with Horse and Hound

Bill Would Keep State-Raised Animal Rights Donations in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma House of Representatives will soon consider House Bill 2250, a measure crafted to forbid animal rights groups from spending monies raised in Oklahoma on any out-of-state expenses or for political purposes.

The bill is being championed by State Representative Brian Renegar (D), a veterinarian. He was prompted to his crusade when, in the aftermath of a 2013 tornado in Moore, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) took advantage of Oklahomans’ concerns for lost or injured pets. HSUS raised more than one million dollars in the state but used only ten percent of the funds within the state. Renegar points out that, according to HumaneWatch.org, HSUS allocates only one percent of its $120 million budget to grants for local animal shelters across the nation.

Cynthia Armstrong, Oklahoma Director for the HSUS, denied that her group raised funds or advertised based on the Moore tornado. She claims the bill is unconstitutional and that HSUS spending on animal shelters is irrelevant because the organization’s purpose is “to take on the larger, institutional issues that are beyond the scope and reach of a local animal shelter.”

Click for Christy Lewis’s complete article in News9.com.

Posted February 16, 2016

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