It is my practice when writing about animal welfare to have an animal by my side. Today it is my border collie, Skye. He has reluctantly agreed to sit here and make sure the animal point of view is properly represented. He has made it clear, however, he would much rather be out in the yard digging holes or chasing squirrels.

But, I felt I needed his input since, according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I live in a very cruel state. Beginning in 2009, HSUS began publishing an annual ranking of states based on their criteria for animal cruelty. According to the HSUS rating system, states with the lowest score are among the cruelest when it comes to the treatment of animals.

The HSUS rating system is based on the animal cruelty laws each state has on the books. It has nothing to do with actual acts of cruelty or people’s attitudes about animals.

Humane Watch, a watchdog group that watches HSUS, said the standards are arbitrary and, thus, the ratings are meaningless.

“HSUS’s arbitrary 65-point ranking system seemed, well … arbitrary. It read more like an HSUS lobbyist’s wish list than an animal protection index, since it didn’t take into account laws that HSUS found inconvenient to its command-and-control mission.”

In a detailed analysis of the HSUS rankings, Humane Watch shows how arbitrary the rankings are. According to Humane Watch, “You won’t find any points awarded for animal-protection laws that HSUS doesn’t like. For instance, approximately 10 states have followed Ohio’s lead in creating statewide boards to ensure the humane treatment of livestock animals. That doesn’t appear anywhere in HSUS’s report.”

Only one Midwestern state made the top 10 of states with the highest HSUS rating: Illinois. Despite being ranked third behind New Jersey and California, HSUS still criticized Illinois for not having enough laws to protect animals.
Indiana ranked a dismal 34th, even though the state passed a landmark animal welfare bill last year. Ohio did not fare much better ranking 45th. Even the HSUS ballot box victory in Missouri did not help their cruelty rating, finishing near the bottom in 45th place. And, speaking of the bottom, South Dakota got the worst ranking capturing only 9 points on the 65 point scale.

Humane Watch pointed out that this is just another gimmick by HSUS to influence public opinion and gain more support for restrictive and unnecessary laws. Animal welfare has more to do with the care and treatment of animals than about rules and regulations.

Those who work with and raise animals know this all too well. Skye just informed me that if I really cared about his welfare, I would stop typing, go get him a treat, and put him outside.

HSUS has made the animal rights fight all about legislation and regulation.
Agriculture needs to make the debate about animal care and treatment.
Even with the few over-publicized on farm videos of animal cruelty, U.S. livestock producers have a far better record of animal care than the so called animal rights organizations. Speaking of animal care, Skye just gave me that look which means, “If you don’t put me out we are both going to have a problem.”

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.