Welcome to the fight against the Animal Rights Movement; more specifically, welcome to the Crusade to Expose the Humane Society of the United States (aka, the H$U$). The purebred dog and cat community have been on to them for many years now, fighting off the onslaught of anti-breeder/anti-purebred propaganda. By joining forces, the agricultural community and the millions of pet owners and breeders in this great country, we can defeat the ARs (animal rightists) and expose their true agenda: No animal use for any purpose.
It won't be an easy war, nothing worthwhile ever is. The good news is that there are groups of us that have years, decades even, of experience and knowledge in fighting and exposing our common enemy: the Humane Society of the United States. The National Animal Interest Alliance, the Sportsmen's and Animal Owners Voting Alliance, the Cat Fancier's Association, and the hundreds of dog club federations across the country, not only monitor upcoming legislation in all states, but issue thousands of letters, faxes, phone calls, etc, to federal, state and local lawmakers.
The first thing you all should know is that there are more of US (pet owners/breeders, farmers, folks who use/own animals) than there are of THEM (the H$U$, PETA, ASPCA, etc). The sheer number of Americans that love and or rely on animals for whatever reasons, FAR outnumber those true hard-core Animal Rights fanatics that want us to eat nothing but tofu.
Secondly, learn from the mistakes that we in the dog world have made. Assuming that "that law won't apply to me", or "my operation is above reproach", or "why should I care what happens in California" type attitudes will only divide us further. Divide and conquer is the number one strategy of the H$U$. NO ONE is immune, NO standards of animal husbandry (no matter how well we care for our animals), will EVER be good enough.
Third, NO COMPROMISE. PERIOD. When a vauge law is introduced, band together and KILL IT. Some will say, "oh, well, THAT part isn't too bad and SOUNDS reasonable". A common H$U$ tactic is purposely introducing vague, feel good, fuzzy wuzzy type laws that to most Americans, sound logical and appeals to their EMOTIONS. Lawmakers want to pass laws that they THINK will please their constituents and hopefully get them re-elected. The public-at-large, along with lawmakers for the most part, do not stop to think of the "unintended consequences" a law will have. Case in point: the Anti-Horse Slaughter Bill. The H$U$ was successful in shutting down the industry by playing on the emotions of the public. So, once the slaughter plants were closed, that left many horse owners with a delimma: what do I do with my old/sick/unruly horse? Some were turned loose, to which the H$U$ et al, responded with "horse overpopulation", some were transported out of the country to Mexico where horse slaughter standards are waay below humane (to which the H$U$ responded with the current law on making TRANSPORTATION of horses destined for slaughter would be outlawed.)
I, personally, am looking forward to working with the agricultural community to defeat those that threaten our way of life with our animals. We are all in this together; agriculture, ranchers, pet owners, breeders, veterinarians...even John Q Public that enjoys grilling steaks on the weekend, though "John" hasn't fully realized it yet. It is imperative that we turn up the heat on our enemy, the H$U$, and expose them for what they really are: the wealthiest and most dangerous Animal Rights group this great country of ours has ever seen. They are a lobbying machine, nothing more; lobbying to take away our rights, as an animal owning/using society, for their own vegan driven agenda.
We must utilize every media outlet, organize community seminars, and reach out to and educate the public and our lawmakers that the "Humane Society" is a humane society in name only: they do not operate or oversee the thousands of animal shelters in this country. The H$U$ has no police powers. This is a war of propaganda: and it is high past time that we start dishing it back.
Vilsack is praised by both 
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