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Groups oppose ‘animal protection liaison’ idea

A number of livestock and other groups have sent a letter to President Obama urging him not to appoint an “animal protection liaison” in the White House.

The concept has been proposed by the Humane Society of the United States. 

Among those signing the letter—the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, National Pork Producers Council and United Egg Producers.

The vice president for government affairs with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Colin Woodall says HSUS already has a lot of access in both the Obama administration and in Congress.

“That’s what concerns us, because they truly are out to end animal agriculture,” Woodall says. “You know, they don’t talk about that publicly as much as they used to—but it’s still their ultimate goal.”

Woodall says HSUS has scaled back on legislative initiatives in Congress while it focuses on state-by-state ballot initiatives—which he thinks is part of their overall strategy.

“They know if they can get out there and win things like Proposition 2 did in California—and what they’re trying to do in Ohio right now,” Woodall explains, “if they can get to a point where they have a critical mass of states that have passed ballot initiatives, then they’ll be able to take that back to Washington and tell Congress ‘hey look, you no longer have any excuse not to move forward with our agenda because the states have already told you how they feel’.”

Woodall visited with Brownfield at the recent cattlemen’s conference in San Antonio.