Take Action! North Carolina sportsmen should contact their state representatives today in opposition to HB 1066. Tell them state funds should not be used to fund a Washington, D.C.,-based animal-rights organization.
North Carolina House Bill 1066, currently making its way through the state’s committee on transportation in the House of Representatives, would create a roadside memorial program for those killed in automobile accidents. The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Bradford III, would also fund the Humane Society of the United States – the world’s largest anti-hunting organization.
“We’re hoping that Rep. Bradford is, like a lot of people, confusing the Humane Society of the United States with legitimate, local humane shelters in North Carolina,” said Evan Heusinkveld, president and CEO of the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “The fact is, the Humane Society of the United States is a Washington, D.C., lobbying organization that doesn’t run a single pet shelter in any state. Instead it funds efforts to ban hunting opportunities and farming practices. Funding this multimillion-dollar animal-rights organization while ignoring local shelters would only compound the tragedy this bill is supposed to address.”
The intent of H.B. 1066 is to create a roadside memorial program for people killed in car accidents. Family and friends would apply and then donate $500 for the creation of the memorial. However, as our friends at Humane Watch point out, any funds remaining after the creation of the memorial would be paid out on a quarterly basis to HSUS to cover the costs of rescuing animals in North Carolina.
Given that HSUS doesn’t run a single shelter in North Carolina or elsewhere, and that fundraising accounts for 36% of its budget, H.B. 1066 would only serve to line the pockets of the largest animal-rights organization in the world and continue to confuse the public of its non-existent role with local shelters.
“The state should not be funding an extreme animal-rights organization period, but it especially should not be doing so through the memory of victims of automobile accidents,” said Heusinkveld. “Those two facts, coupled with the inability of donors to withdraw that funding or direct it elsewhere, turn the well-intentioned program proposed by H.B. 1066 into bad business for North Carolina animal shelters, wildlife and everyone else. Everyone except the Humane Society of the United States.”
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.