Established in 1954, the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) at first glance appears to be a typical "animal welfare
society," concerned primarily with ending cruel and inhumane
treatment of animals. Closer examination of the group, however,
reveals that it is a classic "animal rights" organization
which seeks to endow animals with some of the same rights normally
reserved for human beings. HSUS's 1980 convention, for example,
called for "the clear articulation and establishment of the
rights of all animals" and a senior HSUS official once said
that "human being aren't superior" to animals, they're
"just different." Naturally, the organization has come
out against hunting, fishing and laboratory tests on animals.
It's programs include: "Shame of Fur" campaign, which
seeks to persuade consumers that wearing fur is cruel through
demonstrations, radio commercials and other activities; "Beautiful
Choice," which works to end animal testing for cosmetic and
other personal care products; and "Breakfast of Cruelty,"
which seeks reform of the way chickens and hogs are raised. HSUS
says that it launched its "Breakfast of Cruelty" because
"behind virtually every slice of bacon and every innocuous
looking egg lurks a long, hidden history of unbearable suffering."
Despite its much-vaunted interest in animal welfare, the Humane
Society of the United States maintains no animal shelters.
Selected Humane Society of the United States Quotes
"Human beings aren't superior, we're just different...We
need to think not in terms of a hierarchy, but what I call a 'holoarchy,'
a seamless web of life." - Dr. Michael W. Fox, HSUS Environmental
Studies Director, quoted in Trashing the Economy by Ron Arnold
and Alan Gottleib, 1993
"Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as
cock fighting and dog fighting. Our opponents say that hunting
is a tradition. We say traditions can change." - Wayne Pacelle,
HSUS Vice President, quoted in Bozeman Daily Chronicle, October
8, 1991
"...In promoting the rights of animals, we are doing so in
a world where animals do not have equal status; indeed can not
and will not have equal status. The human species... will never
concede equality to animals and will, I predict, resist with increasing
vehemence all attempts to endow them with such." - John A.
Hoyt, HSUS chief executive officer, quoted in Animal Scam by Kathleen
Marquardt
"Only 7% of Americans are hunters. That means there are more
of us than there are of them. It is simply a matter of democracy.
The majority rules in a democracy. We are going to use the ballot
box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United
States... We will take it species by species until all hunting
is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
- Wayne Pacelle, Full Cry, October 1990
Version Date: March 6, 1996
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