Cooperative Extension Service Warns Producers About HSUS
Last week, I attended a feedlot seminar that focused on summer bunk management, water issues and beef quality. In addition to these topics, I was happily surprised to see that the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service felt it was important to warn producers about the threat of animal rights activists, specifically the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS). While the Extension Service works as an information-gathering base for producers, it’s not often they speak out on political issues, but livestock specialist and Extension educator Jim Krantz explained this issue to the attendees at the feedlot meeting. Read on to learn what he had to say.
“HSUS is not a real Humane Society; it’s not associated with pet shelters anywhere,” explained Krantz. “HSUS gives less than one-half of one percent of its $100-million budget to hands-on pet shelters. Yet, $2.5 million of Americans’ donations went to pay HSUS employee pension plans.”
Despite the ugly reputation HSUS is slowly earning, 83% of Americans have a favorable view of HSUS, according to HumaneWatch.org, a website working to expose the animal rights organization for its deceitful use of goodwill donations. What’s worse, one in four Americans believe animals deserve the same rights as people.
“I think it’s important to distinguish between animal rights and animal welfare,” said Krantz. “Animal welfare, by definition, is the humane treatment of animals, while animal rights is the belief that animals should have the same rights and be treated the same as humans. As beef producers, I think we all agree with the terms of animal welfare, and we work hard to take care of our animals. It’s imperative, as cattle producers, to be aware of organizations like HSUS, who are working to put us out of business. We all have our jobs to do, but we can’t ignore this big issue.”
If animal rights groups were to focus on specific animal-handling practices on farms and ranches, Krantz asked attendees whiche management practices they might approach differently. Euthanasia, dehorning and castration were the top three handling practices producers mentioned. Others were mud, housing and disposal, but many producers said they wouldn’t change anything.
It’s no longer a secret to us that HSUS is a well-oiled machine working to put us out of business, and I was definitely impressed that our Extension educators are spreading the word at the beef meetings they conduct on a regular basis. However, they did bring up another interesting point I would like to discuss today — what might you do differently on your operation if an outside group was looking in? Are you comfortable with all your practices, or would you take a closer look at your dehorning and castrating practices? Let’s debate this topic today. You know the drill: leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for your participation!
July 14th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Along the lines of your Extension discussion, we received a letter from three different dairy associations here in PA / Mid-Atlantic area stressing not only doing the right things for the animals, but watching for any kind of suspicious activity around the farm and absolutely screening any new hires. The basic advice was it’s time to lock the place up and make sure all employees know any kind of poor animal handling will not be tolerated.
What are we doing different? Our beef cattle are all polled but the dehorning on the dairy calves is all being done with a local anesthetic. We are also looking much more closely at any kind of lameness issues. We band the steer calves at birth but don’t know if that will become an issue down the road or not. The major thing we’ve done is to close the barns to anyone we don’t know. Not because we are ashamed of anything we are doing but because we feel we need to protect our animals for the kind of set up that took place in Ohio. Sounds paranoic but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
July 14th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Most every person in animal agriculture knows what HSUS is and what they are doing. Part of our job is to make sure that the 83% of regular Americans who have a favorable view of HSUS find out the same thing.
Our cattle are all now polled, so dehorning is not a problem for us, but that is one thing that I wish could be done better for those who have to do it. Our bull calves are banded at birth with excellent results. We look hard at our cattle everyday to spot any that might have lameness issues, sickness, ect. We take a lot of time to make sure that things are kept clean and in order, mowing is done, fencing is working, and cattle are moved to adequate grass. I guess that the tough scrutiney that we are under may make us a little more diligent in some of those areas, but not markedly so.
We are hog producers as well as cattle producers, and learned long ago that minimizing the traffic coming in and out of your operation also minimizes disease. NO ONE is at liberty to just ride around and look at things here, so, it isnt ALL because we are leary of what some people may do. However, that has had to become one of the reasons given the deceitfullness of HSUS and sister groups.
I am pretty confident in the daily handling practices of our animals. No one likes to be scrutinized by outsiders, mostly because those outsiders havent a clue as to what is safe or accepted handling practices. I am overall satisfied with the practices we use to produce a healthy animal for the consumers (and I am one of those consumers). As science comes up with better ways, Im sure we will adapt to those better ways.
My prayer is that HSUS will not have a say in any future changes that may come our way. Their views are slanted; their causes are pushed by politics and money. They have no business in my business!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Well, we aren’t any big producer, but don’t need anyone telling us what to do, nonetheless. We have our problems year to year, but they don’t match our successes in how we handle our cattle and give them as much grass as they can stand.
Just the same, if I started getting people in cars stopping on the road, it’s time to get the deer cameras out and taking our own photos of license plates. Our sheriff deputies are already on the alert about remote farms and pastures being cased for cattle rustling, so I’m sure they’d be interested…
The key point is that farmers get the word out through their social media - like blogs, and twitter, and facebook. While you’re marketing your beef and produce, drop a line or two about who’s making it hard to bring this quality food to the market. The more we talk about this, the more we are likely to get listened to. And like any scam, these guys can’t actually stand in the light for very long. So shine it up bright about them and they will scatter like roaches.
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