Animal Rights Groups to Announce Plan to Merge, Ban Bowhunti

[Tim Nunan]

http://www.ussportsmen.org/interactive/ ... fm?ID=1435

(Columbus) - The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) has learned that the nation’s principal anti-hunting organizations will announce a merger on Monday, November 22. In announcing the merger, the unified anti-hunting group will reveal its intention to target bowhunters for extinction.

The USSA, a national organization founded to protect the rights of sportsmen to hunt, fish and trap, has been following a rumor that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fund for Animals are preparing to combine forces.

The HSUS, located in Washington, D.C., is the nation’s largest animal rights organization raising nearly $60 million in 2002. The Fund for Animals is the most vociferous anti-hunting organization and is
headquartered in New York City. It raised $6.7 million in 2003.

Scripps Howard News Service reporter Lance Gay confirmed the merger announcement to USSA late Friday afternoon. Gay stated that sources within the groups confirmed that the new organization would seek to ban bowhunting as a first priority.

In response, USSA announced an emergency meeting of bowhunting organizations, businesses and publications to prepare to counter the attack. The Alliance created the Bowhunter Defense Coalition to defeat a series of attacks on bowhunters during the late 1980s.

“The merger announcement serves as a wake up call to bowhunting groups to reunite to defeat what promises to be a powerful attack on our heritage from this monstrous anti-hunting group,” said Rick Story, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance senior vice president. “To win, we will need to energize the vast grassroots network of sportsmen across this country.”

Over the years, the Fund for Animals and HSUS have been the two most formidable organizations working to ban hunting. While the Fund for Animals has been openly hostile to hunters, HSUS has attempted to mask its intentions by raising funds using puppy calendars for promotions. Earlier this year, HSUS appointed former Fund for Animals official Wayne Pacelle to the position of CEO. Combined with the merger announcement, Pacelle’s appointment leaves little doubt about the agenda of the newly-merged organization. According to public filings the new organization will have combined assets of as much as $97 million to implement its anti-hunting agenda.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, http://www.ussportsmen.org