New Year, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced his “Big Plans” to push HSUS' emotion-based, agenda-driven policies on Capitol Hill to destroy the pet industry, the horse industry, and animal agriculture.

In an effort to appeal to public sentiment purely as a fund raising tactic, HSUS attempts to redefine time-tested agricultural practices that ensure the health and safety of both people and animals as inhumane.  

Year after year, HSUS attempts to pass their so-called anti-cruelty policies, which are based on emotion, not science -- while imposing unnecessary onerous, and costly regulatory reform at the expense of fewer farms, fewer farmers, higher food prices, and a growing concern of a domestic food shortage.

Just ask Californians who rang in the New Year with the promise of higher egg prices -- perhaps even an egg shortage no thanks to HSUS and their 2008 ballot initiative, Proposition 2 --and its Amendment, AB 1437 signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2010.  We (among many others) tried to warn Americans about the dangers of Prop. 2.

While HSUS continues to push their lies and propaganda on Capitol Hill, The Cavalry Group makes the promise of being in Washington, D.C. to inform Congress about the corruption behind HSUS and the true intentions behind their policies.

Sorry, Wayne. The Cavalry Group has Big Plans, too.  And we are looking forward to being the ant at your animal rights policy picnic. 

Happy New Year!

The Cavalry Group Team

REGULATORY ASSAULT: THE BRAKKE'S FIGHT TO KEEP THEIR FARM

The effect of government overreach can, at times, be hidden in the form of diminished opportunity or higher prices.  In the case of the deer-breeding industry, the effects are much more recognizable and in some cases, people and their families are left completely devastated, often with no recourse. Case in point:

Tom and Rhonda Brakke are your typical American farmers.  It has often been said that happiness is finding something you love – then figuring out a way to do it for a living. Tom and Rhonda did just that and were on their way to creating a business around one of their favorite hobbies: deer hunting.  The Brakkes acquired some land and began to breed and raise deer.  Upon maturation, the Brakkes would release the deer on a large preserve in order to allow hunters to enjoy the sport in a controlled and private environment.

Their small venture was a great success as they worked hard and followed their pursuit of happiness. Then – as often happens whenever achievement in the private sector develops – the government showed up to help:

In 2012, inspired by a Humane Society of the United States scare campaign, the USDA adopted a new set of rules to address Chronic Wasting Disease, a rare ailment that affects deer and other cervids. This uncommon disorder is not communicable to humans or other animals and displays few symptoms until the death of the deer many years after infection.  In other words, CWD is not a threat at all, but rather, the Restless Leg Syndrome of the deer world, a contrived crisis designed by activists to make captive breeding and hunting preserves nearly impossible to operate.

The same month that the USDA released their new CWD rule, the Brakkes were informed that one of the deer in their herd of nearly 700 had tested positive for CWD.  The government offered no evidence that their test was not a false positive, nor did they allow for any additional tests by a third party.  The Brakkes were forced to take the government at their word.  The Center for Disease Control estimates the rate of CWD infection among deer nationally to be at about 2%, other sources say 1% or less.  Still, in accordance with the new USDA guidelines, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources ordered the

Brakkes to eradicate 200 deer on their hunting ranch, despite their having an infection rate of only 1/7th of a percent.  They were then ordered to erect an electric fence around all of their property, test all their remaining animals, and dig up and rebury the top soil on several parts of their land. In addition, under the direction of the USDA, the State of Iowa quarantined and required continued testing of the remaining 500 deer in their herd.  The quarantine is in effect until 2018, and if they find another positive, the clock will reset for another five-year quarantine. In other words, game over.

Don’t worry, the Brakkes are still required to spend roughly $3,000 weekly to feed the remaining 500 deer on their property without any means of profiting from the livestock. They have spent a small fortune in a futile attempt to comply with the new USDA regulations, all while the government has put them out of business. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The truth is that this has nothing to do with the Brakkes, their small business, their hard-earned money, or even the health of deer or any other animal. This is about a government agency permeated by left-wing activists and operated as an arm of the animal rights extremist movement. The USDA is using a non-problem to create a non-crisis to regulate captive hunts out of existence, because animal rights activists don’t like them. By the USDA and the Center for Disease Control’s own admission they don’t even know how CWD is spread.  They offer no evidence there was a potential emergency with the Brakkes' operation – yet the jack-boots marched in and declared the place to be shut down. End of story. No recourse.

Directors, spokespersons, Department heads in the Obama Administration, and the President himself may smile and say that new gun restriction proposals have nothing to do with Americans right to hunt, but hunters should recognize that they are aggressively getting it done another way. Beware of the new changes in the name of “animal care” that occur behind the scenes or else one day we may wake up in a world where hunting is a thing of the past.

Author, Phil Christofanelli is the Director of Public Affairs for 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.

Read this article on JoeForAmerica.com

NEVER LET A FAUX-CRISIS GO TO WASTE

Many of those who donate to the Humane Society of the United States are unaware of the fact that HSUS is one of the greatest foes to fishing and hunting in the country.  Wayne Pacelle, President of HSUS, on numerous occasions has revealed his personal disdain for the American sport.  Pacelle was once quoted by the AP saying, “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would.”  To date, HSUS has spearheaded upwards of 25 anti-hunting ballot initiatives across the country.  Like many Fabian left-wing groups, HSUS takes an incremental approach in making hunting progressively more difficult through additional regulation of the sport at the ballot box and in state legislatures.

One of the main targets is what HSUS refers to as canned hunts.  These hunts are of wildlife bred in captivity and released over a large, enclosed area for hunting.  HSUS believes that it is “cruel” to breed animals for the purpose of hunting, but these hunting areas have provided business opportunities to many struggling, rural Americans and have also allowed hunters to enjoy the sport in a controlled and safe environment.  In fact, many of the species bred in captivity would have long since gone extinct, but for the cultivation of these businesses.  For radical animal rights activists, however, the needs of animals always outweigh the needs of humans.

As Rahm Emanuel aptly taught us, it is critical to create a crisis in order to quickly implement one’s agenda.  HSUS seems to have found their silver bullet against captive hunting in an obscure ailment known as “Chronic Wasting Disease,” or CWD.  CWD is a progressive disease which in rare occasions afflicts older cervids (read: deer) and results, over time, in brain lesions and ultimately, death.  According to the Center for Disease Control, there is no evidence that CWD poses any threat to humans who consume a deer with the disease, nor is there any way the disease could spread to domestic livestock.  Infection rates among your average white-tailed deer linger at less than 1%.  Infected deer can live quite a long time with the disease, produce healthy fawns, and remain nearly symptom free until their deaths.

By now you might be thinking: What’s the big deal?  However, to HSUS, and lately the USDA, CWD is a massive crisis crying out for a swift passage of numerous regulations on captive hunting farmers.  According to HSUS’s website, in order to address the CWD crisis, states must ban all game farms and captive hunting, as well as end the transportation of any deer across state lines, a move which would effectively decimate the ability of deer farmers to make money and to breed genetically diversified livestock.

Unsurprisingly, it is not difficult to determine the source of the USDA’s newfound obsession with CWD.  The head of the CWD Program at the USDA is none other than Dr. Patrice Klein.  Dr. Klein is a former employee of the Humane Society of the United States where she served as a Wildlife Veterinarian and Director.

Just last year, the USDA took HSUS’ policy recommendations to heart.  In their new CWD Program Standards manual, they proclaim that the most reasonable course to be taken once a deer on a captive farm tests positive is complete eradication of the entire herd.  These irradiations are done entirely at the owner’s expense and leave little avenue for appeal to the farmer.  The USDA also has begun to test the waters for extensive regulation of the transportation of cervids across state lines with a new “voluntary” policy which sets the guidelines under which interstate trafficking of deer can occur.  The USDA admits that it has no idea how CWD is spread, yet it still holds that entire herds should be destroyed if even one deer develops this disease which occurs naturally and does not in any way affect humans!

While CWD may pose some threat to cervid species and may be worthy of study, analysis, and careful monitoring, the disease should definitely not be used as an excuse to destroy hunting and farming in accordance with the extreme agenda of a radical few.  In the rare cases of CWD infected, deer farmers have shown great success at controlling the disease within their herds.  Fear mongering from HSUS has nonetheless resulted in gross overreactions that have completely destroyed some American farms.  Bottom line: HSUS is out to destroy people’s way of life, not help animals. They are an extremist, radical, corrupt group bent on taking away the rights of law abiding citizens through deceit, manipulation, and intimidation.

Author, Phil Christofanelli is the Director of Public Affairs for 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.

Read this article on JoeForAmerica.com

Tyson Foods Lets the Fox in the Henhouse

The Cavalry Group takes a hard line in protecting its members' Constitutional rights to private property against the onslaught of the animal rights agenda.  In doing so, we often say privately to our members and publicly when speaking at agriculture and liberty events, "Never collaborate with those who seek your demise."

Tyson Foods failed that Creed with the announcement of their newly formed Animal Well-Being Advisory Panel.  Shocked were we to learn that they invited Miyun Park, executive director of Global Animal Partnership to be a member of this board.

As a quick reminder, Wayne Pacelle is on the board of Global Animal Partnership.  And let's not forget that Global Animal Partnership's agenda is the elimination of animal agriculture and furthering global governance through the implementation of Agenda 21.

Our friend at iloveag further describes Tyson's tragic announcement quite well in this excellent article:

Tyson Confirms Fears: Fox IS in Henhouse
by iloveag

In “Tyson Foods Announces A Win For Wayne Pacelle” and ”Dancing With The Devil” I warned about Tyson Foods’ futile attempt to placate animal rights activists.

Tyson finally announced the 13-person advisory panel that will develop standards for their Farm Check audit program.

Members of the panel include:

• Ryan Best, 2011-2012 president, Future Farmers of America
• Anne Burkholder, cattle feedlot owner
• Ed Cooney, executive director of the Congressional Hunger Center
• Gail Golab, Ph.D., DVM, director of American Veterinary Medical Association’s Animal Welfare Division
• Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science, Colorado State University
• Karl Guggenmos, dean of culinary education, Johnson & Wales University
• Tim Loula, DVM, co-founder and co-owner of Swine Vet Center in St. Peter, Minnesota
• Miyun Park, executive director, Global Animal Partnership
• Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, National Chicken Council
• Richard Raymond, M.D., former U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Food Safety
• Janeen Salak-Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor in Animal Sciences, University of Illinois
• Janice Swanson, Ph.D., chair and professor, Animal Behavior and Welfare, Michigan State University
• Bruce Webster, Ph.D., professor of poultry science, University of Georgia

The fact that animal rights and vegan activist and former HSUS Vice President Miyun Park is on the panel should give every producer heart palpitations.

Continue reading...

Take Action to Protect the American Horse Industry!

We knew the consequences of the 2007 ban on horse processing would be bad, but no one could have predicted the horrific outcome that haunts the U.S. horse industry today.  We face this challenge as the outcome of federal legislation  resulting from the reaction to dishonest emotional propaganda driven by the radical animal rights organizations in our country.  Rather than relying on the facts and on the experts in the horse community, the well funded campaign led by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) used emotion and misinformation to pressure lawmakers to eliminate horse processing in the United States.


Currently, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are considering amendments to the current Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would continue to abolish needed horse processing in the United States, and also prevent American horses from being transported across U.S. borders for processing.


A Government Accounting Office (GAO) investigation on the horse industry was requested by the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee almost two years ago in July of 2009. The GAO has thoroughly studied the effect of the horse processing plants closing in 2007. This study looked at the effect of the plants closing on the welfare of horses themselves, as well as the effect on farm economy across America. This report is complete, but its release is being delayed.


Unfortunately, the current House Agriculture Appropriations Bill is being rushed to a vote before the results of the GAO report is allowed to be considered! Aggressive action by HSUS and other radical animal rights groups have pushed for action before the GAO results become public.

 Please Take Immediate Action!

The House vote will take place on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011.

We urge you to call your Congressman and Senators immediately
and urgently request that they review the results
of the GAO report prior to ANY VOTE!


Please take ACTION NOW to protect the
American horse industry!


Click here to Contact your U.S. Representative

  Click here to Contact your U.S. Senators


Thank You!

Governor Nixon, Sign SB113.

It states clearly in the Missouri Constitution, Article 1 Bill of Rights,

Section 2. That all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry;

As Americans we live in a Republic, not a democracy. This means that it is up to our Missouri legislators to protect the individual rights and freedoms of its citizens.  Thankfully, our Missouri legislators are doing just that as they see clearly that Wayne Pacelle and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are is using Proposition B to forward its radical animal rights agenda on our Missouri citizens.

Mr. Pacelle and the Humane Society of the United States continue to use emotion, misinformation and millions of out-of-state dollars to pressure our Missouri lawmakers. If it was really about the care and welfare of animals, why didn't HSUS spend their $4.2 million in campaign funds to help fund and enforce the Missouri Animal Care Facilities Act already in place?

Prop. B which won by only 60,000 votes and lost in 103 out of 114 counties, does nothing to stop animal abuse or punish the law breakers contrary to how it is portrayed.

Senate Bill113 is an excellent bill which actually provides Missouri with what Missourians viewed as the intent of the ballot language for Prop. B. 

·      SB113 defines terms for the provision of food, water, shelter, vet care and exercise and makes those provisions enforceable with penalties for non-compliance.  

·      SB113 punishes the law breakers, not the law abiding.

·      SB113 funds increased enforcement, and goes after the unlicensed breeders. Prop. B is an unfunded mandate with NO provisions for legal enforcement.

·      SB113 also eliminates the 50 dog limit, and makes it clear that the law refers to dogs and not to the broader category of domesticated animals, thereby protecting Missouri agriculture.

The Missouri economy cannot afford the crushing blow that Proposition B would impose on our state's economy as it would force thousands of legitimate dog breeders out of business, and create a devastating domino effect on other Missouri businesses statewide. Accordingly, it is up to our legislators to uphold the Missouri constitution and protect their constituents’ “right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry.”

Proponents of Prop. B have tried to bully Missouri legislators, our Governor, and those who oppose it by using strong arm tactics which have even included death threats. We must support and give kudos to our Missouri legislators who have given thoughtful consideration what is best for all Missourians instead of crumbling under the pressure of mob rule. 


Let's hope Governor Nixon signs SB113.


by Mindy Patterson