Sunday, April 27, 2008

Urged Action Required of All Hunters and Anglers

© By Othmar Vohringer

Once again news has reached me via the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance of a large company, the Michigan based Meijer retail superstore chain, supporting financially one of the notorious animal rights organizations.

Please read the following email sent to me and act immediately as requested.
(Columbus, Ohio) - Meijer, a Michigan-based regional chain of retail superstores, has aligned itself with the anti-hunting group, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in an online pet photo contest.

It has refused a U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) request to abandon the partnership.

According to information on the Meijer website, for each person that enters the contest, Meijer will donate $1, up to a maximum of $5,000, to the HSUS Foreclosure Pets Fund.

The money donated to HSUS through this promotion, while not going directly to its anti-hunting campaign, will free up money from the organization’s general fund that can be used to attack the rights of sportsmen.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the nation’s leading sportsmen’s advocacy organization, has urged Meijer to end its support of HSUS, but the company refused.

“While my answer probably isn’t going to completely satisfy you, it is important that you (USSA) and your members understand that we understand what you are saying. We believe that we have funneled this money away from the Humane Society and instead put it to use where we really wanted it, which is helping families and helping rescued animals,” said Meijer vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, Stacie Behler. “Our goal here was not to provide funding for the Humane Society of the United States, but instead for a fund that would be funneled out nationally.”

Behler did recognize that hunters and sportsmen are a huge customer base for Meijer and mentioned that the company has already received messages and emails from concerned sportsmen and some of those messages identified other sportsmen-friendly national organizations that will be helped in future programs.

“Sportsmen must send Meijer a strong message that its support of HSUS, the largest anti-hunting organization in the world, is not appreciated,” said Bud Pidgeon, president of USSA. “I encourage everyone to call and write the company to express your disappointment at the alienation of sportsmen this collaboration causes.”

The HSUS is America’s leading opponent of hunting, fishing and trapping. It led the charge in a a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Meijer’s home state of Michigan, contributing $1.6 million to the effort. It opposes hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and other public lands. In fact, the organization is a plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit to ban hunting on the refuges, and is the lead plaintiff in other suits to manipulate the Endangered Species Act to ban outdoor sports. HSUS does not operate or oversee animal shelters or have any legal controls over them.

Meijer is a seller of sporting goods and hunting licenses and indicates on its website that it operates 184 locations throughout Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Sportsmen can make a difference. Companies such as Iams, General Mills, Accor Hotels, Pet Safe, Sears and Ace Hardware ended relationships with HSUS after thousands of sportsmen levied strong protest.
It boggles my mind how many companies seemingly without thinking or doing any research are willing to donate money to any organization that begs them too. I mean. Has it ever occurred to Meijer what the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for? Does Meijer realize that if the HSUS would have it their way Meijer could not sell hunting and fishing licenses, meat and meat products, dairy products, pet food and many other products derived from,- tested on,- and aimed at animals?

Has Meijer and other businesses ever made an effort to try and understand what economical adverse impact the HSUS, PETA and other such notrious oganizations have on business and society? The billions of dollars, the millions of unemployed, the vanishing of wildlife and habitats it would cost us all if ever, God forbid, these fanatics should come into a position to govern a country. Do sponsors realize that animal rights directly and indirectly financially support animal rights and environmental terrorism and crimes carried out by their rabbit members?

Sportsmen please contact Meijer CEO and President Hank Meijer at 2929 Walker Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49544-9428; phone – (616) 453-6711; fax – (616) 791-2572; email – hank.meijer@meijer.com and demand that the company end its financial support of HSUS.

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2 comments:

SimplyOutdoors said...

This is definitely sad Othmar.

Between Wal-mart recently starting up its "gun registry" and Meijer with their HSUS support I'm running out of places to be able to shop in my local community.

I think what happens, as far as HSUS is concerned, is that everyone associates them with the local Humane Societies, even though they have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever.

I'll be contacting Meijer about this that is for sure.

Anonymous said...

The short answer to your questions is No, Othmar. Meijer probably doesn't know enough to make the distinction, and they probably also know that the antis are better funded and better able to mobilize their supporters than the pro hunting groups are.

Sadly, it's a numbers game and an issue of who can cause the most ruckus. The calculation probably is that hunters won't be able to organize to have a significant impact.

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