Letter to the editor: HSUS will use Measure 5 to hurt N.D. agriculture

I am urging everyone to vote “no” on Measure 5.

Measure 5 concerns extreme cruelty to dogs, cats and horses. This sounds good, but there is more to this initiated measure than just the good of dogs, cats and horses.

The measure reads: “Any individual who maliciously and intentionally burns, poisons, crushes, suffocates, impales, drowns, blinds, skins, beats to death, drags to death, exsanguinates, disembowels, or dismembers any living dog, cat, or horse is guilty of a Class C felony.”

Measure 5 is being supported by the Humane Society of the United States, the same group that tried to outlaw high fence hunting in North Dakota two years ago. HSUS raises money to try to eliminate animal agriculture in the United States. The ads on TV depicting abused and mistreated dogs and cats draws in millions of dollars of donations each year, though far less is given back to the animal shelters in the United States that are actually caring for the unwanted or mistreated animals and finding them new homes.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/W7IZF5

HSUS goes into states that have initiated measures to get laws passed that have hidden agendas. North Dakota needs to draft our own laws through the Legislature that work for North Dakota pet owners and citizens. An initiated measure, once passed, cannot be changed by the Legislature for seven years, even if it is bad.

According to the secretary of state’s office, as of Oct. 24 the North Dakotans to Stop Animal Cruelty committee, the proponents of Measure 5, has received $785,130 in contributions of $100 or more. Of that, 93.46 percent of the money or $782,372, is from people from outside of North Dakota. There are contributions from New York, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., Texas, California, and even as far away as Hawaii.

The North Dakota Animal Stewards committee, which is fighting against Measure 5, has received $118,897 in donations more than $100, of which 100 percent is from North Dakota citizens.

Vote “no” on Measure 5

Leann Schafer

New Rockford, N.D.

Tags: opinion, letters, measures