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bradymsu
09-10-2008, 05:46 PM
Many of your state elected officials received their first communication recently from the Humane Society of the United States regarding CWD and the baiting ban. HSUS is supportive of the baiting ban and the closing all captive cervid operations in the state. HSUS has hired a multi-client lobbyist in Lansing and has to date spent over $70,000 on lobbying costs at our state capital.

For those of you unfamiliar with HSUS, the group is the largest animal rights organization in the United States. The group is on record as supporting outlawing all forms of hunting, animal agriculture and pet ownership. Despite their misleading name, the group has no connection to local humane socieities or the Michigan Humane Society and it does not operate animal shelters. This group is far more dangerous to your hunting rights than PETA.

HSUS is very crafty in how it goes about its long term goal of outlawing hunting. Instead of taking obvious anti-hunting positions the group will look for disagreements among hunters on issues such as baiting, trapping, the use of dogs, crossbows and license fee increases and support those positions that will lead to a decrease in the number of people hunting. The long term goal of the organization is to reduce the number of people hunting in a state so that it can successfully pass broad anti-hunting measures on future state ballots and in future state legislatures.

Apart from the issues mentioned above, it is suspected that HSUS may have been involved in Michigan legislation last year that would have outlawed leghold traps and recently introduced legislation that would impose draconian licensing requirement on any family that sells more than two puppies per year as a result of breeding a family pet.

HSUS often prefers to work undercover using its members in Michigan to pose as concerned sportsmen or pet owners to sell its agenda to the public. A numbers of legislators have likely already been approached by HSUS through their constituents without knowing the constituent has any involvement with the organization.

Please do your own reasearch on HSUS on the internet. Then, contact your state representative and state senator by e-mail to educate them about HSUS, request that they not accept any campaign contributions from HSUS and be wary of HSUS involvement in any legislation that would increase regulation of pet owners in Michigan or result in the loss or continued decrease of hunters in Michigan.

You can locate your state representative at: http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp

You can locate your state senator at:
http://senate.michigan.gov/SenatorInfo/find-your-senator.htm

The state campaign finance disclosure information for HSUS can be found at: http://miboecfr.nicusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/lobby_detail.cgi?lobby_id%3D6430%26last_match%3D%2 6exp_last_match%3D%26lobby_seq_no%3D%26lobby_type% 3D%2A%26lobby_name%3DHUMANE%26include%3Dactive%26s how_employees%3DY#EMP




Terry Williams
09-10-2008, 05:53 PM
Thanks for the info

bradymsu
09-10-2008, 05:53 PM
I forgot to add in the prior post that it would be helpful to recognize and support organizations challenging HSUS. For example on the dog bill mentioned above, HB 6395, The American Kennel Club (AKC) is advising legislators that:

"The American Kennel Club opposes the concept of breeding permits, breeding bans, or mandatory spay/neuter of purebred dogs. Instead, we support reasonable and enforceable laws that protect the welfare and health of purebred dogs and do not restrict the rights of breeders and owners who take their responsibilities seriously."

ishot3bucks
09-10-2008, 06:13 PM
It has been said over and over...once they get us separated (DEBATING)with hunting tacticts...they swoop in for the kill! We all need to support any legal hunting method in Michigan!

boehr
09-10-2008, 07:52 PM
Many of your state elected officials received their first communication recently from the Humane Society of the United States regarding CWD and the baiting ban. HSUS is supportive of the baiting ban and the closing all captive cervid operations in the state. HSUS has hired a multi-client lobbyist in Lansing and has to date spent over $70,000 on lobbying costs at our state capital.

My opinion is that you use them and their money for us (hunters) without their total agenda and what is good for the natural resources (deer herd and CWD in this case). You fight against the portions of untruths that they mandate in their stance. There are many hunters and I agree with getting rid of baiting. Again, use them (HSUS) against themselves and use their money to assist what we want. That is my opinion. (notice I said use them, not help them:))

QuakrTrakr
09-10-2008, 09:29 PM
My Rep just got an email, and my state senator in next.

bradymsu
09-11-2008, 09:32 AM
My opinion is that you use them and their money for us (hunters) without their total agenda and what is good for the natural resources (deer herd and CWD in this case). You fight against the portions of untruths that they mandate in their stance. There are many hunters and I agree with getting rid of baiting. Again, use them (HSUS) against themselves and use their money to assist what we want. That is my opinion. (notice I said use them, not help them:))

I hear what you're saying about baiting and agree with a lot of the argument about baiting disrupting the natural movement of deer. I think we call all agree though that if we eliminate baiting, we're going to lose hunters. Some will argue that only that lazy hunters are going to drop off. That may be the case, but given the steady decline in the number of hunters in Michigan and the resulting decline in the political strength of the hunting community in this state, can we really afford to give up even those hunters who rely on things like bait? I don't think using HSUS against fellow hunters is a good idea. There is no way we can use HSUS without supporting the ultimate goal of HSUS -to outlaw sport hunting in Michigan.

QuakrTrakr
09-11-2008, 09:50 AM
I tend to agree with Bradymsu. Not to mention the economical impact to farmers and small business the rely on baiting for a majority of their annual income. The problem I have is the lack of warning before the ban. There are many people that will be out 100's of thousands of dollars with no way to replace it.

swampbuck
09-11-2008, 05:56 PM
We may lose a few to the baiting ban, But if full inclusion passes We will add like half a million new ones.;)

beervo2
09-11-2008, 07:42 PM
Thanks for the update Brady....

Mickey Finn
09-11-2008, 08:29 PM
Thanks for the info bradymsu. I really hate to support baiting in the present enviroment. But lets not overlook the fact that not only do alot of people enjoy watching a pile of carrots or apples. It is a relatively safe way to hunt. Assuming they don't fall out of a tree stand. I understand how it disrupts the resource. I don't bait myself. But I'm hestant to tell someone else how to enjoy their sport.

I'll contact my reps as well.

Whit1
09-11-2008, 08:33 PM
HSUS is very crafty in how it goes about its long term goal of outlawing hunting. Instead of taking obvious anti-hunting positions the group will look for disagreements among hunters on issues such as baiting, trapping, the use of dogs, crossbows and license fee increases and support those positions that will lead to a decrease in the number of people hunting. The long term goal of the organization is to reduce the number of people hunting in a state so that it can successfully pass broad anti-hunting measures on future state ballots and in future state legislatures.



Thanks Brady!

Your words above should be posted in every forum thread that pits one hunter and/or anglers against another hunter/angler and/or the groups that represent them. Truer words have not been spoken. There are so many of them on these boards that HSUS could use just this site alone to find fine fodder for feeding their urge to end all hunting and angling.

superposed20ga
09-11-2008, 09:07 PM
I hear what you're saying about baiting and agree with a lot of the argument about baiting disrupting the natural movement of deer. I think we call all agree though that if we eliminate baiting, we're going to lose hunters. Some will argue that only that lazy hunters are going to drop off. That may be the case, but given the steady decline in the number of hunters in Michigan and the resulting decline in the political strength of the hunting community in this state, can we really afford to give up even those hunters who rely on things like bait? I don't think using HSUS against fellow hunters is a good idea. There is no way we can use HSUS without supporting the ultimate goal of HSUS -to outlaw sport hunting in Michigan.


I bait, but I've seen and shot more deer not over bait. For my family at least the baiting seems more like a fall ritual we've become accustomed to doing in preparation for the season. It seems more akin to making extra delicious cookies for Santa in hopes that he'll leave something extra special under the tree. In other words we never get the deer out of the baiting that we anticipate or expect every time we do it. Just the same, it is better for us hunters to discuss and decide amongst ourselves the appropriateness of baiting rather than have its banning supported by any anti-hunting group.

Michihunter
09-11-2008, 11:00 PM
I think most hunters here would agree that HSUS can take their money and go packing. $70 k sounds like a lot of money but it's a drop in the bucket when it comes to issues of this magnitude. To hell with HSUS. If money is needed, I would hope that this board and other outdoor based organizations could put together a fund raiser of some sort and at the very least match HSUS's blood money.

Liv4Huntin'
09-12-2008, 03:11 AM
.... the, what was it, $2.3 MILLION ??? they spent in Michigan to sway the public and stop dove hunting. $70,000 is nothing to them....... well, yeah, it's a START. United we stand....
~m~

ridgewalker
09-12-2008, 11:09 AM
HSUS has done this time and time again. They would love to set a precendent with bow hunting in this state and it could happen. Many are left out because they cannot use a vertical bow and therefore would not have a dog in this fight. I asked the DNR for a response as to why criteria approved by the nrc were left off from the new form and no answer was given and the form was not changed to coincide with conservation order 5.95. Therefore if full inclusion is not adopted it could leave a hole for this group to walk into. This is not a threat. It is as the Duke said, "a fact." If hunters want us to act together as one we have to be together in the hunt.