Please contact the House Finance Committee

The anti-hunting extremists at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have apparently struck a deal to try to force through Senate Bill 460 next week!  This bill, introduced by Freshman State Senator Don Davis (D-5), is the key to HSUS gaining a foothold in North Carolina in order to advance its agenda of attacking the rights of hunters in the Tar Heel State.  HSUS has made no secret of its contempt for all commercial dog breeders, having made such statements as, “There’s no need for anyone to patronize a pet store or a breeder,” and, “[G]ood breeders don’t breed to make money.”  As additional evidence that HSUS is using S 460 to simply advance its attacks on commercial breeders, it has been shown time and again that existing laws are already sufficient, and are being used to address the cruel treatment of dogs.

So, how does S 460 impact hunters?  If HSUS is successful with its apparent goal of eliminating commercial dog breeders, then hunting with dogs will quickly become the activity of only the wealthy who can afford dogs that will become rarer and more expensive.  Anyone who cares about our hunting heritage, even those who do not use dogs in their activities, should be very concerned about S 460.  You can be sure that HSUS does not intend to stop at just hurting hunters who use dogs.  The organization’s president, Wayne Pacelle, has stated, “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….”  People who simply love their pets, and think HSUS is just working to help keep pets happy and healthy, may want to consider another quote attributed to HSUS President Pacelle.  When asked if he envisioned a future with no pets, he replied, “I wouldn’t say that I envision that, no.  If I had my personal view perhaps that might take hold.  In fact, I don’t want to see another cat or dog born.”

Right now, S 460 is in the House Finance Committee, which has yet to announce when the bill will be heard.  It is our understanding that HSUS has negotiated new language that may be offered to add new restrictions to the bill, in an attempt to make it appear as if the organization is “compromising.”  If this is true, it seems hard to understand how adding language creating additional restrictions is a “compromise.”  It also seems odd that NRA has not once been asked for its input on any new language, considering we have been vocal critics of this bill, and have communicated our opposition to lawmakers. 

If the Finance Committee takes up S. 460, it is likely to be on Thursday, June 24, at 8:30AM in Room 544 of the Legislative Office Building.  We encourage you to attend this meeting to show your opposition to S 460 and HSUS. 

If you cannot attend, please take a moment to contact members of the House Finance Committee to urge them to oppose S 460 and the anti-hunting agenda of HSUS. 

Contact for the House Finance Committee can be found here. 

If you intend to send legislators e-mail, please be sure to use "Oppose SB 460" as your subject line.

Please continue to check www.NRAILA.org for updates and information in your area.