Yes, I am aware that at one time- years ago some people were sadly
disillusioned re the high salary of the president of the HSUS at that time. I don't know
what Wayne Pacelle's salary is, but I hope it is within the bounds of need and
proportionate to the time and effort he gives to his job as president of HSUS.
Today he reminded us of the article re a whistleblowing veterinarian who
revealed the horrors of a government- run laboratory in Nebraska. He told his
story to Michael Moss of the New York Times in January of this year. Moss wrote about what
what he said was happening there. Scientists at the Center were locking pigs
in steam chambers until they died. Calves were bred with deformed vaginas and
tangled legs. Newborn lambs were left to starve, freeze, or get battered to death by
hail. Even though their misguided purpose re the lambs was an attempt to produce "easy care"
sheep -what they did to these poor lambs and animals seemed more to me like a page
from Hitler's cruel medical experimentations.
Why is our government involved in pouring millions of our tax dollars into
research and development for the benefit of industrial agriculture? I, as a vegan, and
I hope that other vegans and vegetarians are equally appalled re using our taxes in
this way. I also believe that even meat eaters do not condone this cruelty to farm animals
for research.
Where is the President and Congress in this matter? This week I sent MFA's
Dairy Cruelty post to President Obama. I told him that I had voted for him because I
thought he would be a caring president. It is now obvious to me that he is not because I
have never heard him say anything in behalf of suffering animals. I also told him that I
thought we had a terrible USDA which does absolutely nothing in this regard. Even Pacelle
made the observation re the Animal Research Center (MARC) that the US Department of
Agriculture leaders were not paying the least bit of attention to the horrors which
went on in this US research center in Nebraska.
You are probably thinking -- good luck on believing that you have a chance
in a thousand of getting your letter read. And yes, that is so. I am told that the
president receives thousands of letters each day which are read by his helpers and only 10 make it to
his desk. But you know what -- if thousands of us write on this topic -- the odds will be in
our favor.
Pacelle also clued us in to what is happening now in Congress re animal
concerns. Sadly, his post in this regard was titled "A Raft of Bad Ideas Bubble Up in
Congress." While Pacelle acknowledges that Congress is off to a brisk start when it comes to animal
issues -the actions are turning back the clock and reviving bad ideas.
1. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has again introduced legislation to overturn
state laws which protect animals. This Catholic seems to me to be out of sinc with Pope
Francis. And then there are also some Catholic Republicans who don't even agree with him
about climate change.
2. Mainly Republicans from the Upper Great Lakes and Wyoming have
introduced legislation to remove federal protection for wolves. And you won't be surprised to
find out that the "Sportsman" Act which is also supported by many of them has provisions
which will not benefit the animals.
3. As soon as the HSUS secured two federal court rulings restoring the
Endangered Species Act protecting the wolves in the Great Lakes region and Wyoming, trophy hunters
and the National Rifle Association is calling on Congress to wipe out these critical
proctections claiming that doing so would insure public safety and prevent lifestock killings. It
would also more than likely come close to wiping out the wolf species.
I have only touched some of the salient points in these two Wayne Pacelle
blogs and it reaffirms my belief that the HSUS cares about animals as they have always. For people
to find fault with them makes me wonder about what they expect from the HSUS that they so
easily criticize them.
I hope these ignorant people are few and far inbetween. I also failed to
mention that they have closed down some puppy mills and worked with city officials to rehome these
terrified dogs and their puppies. They also take care of some rescued animals in their Black
Beauty Ranch which I believe is in Texas.
We need the HSUS. That is -- if we care about
animals. That is -- if we want to keep tabs on a Congress which bascially seems so self-serving and
uncaring re animal life.
Thank you HSUS for all the good and invaluable work you do for God's animal
creation.
