HSUS- Maine Vote this Tuesday

[JTG]

Maine Deception: The Real Agenda of HSUS
I read with amusement Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) president and CEO Wayne Pacelle’s article in the Sept. 27 edition of the Bangor Daily News. The first thing that struck me was the photo of Pacelle clad in a flannel shirt knocking on doors in Bangor to ask for support of the HSUS-led initiative to ban the most effective means of controlling the bear population in Maine. The fact is, Mr. Pacelle’s organization and qualifications to comment on Maine’s bear issues are as genuine as his donning of a flannel shirt; they’re all a charade meant to sell residents on an agenda that will cost the state financially and environmentally.
Mr. Pacelle is a Yale-educated, suit-wearing resident of Washington D.C. who runs the world’s largest anti-hunting organization, and Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting is nothing more than an HSUS storefront. HSUS has contributed more than 97 percent of Question 1 funding. They are the ones who hired a California-based firm to gather signatures to get it on the ballot in the first place.
In other words, it’s not the people of Maine who are asking for bear management to change, rather, it’s a predictable HSUS strategy to further their radical agenda, one they’ve used in other states – including Maine in 2004. Having pumped more than $2.5 million into the campaign, Mr. Pacelle and HSUS believe they can buy Maine’s voters, and buy their way closer to stopping all forms of hunting across the country – their ultimate goal.
I was also amused by Mr. Pacelle’s quote in an August 11 Bangor Daily News article where he stated, “This time, we have seen some of the dirty tricks already, and I think we’ll be ready for them.” As the CEO of HSUS, Mr. Pacelle is certainly qualified to talk about “dirty tricks.” Deception has landed his organization in hot water during the last year; a few examples:
• HSUS and their co-defendants were required to pay a $15.75 million settlement after losing a federal racketeering, fraud and bribery lawsuit stemming from a 2000 lawsuit filed against Feld Entertainment, Inc., the operator of Ringling Brothers Circus.
• An investigation was opened by the Oklahoma Attorney General to look deeper into deceptive fundraising practices implemented by the organization. The investigation is continuing.
• Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest evaluator of charities, issued a Donor Advisory warning and revoked its rating of HSUS.
Deception is also part of the Question 1 campaign. Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting sued to keep Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists from voicing professional and expert opinions on the matter in television commercials, while flooding the airwaves with a rash of emotional, yet baseless, ads of their own – facts and science are not on the side of HSUS/Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting. When they suffered a resounding court loss, they appealed – saddling Maine residents once again with court costs and attorney fees. They’re also not being forthright with the long-term costs to citizens – a potential $53 million economic shortfall that will be felt throughout Maine if Question 1 passes. This doesn’t even touch on property damage, as well as inevitable increases in human-bear conflicts (and the resources required to resolve them), as proven in other states where similar HSUS proposals have passed.
Ultimately, Maine residents will decide the future of bear management in the state. As you head to the ballot box, simply ask yourself: “Who am I going to trust?”
Do you trust an anti-hunting special-interest group from Washington, D.C., with a shameful record of behavior? Or do you trust Maine’s bear biologists, who lead a nationally recognized bear management program guided by sound science?


Nick Pinizzotto - USSA/USSAF President & CEO
www.ussportmen.org

[dhostetler]

Well looks like the Maine bear hunters won

[JTG]

Great job! congratulations.

[Emily]

For Immediate Release
November 5, 2014

BREAKING NEWS: Sportsmen Prevail in Maine Bear Hunting Ban
In a ballot initiative with national repercussions, Maine voters once again sent an unmistakable message to animal-rights extremists: stay out of our state.
For the second time in 10 years, Maine voters resoundingly rejected a ballot initiative backed and bankrolled by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Throughout the battle on Question 1, which would have banned the use of bait, dogs and traps when bear hunting, sportsmen and professional wildlife managers who opposed the initiative continually maintained a double-digit lead in the polls.
“This is a great victory for sportsmen. It shows that scientific wildlife management can withstand a direct attack from the well-funded anti-hunting movement,” said Evan Heusinkveld, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USSA) vice president of government affairs. “Despite pumping more than $2.5 million into this campaign, HSUS received a loud and clear message from Maine voters that their radical agenda is out of touch with modern wildlife management.”
Facing overwhelming opposition, HSUS and its front group, Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, attempted to undermine the political process with lawsuits and petty allegations meant to keep voters ignorant of the scientific facts that refuted their stance. Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting unsuccessfully sued to keep professional wildlife managers and biologists with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from speaking out about the ramifications to citizens should Question 1 pass.
“We fully expected them to employ this type of tactic when it became clear that they would be unable to overcome the willingness of Maine voters to listen to the facts. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has earned a high level of trust based on a solid track record of managing Maine’s wildlife, and there was no amount of misleading rhetoric that could change that,” said Nick Pinizzotto, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance president and CEO.
Tonight’s vote was the culmination of nearly two years of fundraising and fighting to protect the undeniable role of sportsmen in managing wildlife. The concerted effort of the USSA and other groups opposed to Question 1 ensures that hunting and trapping will continue to be available to state biologists tasked with managing Maine’s 30,000 bears.
"Our success would have been impossible without the support of USSA. Not only were they one of our largest individual donors, USSA helped lead the effort to raise millions to defend all sportsmen in Maine. Their expertise and dedication on sportsmen issues is uncontested. The leadership they provided will help safeguard hunting opportunities in Maine, and throughout the country, in the future," said James Cote, campaign manager for the Maine Wildlife Conservation Council, of the USSA.
The Maine Wildlife Conservation Council was a ballot-question committee set up specifically to defeat Question 1. It was comprised of such groups as the Maine Professional Guides Association, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Maine Trapper’s Association, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, as well as many other sportsmen’s organizations, farmers, small business owners, unions, wildlife professionals and others concerned with managing the state’s wildlife in a responsible manner.
In defeating HSUS on Question 1, the citizens of Maine rebuked the meddling of the out-of-state special-interest group and ensured their heritage and sound scientific wildlife management will endure. However, HSUS has a long history of attacking sportsmen, and while they might or might not return to Maine after such a decisive defeat, it’s a safe bet that they will attempt to advance their animal-rights agenda in other states next year.
“It is the sole mission of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance to protect hunting, fishing and trapping from emotional and unfounded attacks by anti-hunting groups,” Pinizzotto. “It is imperative for the future of all wildlife that management decisions be made by trained professionals guided by sound science and proven techniques.”
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For more information, contact Brian Lynn at (614) 888-4868 Ext. 226 or blynn@ussportsmen.org.
www.ussportmen.org

[Grzyadms4x4]

Thank goodness. I was worried about this one. F the HSUS.

[Dirty Jim]

Awesome news!

[Hollister]

Congrats Maine keep up the fight

[not color blind]

NICE WORK MAINE!

[WoodwardRedbones]

Congrats Maine, keep up the good work. : )

[kordog]

a big thank you to all that helped support us !we couldnt have done it without you. the antis are not going to stop ever .they will just change tactics and come after your rights a different way .we bought ourselves some time at best .with that precious time we have to figure a way of making laws to protect our rights from them.it seems we only react to a situation after a kick in the nuts from the antis.well we have been kicked there repeatedly .its time to change tactics on them. thats my 2 cents worth .

[Bluetickhounddog]

.

[1bludawg]

Now that is Great News!!! Maybe people are starting to realize the antis cause more harm than do good with their anti-hunting initiatives .

[bearsnva]

As I posted on another hunting site, it is fantastic that Maine came out as the winner on their bear referendum!! Now that they have a little breathing room, and momentum on their side, they need to press their Game Dept. to press the legislature to place the management of their game animals in the hands of the experts, the Game Dept. which has people hired to do so, rather than on ballot initiatives that are decided by the public's sentiment which the HSUS almost bought!

[1bludawg]

Here in Oregon the northwest corner of the state dictates what we do. It's a liberal stronghold and common sense doesn't have a chance there.Three quarters of our state is rural but our votes are almost meaningless because of the metropolitan areas.I'm not really sure why they hate hounds so much.Our ole mutts are some of the best natured dogs in the world.You can let let your child roughhouse with them and pull on their ears and not have to worry about the dog eating their face off! And yet northwest Oregon voted to outlaw the use of hounds .Hounds that usually don't harm their quarry.They just chase it up a tree if they're able and the handler or hunter makes that decision .They forbid Oregon residents from using hounds for hunting AND YET they decided it's acceptable for a paid government agent to snare these same great predators with a cable ! These magnificent animals suffer excruciating pain in their last hours. Now are these people (voters) hypocrites or perhaps just ignorant? In any event i'm extremely happy for Maine !

[muttman82]

For those that don't know already check out humanewatch.org it tells the truth about how corrupted and underhanded the HSUS is ! And congrats to maine !