The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the arch-enemy of hunters, livestock owners and even pet owners, has given another $5,000 to the California Department of Fish and Game, and is launching a statewide campaign against poachers.

Why is it that an anti-hunting group would give a donation to the DFG game wardens to care for their dogs? That's simple: they believe it will help them towards their goal of stopping as much hunting as they can. Yes, it looks warm and fuzzy, like they really do care about the dogs, but the fact is they are only doing because it does look that way, and they hope to gain more support for their anti-hunting agenda

HSUS apparently feels they've gained enough public notice from the donation that they have formed a statewide Anti-Poaching Action Network. This latest effort is intended to "improve the troubling discrepancy between the rise in poaching crime over the last 10 years and the lack of meaningful punishment for many poachers."

We ran an editorial in WON about that exact problem and how there is now legislation afoot to remedy the problem. So why do we need the intrusion of an out-of-state anti-hunting group? We don't, but HSUS feels California is ripe for adding even more anti-hunters to their lists.

Who will this appeal to? Those who love animals, of course, many of them normal citizens who in the past have not participated in hunting, but accept it as a heritage, population control tool, wildlife management issue and at the end, as a source of food for hunters and their families. I think HSUS is trying to recruit those California citizens; the ones who have, in the past supported hunting, into anti-hunters. 

The difference between "hunting" and "poaching" is vast, but HSUS and other animal-rights groups, as well as the media, have used the word inter-changeably so many times I can't count them. With a little twist now and then, HSUS can turn people against hunters, and I know that's their plan. After all, that's why they are in business!

And a business it is: HSUS doesn't do anything that won't bring them more publicity, more supporters and more cash for their salaried employees. Nobody should believe for one minute that HSUS cares one whit about the animals they profess to care about — they care about growth and their bottom line. Of course, they are against hunting and the use of animals for any purpose, even consumption. Bottom line is their salaries and growth of the organization.

Here's what HSUS says about their new program: "The HSUS will work with…..volunteers to help implement citizen-driven efforts to support law enforcement and encourage prosecutors and judges to bring poachers to justice. The action network launches with 25 counties and will grow to cover the entire state within a year."

What will that mean in the end? My guess is, they will have hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-hunters and/or well-meaning citizens watching out for anyone who is out hunting, legitimately or not, in an effort to "catch a poacher." This will, of course, be hunter harassment, but they will say they are part of this "network" looking for poachers. It could turn into a real problem statewide for legitimate hunters.

See where this could lead? HSUS certainly does, and we should take care not to fall into the same trap that the California Department of Fish and Game law enforcement branch has fallen into: sleeping with the enemy.