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Microsoft Aids Funding of Anti-Hunting Group
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by tigers9 on June 1, 2007
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http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_108262.asp
Microsoft Aids Funding of Anti-Hunting Group
National Humane Society not connected with local groups
posted June 1, 2007
Microsoft has rejected a U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance request to abandon its partnership with the nation's leading anti-hunting organization.
Microsoft, the software giant, will make a $100,000 donation to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and is partnering with the group on a pilot program called the i'm Initiative. Through the new program, whenever a Windows Live Messenger user has a conversation using i'm, Microsoft will give a portion of the program's advertising revenue to one of ten organizations selected by the user. The HSUS is one of the choices, and there is no limit to the amount of money that can be donated.
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance has urged Microsoft to end its support of HSUS, but the company refused. According to Microsoft representative Tara Kriese, Microsoft believes the i'm Initiative is "a great way to enable people to help causes that are important to them."
Many people believe that the Humane Society of the United States is directly or indirectly connected to their local humane society dedicated to caring for dogs and cats. That's not true. There is no connection whatsoever and HSUS is dedicated primarily to ending hunting in the United States.
"Microsoft is going to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars, probably more, into an organization that recently issued a manifesto that targets hunting for extinction," said USSA President Bud Pidgeon. "If there was ever a time for sportsmen to take grassroots action, this is it."
The USSA is asking sportsmen to contact Microsoft
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=ussa&hotissue=30
and demand that its financial support of HSUS be terminated. Contact Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (425) 882-8080. Fax: (425) 936-7329.
The Humane Society of the United States opposes all animal use, including trapping, hunting and fishing. It was a key player in the campaigns to outlaw dove hunting in Michigan, trapping in California, and black bear hunting in Colorado. The organization has created a hit list of hunting traditions that it hopes to dismantle, including bear hunting and hunting with hounds.
"The HSUS already has a multi-million dollar budget that it invests in legislative and ballot campaigns to ban trapping and hunting," said Pidgeon. "The partnership that it has formed with Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox, will allow the organization to make money hand over fist, and continue to fund efforts to ban outdoor sports."
Sportsmen can make a difference in an issue like this. Companies such as Iams, General Mills, Accor Hotels, Pet Safe, Sears, and Ace Hardware ended relationships with HSUS after thousands of sportsmen levied strong protest.
In 2002, Jeep raised the ire of sportsmen when it aired a blatantly, anti-hunting commercial called the "Deer Hunter." After a flood of sportsmen's contacts, Jeep pulled the commercial in three days.
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen's organization that 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, www.ussportsmen.org.
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http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_108301.asp
Humane Society Responds to US Sportsman's Alliance Release
posted June 1, 2007
To the editor:
The Chattanoogan essentially reprinted a press release from an Ohio-based hunting industry organization, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, criticizing Microsoft for including The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in its instant messaging campaign, the i’m Initiative (“Microsoft Aids Funding of Anti-Hunting Group,” June 1). By joining the i’m Initiative, users have their choice of charities they want to support, from many worthy groups such as the American Red Cross, UNICEF, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Sierra Club, and The Humane Society of the United States.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal welfare organization, with nearly 10 million supporters – one of every 30 Americans. We work to protect dogs and cats, but also farm animals and wildlife, too. We have campaigns to combat factory farming, dogfighting and cockfighting, Canada’s notorious killing of baby seals, and puppy mills. We also maintain several sanctuaries for abused or abandoned animals, serve as the lead disaster relief agency for animals, and operate a veterinary services program that provides no-cost services for tens of thousands of dogs and cats in rural regions throughout the country.
We work to curb the worst hunting abuses, and that's what has led us most recently to campaign vigorously against canned hunting, Internet hunting, and the use of steel-jawed leghold traps – practices that many rank-and-file hunters and The HSUS undoubtedly agree are abusive and unacceptable. If readers want to find out about our programs, they can go to humanesociety.org to learn more or to get involved in our work.
Michael Markarian
Executive Vice President
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
301.721.6426
mmarkarian@humanesociety.org
"Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty"
humanesociety.org
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