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Nebraska governor on HSUS: ‘We’re going to beat them’

The governor of Nebraska is sending a strong message to the Humane Society of the United States—if the animal rights group goes after the state’s livestock industry, it’s in for a fight.

“The Humane Society of the United States is anti-agriculture and they’re out to destroy animal agriculture—and if they want to come to Nebraska, we’re going to fight them and we’re going to beat them,” Heineman says. “Agriculture is the number one industry in this state.  It’s what makes our economy so strong.  I’m going to stand tall and this is a fight we won’t shy away from.”

In an interview with Brownfield after his speech to the Nebraska Cattlemen’s group in Kearney, Heineman made it clear that compromise is not an option.

“In Nebraska, no deal, no compromise—we’re going to stand up, we’re going to beat them,” he says. “They’d be better off going somewhere else because they’re going to lose if they stay in Nebraska.”

HSUS has recently become more active in Nebraska, hiring a state director and holding a town hall meeting in Lincoln.

AUDIO: Dave Heineman (1 min MP3)

  • They have no clue what this world would be like if we did not have any animals to contribute to our food supply. Where would we grow all the veggies to feed the population of this world? Where does the fertilizer come from that fertilizes the fields that grow the crops? That certainly isn’t all man-made, and if it is, how good is that for us to eat and the environment? The videos they show on their website is not what those of us who raise livestock for profit are really like. They have found some really gruesome stuff about slaughter houses and feedlots. If the animals we took to sell where treated that way and looked that bad, no one would buy them, nor would my family be eating them ourselves. Cruelty is one thing, but raising animals for food is another issue entirely!! Nice job Gov. Heineman!!!

  • This is a truely fantastic stance to take! Thank you Governor Heineman. Other State leaders and officials; please take note and follow suit. If leaders in every state took this position we would be able make scientifically based animal policy.

  • What a tough guy! He’s going to fight and win a battle that doesn’t exist. Wayne Pacelle said there are no plans for a ballot initiative or anything else in Nebraska. Animal rights groups rarely have issues with cattle since they aren’t subjected to extreme confinement.

  • Pam, are you fronting for HSUS?

    HSUS routinely goes after dairy operations. The organinzation frequently critisizes the farmers that grow hogs. HSUS has covert surveillance at horse shows and equine facilities. And the organization branched out into radical environmental crusades so they constantly complain about beef cattle feeding.

    Nebraska has all of those types of animal agriculture. So how can you say with a straight face that HSUS and Wayne Pacelle aren’t trying to do something in Nebraska?

  • Hey Pam, You may be right that Whiney Wayne may not have his sights set on beef cattle yet. . . but he sure wants to stop the production of everything on four hooves or paws.

  • @ Pam “Wayne Pacelle said”, what a joke! Goes right along with, “the check is in the mail”, and “I did not have sex with that woman”.

    Kick @ss Nebraska!

  • Hey Pam!! I do not know for sure, but I am betting that Wayne Pacelle is also one of these nut jobs that have no clue as to how cattle are raised in this state or any other for that matter!! Thats what these people do………suck in the people who are so worried about how an animal is treated and suck up your hard earned money to go to there sniveling whining little people who would live on chest-nuts and green leaves for the rest of their lives. I say let em” go, but leave me out of it. THEY ARE IN THE MINORITY in this country, but there are anough stupid people to buy into this crap. After all……………they voted Obamma for president!!!!!!!! I say way to go Governor and I stand behind you and so does 99.9 % of the great state of NEBRASKA!!

  • We applaud you-Heineman!!! Dont fold like the wimps here in Ohio did…HSUS IS a terrorist group-if you dont do what they want, they attack you-even if it is just political. DO NOT negotiate with terrorists!! DO NOT negotiate with HSUS!! Boot their butts back to DC-dont let them attack Nebraska farmers/ranchers like Ohio has!!

  • Get ready for the Animal Rights supporters to start spewing their venom! They will be trolling every article and statement either denying that they are after agriculture or secretly filming any abuse that they can find and presenting it as the normal way that all farmers and ranchers treat their animals.

  • Go Governor! You get those anti-animal idiots on the run. @Pam – you must not know much about Wayne Pacelle. He is on record saying that he feels no reason to continue the breeding of ANY domestic animals. He brought that idea with him from PETA.

    • Great, I’m glad someone is smart enough to realize that the exploitation of other living beings causes global pandemics and it’s in our best interests not to breed

  • Pam, w.p. is way anti-agriculture. Look at his track record and the lies he has been caught in…stay strong Nebraska and Gov. Heineman!

  • The HSUS may state that they are out for better living conditions (larger cages). Not to end animal agriculture. What they say and what they are aiming for are two different things. All one has to do it look back at the HSUS actions/interviews over the last 20 years. They clearly prove that they are indeed out to “abolish all animal agriculture.” Any one who thinks other wise is just believing their media hype. Good job Nebraska. Other states need to follow suit. The HSUS has convinced many that they have millions as members so in turn they should be feared. It has been proven recently that less than half a million in the whole US would be more like it. They are playing a smoke and mirrors game to bully their agenda.

  • Animal activists and the States Representatives who support them should all be rounded up and spayed or neutered before being released back into the wild. Legislation should be passed that would make it illegal to house them or breed them…even for the pet trade. Stupidity can be elliminated in our lifetime…and the cure is simple.
    VOTE THEM OUT!!

  • Go Heineman. The fact of the matter is that HSUS is not a humane society at all. Barely a fraction of their enormous funding goes to help animals (and people) that really need it. Their dishonest policies and ballot initiatives have had a significant effect in reducing the nation’s food production capabilities by enacting laws that are not even based on science. All this at a time when the world is struggling more than ever to feed a burgeoning population. As a veterinarian, I am appalled by the fact that HSUS is no friend to animals and they are no friend to the starving and malnourished masses of the globe. We must safeguard agriculture to keep our country strong and do our part to feed the billions outside our country who depend on us.

    • Dude, did you know — humans do not need animal products and/or animal by-products to survive & thrive. Additionally, animal agriculture causes world hunger.

  • Governor Heineman’s policy will do wonders for Nebraska’s economy. If having a dialogue about basic standards in animal husbandry is a “fight” that has to be muzzled, then I see far more lucrative industries that Nebraskans can pursue — child pornography, prostitution, cocaine production — the sky’s the limit when morality is off the table.

  • Most of us in Animal Agriculture (there is always an exception) take care of our livestock as if they were family. I have spent many a long cold nights waiting and assisting with the birth of a calf, freezing cold days gathering everyone up to make sure they have plenty to eat and drink and usually before I fill my own belly. I take better care of my family of over 400 then many humans take care of their children. The problem is that we in Animal Agriculture need to get people who are removed from the industry our story. Then HSUS wouldn’t stand a chance.

  • I applaud the stance of the Governor of NE with respect to animal agriculture as it is a vital component of the system. I am an advocate of sustainable animal production systems and I hope the Governor takes a similar position when it comes to the challenge of the external costs associated with industrial animal production.

  • In Ohio, the new Governor and Director of Agriculture are going to work to undo the actions foisted on Ohio farmers by HSUS recently. The tide is turning against HSUS as Nebraska and other states confront them.

  • You are the type of person that makes farmers lives difficult. Get a clue. You obviously have no idea where your food comes from. PS. money grows on trees.

    ***please note, I did edit this post because of unnecessary name-calling. – Cyndi Young

  • Mark in Florida said it best, I’ll say it again! THANK YOU GOV DAVE!
    Animal activists and the States Representatives who support them should all be rounded up and spayed or neutered before being released back into the wild. Legislation should be passed that would make it illegal to house them or breed them…even for the pet trade. Stupidity can be elliminated in our lifetime…and the cure is simple.
    VOTE THEM OUT!!

  • Huzzah and Kudos to the Governor. As a dog breeder I can only hope that dog breeders are included in this statement HSUS uses ‘puppy mills’ as an excuse to put their camels nose under the tent. After all who wants to hurt little puppies and kitties. Make sure you have good strong animal abuse laws in effect and enforce them. That is ALL you need. HSUS is slowly infiltrating using this ruse that “no one needs more that X amount of breedable dogs” Wayne Pacelle went as far as saying that with the new 50 dog limit in many states that breeders can make as much as $100,000 ( gross) and that should be enough for anyone living in a rural situation. In the meantime , others in his ranks tell audiences that the 50 dog “limit” is “only a start and that the number can be easily ratcheted down at any time once they have a number in place”. in effect you have someone who makes in excess of three times the amount of money he deems “appropriate” for a rural person telling people how much money they can make.. and limiting their income no matter how well they treat their dogs.
    Please farmers and ranchers. don’t throw dog breeders under the bus by compromising on this issue.. we support you.. please do the same for us..

  • It is time to take a stand against these radical left-wing political activists. They spend little money saving homeless animals and spend millions on international socialist political activism. Our gutless Washington officials allow the leftists to create unnecessary regulations to destroy the food animal industry. As a former Democrat who left the Party in disgust, I urge Americans to quite electing politicans because you “like them” and vote the socialists out–“lightening will not strike” a Party Democrat who votes for conservatives supporting American values! I am shocked that farmers actually vote for Democrats (they can not buck the Party system). It is time for elected officials to stand up and take HSUS on!

  • I agree 100% with darwin. I am only a hobby breeder who has no intention of having 50 breeding animals, but this is about freedom of choice and freedom of our capitalistic economy and the right of people to choose how they conduct their legal enterprise and more importantly about protecting our 14th amendment due process and property rights. I will fight wholeheartedly for those rights for everyone, regardless if I wish to engage in breeding at that level, because darwin is also right in that their goal is to continue to ratchet that number down to zero, so I will eventually get hit if they are not stopped now.

    If HSUS can dictate and set legal precedent that 1) defines “animal abuse” with a number, and 2) takes away our animals simply based on the violation of that number, then they can transfer dogs very easily to cows, pigs, chickens, or whatever animal they want to “protect.” They are standing side by side in Missouri (dogs, agriculture, exotics, etc.) and by doing so they darn near beat HSUS at the ballot box. There is strength in numbers and these groups are masters of divide and conquer because they know there is strength in numbers. Throwing one animal husbandry group under the bus is only buying the other group time, it will not stop the AR beast. As soon as that animal industry is gone, they will be after the next. And each subsequent industry will be an easier and easier target because there will be fewer and fewer voices (what benefit or incentive will there be for the dog breeders to stand up and fight for others after they are all wiped out–absolutely none) to carry on and fight.

    We have to stand together or we are all going to fall separately.

  • Guys don’t waste your time on Pam – she is a major HSUS supporter and fails to listen to reason – she believes anything that comes out of HSUS as fact and NOTHING you say will change her mind.

    I have to say that while the soon to be ex Ohio governor let HSUS come into Ohio and try to dictate what is going to happen in Ohio – the new governor Kasich has appoint Jim Zehringer to sit in the state ag seat and they are BOTH ready to boot HSUS out of Ohio as well….Kasich said that he isn’t going to let an outside interest group dictate what happens in Ohio. So there’s going to be a battle in Ohio as well.

    It appears that many government officials are starting to read the writing on the wall and taking a stand against a corrupt organization – pretending to be concerned about animal welfare when it is their goal to do everything possible to make raising livestock impossible so they cna phase it out. By making laws that make it darn near impossible for farmers to do their work they will effectively raise the price of meat so that no one can afford it. This is a group that REQUIRES vegan fare be at ever event they have. You can read more about it at Humanewatch.org

  • YEAY, Gov. Heineman!!!! HSUS and PETA are disgusting hypocrites!! They “say” no killing of animals, yet, if you look it up, PETA kills just as many animals as any other place!!! http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ Heck, they are for radical groups that even want to get rid of honey production saying the honey belongs to the bees not us humans (No, not talking about that Jerry Seinfeld animated movie, I AM talking real life here, folks)!!! Thank GOD for Gov. Heineman’s common sense stance over these radical idiots!!!

  • Well ,I live in Alabama ,but i hope and pray that ,Governor Heineman’s will run for President of the Us some day ,we need people like him in office ,i would hate to see leave NE i know you people need him bad ,i am so happy to see a man like him stand up to these nazi people ,when they start going to peoples farms and killing there animales ,taking there land ,taking there way of live ,taking the heritage ,taking there freedom ,telling them what and when they can eat ,and telling our kids we are muders for eating a steak ,or some cat fish ,its time we the people stand up and say no more ,if you give them one inch ,they will take 10 miles ,i thing there a bigger theat to the people of the united states ,then the terrorist or taliban groups in the world ,Mike Chambers of the united states .

  • The people that works for peta and the hsus ,work and make a living telling lies ,and buying our freedom ,they bum money ,take the money and give it to our goverment ,so they can make us live like they want ,not like we want to live ,i think they all need to be put in prison ,most of them were not born in the united states ,they were put here to destory this Country ,and they are doing a pretty good job ,of doing just that ,they kill peoples animales ,and thow them in dumpsters ,and its necer gets put on tv ,one women puts one cat in a dumpster ,and they put it all over the news ,so i think they have the meda bought off also ,Mike Chambers of the united states

  • @Ruby Cross – The only issue of morality here is the one that HSUS lies to uninformed people that they are about animal welfare and humane treatment. Their agenda is to eliminate animal use by people – period. The majority of farmers and ranchers do humanely treat their stock. University experts, Dept. of Agriculture staff, Veterinarians and other industry animal scientists should be the ones to work with animal agriculture producers to develop, implement and evaluate industry standards for livestock care and they do in most states – not HSUS with their hidden agenda which is intended to cripple animal agriculture. There should be NO seat at the table for them! To insunuate this is about corruption, greed, abuse, illegal or illicit behavior, political sell out, etc. is just flat out wrong and an insult to those of us farming, caring for our livestock and providing you with safe, wholesome, affordable, abundant food. Hopefully farmers and the states who have strong ag bases can prosper economically – that would be a good thing, not a bad thing. When is the last time you really knew hunger and food insecurity?

  • Wayne Pacelle is a thug and a mobster he even admits to being related to Al Capone and is proud of it,at least cousin Al wasnt a girl and an idiot to boot.All must be on gaurd these people will start with the smallest a weakest people first ie dog breeders and work there way up the food chain no pun intended. Mr Pacelle is a threat to the American way of life and must be stopped, a swing away from the radical left is underway and we must continue our push or this country will be Europe. Remember thats what 98% of us left behind 100 or 200 years ago it stank then and the left has finished it off over the last 40 years, want to be England,not!!!??

  • HSUS came to Missouri this year to push for new legislation regulating pet breeders, despite the fact that Missouri already has such legislation in place. At the same time, they ran TV ads pleading for donations to protect all the poor abused and unwanted dogs and cats. HSUS not only succeeded in getting their legislation passed, but they no doubt pocketed millions of dollars in new donations. HSUS is a clever opponent of animal agriculture, with a record of success in pushing for and passing state initiatives controlling the swine, poulty, dairy and pet industries. You can bet the farm that beef production is in their rifle sights.

  • Absolutely everyone I know in Nebraska who is pro-HSUS has only become that way because of adopting dogs from dog shelters who rescue dogs from many of Nebraska’s commercial dog breeders.

    I have witnessed way too many dogs from breeders who were neglected and abused to not believe that many commercial dog breeders in Nebraska are BAD.

    Because we chose not to be hypocrites and to think of all animals, many of us have chosen to become vegetarian or vegan. Nebraska has the commercial dog breeders to thank for the arrival of HSUS. That is a pure and simple fact.

  • Hold your ground. Here in MO HSUS along with PETA spent more than 4 million dollars putting out lies that the average person believed. When they say they are against puppy mills every one agrees with them. I do to. The problem is that what they are proposing has nothng to do with puppy mills. They said we have 3000 puppy mills in our state. They counted the 1250 Licensed commercial breeders in that number. If they can count the puppy mills why can’t they close them down. The number one goal of both Peta and the HSUS is to make everyone in the world a Vegan. That is straight from their web sites about 4 yrs ago.

    If we kill all those plants they want us to eat we won’t have enough oxygen to sustain life. I wish they would wake up and do something that makes some sense.

  • If Nebraska farmers really want to avoid having their operations overhauled, they would get the dog and cat breeding inspection program removed from the dept. of agriculture’s responsibility as soon as possible. It doesn’t belong there! States like Missouri have recently proven that laws protecting companion animals will receive enough support in the urban areas to pass eventually. Politically speaking, Heineman should prove himself an ally to dogs and cats by separating them from the farming industry. HSUS will have a harder time getting a foothold in this state if Nebraskans know that companion animals are protected, but as long as we are one of the seven “puppy mill” states, support for HSUS and its agenda will continue to grow here. He and the first lady have a dog living with them in the governor’s mansion. I hope it didn’t come from a puppy mill or pet store while thousands of healthy and adoptable pets are killed every year in this state’s animal shelters.

  • How did this argument go from shutting down puppy mills to HSUS having a say in agriculture in NE? I for one have seen a puppy mill and I still have nightmares about it. Shutting down puppy mills, not responsible dog breeders is something we need to look at in this state. I in no way feel I should have anything to do with regulating the cattle, swine, sheep, etc., industry. Most people who want to shut down puppy mills are concerned with just that, not the rest of the agriculture of the state. I for one do now know enough about how farm animals are cared for in our state and wouldn’t begin to argue with anyone about it. But I am very concerned with closing the large number of puppy mills in this state. Missouri was the number one state in number of puppy mills and something needed to be done about it and I for one am glad a bill was passed in that state to better regulate the way dogs are treated and raised. If you have ever seen a puppy mill you will never forget the poor treatment of those dogs. Please don’t lump dog lovers into your argument.

  • Governor Heineman took a position long ago against the health and welfare of Nebraskans. Anytime it even appears money will be impacted by improving the health of Nebraskans, he’s against it. You’ve smelled the feedlots all across the state. Now you’re going to eat that stuff? You’ve heard about the crush videos–and Heineman thinks the people that make them ought to be left alone? You’ve read about the pesticides and fertilizers and there’s been almost no regulation. Puppy mills still abound in Nebraska. The cock fighting still goes on. And Governor Heineman still believes animal abuse is good for Nebraskans.

  • HSUS is a terrorist organization! They have racketering and mail fraud charges against them at this time. We will have horse processing in this country, it may have to start at the state level, but it will come back. GO Gov!!

  • The Animal Health COmpanies are doing NOTHING to combat these loons at HSUS! They are afraid of the buyers of their Human Side products and the Soccer Moms! Call the Pfizers, Intervet/SP, BI, Novartis, AgriLabs and tell l them to get their heads out of a very dark place…………….The AH companies are not doing ONE Darn THING, of any meaningful purpose, to fight these anti-ag terrorist! They want us to buy their vaccines, but they are doing nothing to fight PETA and HSUS that are trying to destroy food and non-food animal agriculture.

  • Thank you Governor Heineman for standing up for Nebraska and this will help all who are involved in livestock. We have many things to be thankful for in Nebraska, and many issues to pursue.

  • I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so much misinformation and so many statements of opinion presented as fact in one place before. Wow.

    This sort of response is what makes it all but impossible to enact even the simplest protections for companion animals. Before you utter another word, I challenge each of you to show up unannounced at a puppy mill in your area. Look around, if they’ll even let you.

    Then go walk death row at your local shelter. Take a look at all the healthy, adoptable animals there that will be killed (about 20% are purebreds), and ask yourself why we allow puppy millers to keep breeding 4 million animals a year.

    “Why don’t we put the puppy mills out of business” you ask? How can we? We can’t even pass laws trying to regulate them, without this kind of Goliath against David response.

  • This talk by Mcdonalds because of USHS & the propaganda that it is based on is incorrect information. It seems the farrowing crates for sows is their problem. What should be emphasized is that when sows are not separated from their litter upon birth, a litter of 10 for example, would have some of them eaten by their mothers or other sows, and often half of the litter is smashed & killed as the sow just plops down any where & lays on her piglets to the affect that maybe 4 or 5 might survive. Now that is not a humane thing! I saw this happen on farms before the use of farrowing crates was even known to farmers.

  • Wow, first of all, not everyone in Nebraska makes money off of animal “agriculture”. Secondly, Nebraska slaughters more animals for food, than any other U.S. state — I would not call that “agriculture”. There is veganic agriculture and Nebraska animal agriculture “farms” can be transitioned into solely producing plant-based products instead (which would be better for the environment).

    Additionally, there are vegans (at least) who live in Nebraska, who do not make money off of animal “agriculture”, who do not buy these animal products and/or animal by-products and have to suffer through the environmental problems caused specifically by animal “agriculture”.

    Also, Gov. Heineman says in the above article, “In Nebraska, no deal, no compromise—we’re going to stand up, we’re going to beat them”. So, he’s saying he’s going to stand up for animal abuse? If the Humane Society wants better conditions for the animals, that’s going to reduce the risk of pandemics, etc. It would be in best interests if Gov. Heineman was on board with these changes

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