The reminders for went out last week for the Humane Society of the United States TAFA event. Entitled “Taking Action For Animals,” the aim of the conference from sponsor list to schedule of events shows quite a different plan.
The HSUS appears to be becoming much more comfortable with the label Animal Rights very recently. It was only Easter Sunday this year when the HSUS Internet Marketing Manager, Carie Lewis, rejected the ‘Animal Rights’ label outright in conversation with me on Twitter. Yet in the HSUS blog re-print on Opposing Views titled “Humane Society Responds to Attacks on Animal Rights Record” the term seems to raise no alarm. The increase in acknowledgement of an Animal Rights position becomes more apparent with Schedule of Events at the upcoming HSUS run TAFA conference such as the lecture “Animal Rights as a Mainstream Phenomenon” and a sponsorship list composed of Animal Rights Industry members such as:
- Farm Sanctuary
- Animal Rights Anti-Animal Agriculture group
- contributing a minimum $10,000 sponsorship to the event and 3 speakers participating on the agenda
- Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
- Animal rights law organization based in California. Programs include civil litigation, working to enact state felony anti-cruelty statutes, and the Great Ape Legal Program, dedicated to winning legal rights for great apes
- contributing a minimum $2500 sponsorship and 1 speaker to the event
- American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS)
- Animal Rights group dedicated to ending experimentation on animals in research, testing, and education
- contributing a minimum $1500 sponsorship to the event & contributing 1 speaker from AAVS and 1 speaker from New England Anti-Vivisection Society
- HSUS donated $500 to this organization according to their most recently available tax forms
The focus on legislation, lobbying, influencing public opinion and manufacture of message is even higher, which can be easily seen be examining the schedule of events. Due to the massive number of items to examine on the agenda, I will be breaking these items down into a series of articles looking at the conference’s focuses on combating Animal Agriculture, combating Animal Research, Legal/Legislative involvement & manipulation of the media. These will be presented leading up to the actual TAFA conference start and through the HSUS guiding attendees in participation in the Lobby Day on July 27th on Capitol Hill. Wait a minute, isn’t this exactly the kind of action that is in violation of the terms of the HSUS 501(c) 3 status? I thought that HSUS didn’t have any employees or volunteers participating in attempting to influence national, state or local legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter or referendum?
Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved
“Wait a minute, isn’t this exactly the kind of action that is in violation of the terms of the HSUS 501(c) 3 status? I thought that HSUS didn’t have any employees or volunteers participating in attempting to influence national, state or local legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter or referendum?”
It appears to pay quite well depending on the job and location:
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/employment/
And if you do a search you can even find their advertisements for employment on several job search sites ;o) Here is one example I found (leaving out site I found it on for now):
CASEWORKER COORDINATOR-WILDE PUPPY MILL TASK FORCE,…
Posted: June 20, 2009
The Humane Society of the United States, the nations largest animal advocacy organization, is seeking a Caseworker Coordinator for its Wilde Puppy Mill Task Force in the Campaigns division. The main responsibility for this position is to act as the primary point of contact for complaints about specific puppy mills, breeders, and pet stores and to triage complaints for response or possible further action. Specifically, one would be asked to manage the operation of the Wilde Puppy Mill Hotline; Provide information to individuals regarding possible action they can take against problem puppy sellers, determine which complaints warrant further action by HSUS and pass case information on to the Deputy Manager, Wilde Puppy Mill Task Force; Track reports of puppy mill busts; follow up with agencies and individuals involved and affected for more information; Coordinate solicitation of cases from individuals and to assist constituents who are trying to take action against a puppy mill operations; and to manage the complaint database to track cases by degree of problem, locations, and mode of acquisition for use in media outreach and legislative efforts. Knowledge of law enforcement/animal control preferred with an understanding of puppy mill issues, relevant laws and regulations highly desired. The salary range for this position is in the range of the mid to upper 30s. Please send all cover letters and resumes to hrjobs@hsus.org or fax to (301) 548-7701. This position is located in Gaithersburg, MD.
Please refer to job code ORWILDE_PUPPY_MILL_T when responding to this ad.
Category: Other Jobs
Location: Washington, DC
County: District Of Columbia County
ZIP Code: 20001
Pay Rate: Open
Job Terms: full time
Company: The Humane Society of the United States
Phone: email only please
Fax: email only please