The HumaneWatch Interview: Dr. Jeff Ondrak, DVM, MS

Dr. Jeff Ondrak is part of a disappearing breed: the beef cattle veterinarian. Demand is up for livestock docs, but the supply is short and getting shorter by the year.

He’s also one of the more outspoken vets. Dr. Ondrak is a clearly not afraid to speak truth to—or about—power. During a February speech in his native Nebraska, he advised a group of women in agriculture: “If you get a letter from HSUS, please don’t send them money.”

It’s no surprise that someone who depends on animal agriculture for his customer base would have a problem with the Humane Society of the United States. There’s a growing national awareness of HSUS’s affinity with the animal “rights” philosophy, and we’ve come to understand that this includes a desire for farm animals to exit the human food chain.

But veterinarians have sworn to work for (among other things) “the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering … [and] the promotion of public health.” So any time a vet is willing to sit with us for an interview, we’re eager to learn what he or she thinks about the animal rights movement and the Humane Society of the United States —and about whether those institutions are working toward the same goals.

Take It From a Veterinarian

Dr. Roger Welton is a Florida veterinarian and author of Canine and Feline 101. He also founded Web-DVM, an innovative veterinary advice website supplemented by a video blog that has been pumping out pet-doc advice since 2007.

On Saturday Dr. Welton fired up his video camera to describe a “humane conflict” about the Humane Society of the United States that’s beginning to percolate into the public consciousness.

“Even local animal shelters and humane groups,” he notes, “are often left wondering about the motives of HSUS. Some small shelters have been overwhelmed with animals after well-publicized raids by the HSUS and feel that the Humane Society should offer more financial support.”

Dr. Welton is worth watching—not because he has clearly been reading HumaneWatch, but because he understands the problem. 

Click here for a transcript and to see more video presentations from this knowledgeable doc.

HSUS’s “Spay Day”: Half the Results, and Lots More Fundraising!

The Humane Society of the United States is running one of its annual fundraising promotions for the next few weeks: a “Spay Day” photo contest.

Spay Day was created by the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) in 1995; HSUS absorbed the program, along with the rest of that organization, in 2006.

Here’s how it works this year: You submit a cute picture of your pet, you add your contact info to HSUS's gargantuan mailing list, and then you encourage your friends and family to “vote” for your photo. 

But unlike with American Idol voting, it’s not free. (Naturally.) HSUS is charging $1 per vote, with a minimum of five votes per voter.

The contest’s “official rules” state that “Any donation or purchase made by you will not increase your chances of winning.” Which seems like a sneaky way of saying that only contributions by your family and friends can buy you a prize.

The HumaneWatch Interview: Jake Geis

The Humane Society of the United States has put many Americans in uncomfortable positions during the current decade, but few have found themselves in a box quite like veterinarians.

Just last week the American Veterinary Medical Association (whose chief executive we interviewed back in September) made significant changes to The Veterinarian's Oath, which had only been amended once since its creation in 1969. It now refers to "animal health and welfare," along with "the prevention and relief of animal suffering." (New words are in italics.) The first reaction of many observers was that the move was taken in reaction to HSUS—and specifically to its threat to capture the hearts and minds of young vets, and of vets-to-be.

Many vets—especially the youngest ones who are most comfortable questioning authority—recognize that they’re caught between the proverbial “rock” and the corresponding “hard place.” On one hand, many of them are visibly uncomfortable with seeing the animal rights movement gather steam. But on the other, they recognize the need to maintain the dignity of the veterinary profession by refusing to return fire when HSUS slings mud. In short, playing dirty is supposed to be beneath them. And for good reason.

With everything going on in the veterinary world, it's fitting that we're talking with Jake Geis. He’s a second-year veterinary student at Iowa State University. (That school’s cooperative agreement with the University of Nebraska has put him in Lincoln for the first half of his training.) Geis first pinged our radar screen on November 19 when The Daily Nebraskan published his passionate essay titled “National Humane Society has Backward Priorities.”

Shortly after the November 21 “Town Hall” meeting hosted by HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, we caught up with this articulate young vet-to-be and asked him what he thought about all the hoopla.

The Nebraska Open Meeting that Wasn’t

Thursday morning on the HumaneWatch Facebook page, Nebraska grass-fed beef producer Kevin Fulton did something curious. Fulton, the host of tonight’s Humane Society of the United States “town hall” meeting in Lincoln, assured all 194,000 HumaneWatch Facebook fans that “everyone here is invited" to the Nebraska event. "[Y]ou don’t have to be from Nebraska.”

Did he lie? Was he overruled by Wayne Pacelle? We can’t be sure. But not quite everyone was welcome. 

On Thursday, HumaneWatch editor David Martosko quickly took Fulton up on his offer and RSVPed for the HSUS meeting. HSUS sent a confirmation e-mail too (click to enlarge).

Martosko showed up personally in Lincoln, Nebraska yesterday with some trepidation. He had never been to an HSUS-sponsored event before, and HumaneWatch isn't exactly on Pacelle's Christmas card list. But we do have a billboard up just a few blocks from the meeting site. And this could be a great opportunity to meet Wayne Pacelle face-to-face. Or at least ask him a few thoughtful questions that have our readers buzzing.

So much for that idea.

Greeting Martosko at the ballroom door were three burly security guards—off-duty airport policemen armed with semiautomatic weapons and an arms-crossed, “None shall pass” posture. He had his RSVP confirmation e-mail from HSUS in hand. It didn’t matter.

Fulton himself appeared at the door moments later to smirk: “Ain’t no way you’re getting in here.” And the door slammed behind him.

The HumaneWatch interview: Dr. Ron DeHaven

You’d think that leading a respected group of 80,000 veterinarians would earn Ron DeHaven considerable “street cred” with the animal rights movement. But judging from their behavior, groups like the Humane Society of the United States see Dr. DeHaven and his American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as just another obstacle in the way of “liberating” animals from their human oppressors.

Do you own or train dogs? Raise livestock? Breed horses? Sell eggs? Worse yet, are you a veterinarian who identifies more with farmers than with PETA? If so, you’re in HSUS’s crosshairs, and Ron DeHaven regularly catches flak on your behalf.

Alert HumaneWatchers will remember that in May, Dr. DeHaven  called out HSUS on YouTube. Here’s a bit of what he said about HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle:

Mr. Pacelle is ignoring the legitimate concerns, and the perspectives and expertise, of legitimate animal welfare scientists and veterinary experts. And he is misleading the public to further his own organization's agenda. If Mr. Pacelle truly cared about the welfare of animals, he would not be so quick to criticize and minimize the expertise of veterinarians ... A knee-jerk response based solely on emotion, and ignoring all of the relevant science, might not be in the best interest of the animals.

Before taking the post of Executive Vice President at the AVMA, Dr. DeHaven worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving as Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). By the time he accepted that role, he had already spent several years as APHIS’s chief administrator of the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act. You may remember him as the USDA’s veterinary spokesman during the mad cow disease scare.

Ron DeHaven took some time out from his busy professional life to answer a few questions about his organization, and about what HSUS has against animal doctors.

Humane Society Veterinary Misdirection Association

Daring to say that the vegan emperor has no clothes can be pretty rewarding. As HumaneWatch Nation grows, we've emboldened countless Americans to articulate their fears, doubts, and (sometimes) anger about the Humane Society of the United States. Last week we heard from a pet shelter director. And today's feedback comes from a veterinary student who is asking some tough questions about the "Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association."

It would be interesting to learn whether her concerns represent the thoughts of most U.S. veterinary students, or of just a handful of alert doctors-to-be. We're withholding the author's name at her request.