The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) has asked sportsmen to contact Meijer, a Michigan-based regional chain of retail superstores, and demand that it dissolve its partnership with the anti-hunting group, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in an online pet photo contest.
Meijer refused a U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) request to abandon the partnership, said USSA senior vice president Rick Story.
Meijer is a seller of sporting goods and hunting licenses and indicates on its website that it operates 184 locations throughout Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
According to information on the Meijer website, for each person that enters the contest, Meijer will donate $1, up to a maximum of $5,000, to the HSUS Foreclosure Pets Fund.
Said Meijer vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, Stacie Behler, “Our goal here was not to provide funding for the Humane Society of the United States, but instead for a fund that would be funneled out nationally.”
The HSUS is America’s leading opponent of hunting, fishing and trapping. It led the charge in a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Michigan, contributing $1.6 million to the effort. It opposes hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and other public lands.
