COLUMBUS, Ohio -

The nation’s leading advocate of sportsmen’s rights is announcing the creation of a fund with the sole purpose of combating the world’s number-one anti-hunting organization.

Money collected by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) through the new Sportsmen Against HSUS fund will be used in the continuing battle against the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its animal rights campaign.

The Sportsmen Against HSUS fund is designed to:

mount a national campaign which will focus on educating the media, elected officials, the public, sportsmen and the many others targeted by the animal rights group, and

fund the campaigns that combat the public policy threats initiated and supported by the HSUS.  The HSUS lobbying machine claims to have played a role in getting 86 different state laws passed in 2007 alone.  The group also filed more than a dozen new lawsuits in 2007.

Wayne Pacelle, who claims to be a vegan, and is an anti-hunting advocate and president and CEO of HSUS, recently said, “Let's raise at least $10,000 right now, with $5,000 to go to pets who are the victims of foreclosures and an additional $5,000 to fight the horrible wildlife abuses that the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance loves.”

The HSUS is America’s leading opponent of hunting, fishing, trapping and scientific wildlife management.  It led the charge in a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Michigan, contributing $1.6 million to the effort.  Among other voter issues, it also took the lead in the 1994 ballot campaign to ban cougar and bear hunting with hounds and bait in Oregon.  It opposes hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and other public lands.  It has filed lawsuits to impede the management of gray wolves and grizzly bears.

Some current policy attacks on sportsmen’s rights by the HSUS include:

the launching of a campaign to address so-called “puppy mills,” abusive large-scale commercial dog breeding operations.  Using sentimental images of suffering puppies, the organization is backing legislation in Pennsylvania that would devastate small hobby breeders, dog show kennels and sporting dog enthusiasts.  The legislation is so radical that it has been opposed by the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club and even dog rescue shelters in the state.

A mandatory spay and neuter bill in California, which would require all dogs be spayed or neutered by the age of six months, making it nearly impossible for sportsmen with mixed-breed sporting dogs to remain in business.

The USSA is taking the fight to the HSUS after its continuous attacks against sportsmen’s rights.

“The name Humane Society disingenuously implies that the organization is in the business of taking care of stray dogs and cats,” said USSA president Bud Pidgeon.  “The HSUS does nothing to make the public think otherwise when tugging at the heartstrings of Americans when asking for donations.”

It is more important than ever that all sportsmen unite to combat the principal enemy of American conservation and the outdoor sports that make conservation possible, he said.

Pacelle has a sordid history of leading the anti-hunting crusade.  When he was the national director of the Fund for Animals, which has since merged with HSUS, he was quoted as saying, “We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States …”

Pacelle has let the public in on the agenda of the HSUS, saying, “More money will mean more pet protection, but also more ballot initiatives to restrict inhumane and unsporting hunting practices, more state legislation, more local ordinances.”

To contribute to the Sportsmen Against HSUS fund, please contact the USSA at 801 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, Ohio, 43229.  For more information call (614) 888-4868, or email info@ussportsmen.org.

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