Jerry Moran: “What is ironic about this forum is there is little science involved. It is little more, in my view, than the Department…”

“What is ironic about this forum is there is little science involved. It is little more, in my view, than the Department of Agriculture spending taxpayer dollars on a forum to provide the Humane Society of the United States a public forum to espouse its anti- agriculture views. The document speaks for itself in this regard. On page 2, the document states: APHIS [the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service] representatives believe that the Humane Society's intent is to [promote and] position the organization to be recognized nationally as influencing APHIS policy on critical and sensitive welfare issues. After reading that statement, it becomes clear that the Department of Agriculture is catering to an outside organization instead of relying on the advice of animal scientists at our land grant universities or even at the Department of Agriculture. If the Department of Agriculture was interested in science, why would it allow an animal rights organization to steer its agenda? Why wouldn't APHIS simply request the latest animal research from scientists across the country to make sure its guidance is up to date? In addition to catering to HSUS, in planning this forum the Department of Agriculture APHIS is precluding input from members of the agricultural industry it is supposed to promote.…”