In a July 23rd memo titled “Greening Headquarters Update” the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) encouraged its employees to participate in “Meatless Mondays” where employees would forgo eating any meat on Mondays.
The USDA’s “Meatless Monday” memo (see page 3) reads like it could have come straight from an animal rights organization’s website. Here are some quotes:
If you hunt with dogs, know someone who hunts with dogs, or might want to own a hunting dog someday, you need to be aware of a focused campaign by animal rights organizations to regulate dog owners—and dog breeders—out of existence.
The animal rights folks’ idea is simple – bury sporting dog and hobby breeders under a mountain of unnecessary and costly regulations until none are left. Why? Because many of them want to eliminate hunting with dogs, breeding purebred dogs, and all dog breeding.
Generally, we see most of their efforts at the state level. Already this year, more than 90 bills have been introduced across the country that could be harmful for sporting dog owners. Recently, the animal rights lobby persuaded the federal government to propose new rules that would expand the number and types of dog owners the federal government regulates. Here’s why sportsmen should be worried:
For many sportsmen and women the summer months are spent staring at a calendar and crossing off days until the fall hunting seasons start back up. Online sportsmen forums are filled with posts titled “100 days till deer season” or “Only 60 more days till the dove opener” and posts on Facebook or Twitter by your hunting friends often read “Going out to shoot the bow, is it November yet?”
Although the summer can be a dull time for sportsmen it is an excellent opportunity for sportsmen to work to protect their hunting rights. Here are a few easy things you can do to help protect your hunting rights.
Protect What's Right 