The Nebraska Attorney General’s Supplemental Environmental Project Fund is allocating $100,000 to a new agricultural coalition formed to oppose an animal rights group’s increased activities in the state, according to a recent report by Meatingplace.com.
We Support Agriculture was launched by Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Poultry Industries, Nebraska Pork Producers and the Nebraska State Dairy Association to fight advances by the Humane Society of the United States against the agriculture industry.
“In Nebraska, agriculture is more than a resource – it’s a way of life,” says Attorney General Jon Bruning in a press release. “I’m proud to support efforts to protect the cornerstone of our state economy from the actions of extremist groups like the Humane Society of the United States.”
The $100,000 comes from fines and payments from natural resources-related legal settlements. In settling enforcement cases, the attorney general’s office will force companies to clean up the mess, pay appropriate fines and possibly agree to fund a court-approved Supplemental Environmental Project.
The funds may not go far considering HSUS’ deep pockets. According to the HSUS 2010 federal tax return, it dedicated more than $48 million to its Advocacy and Public Policy program which funds the organization’s Animal Protection Litigation Program that employs 13 attorneys in four cities and oversees more than 1,000 pro-bono attorneys currently involved in 60 cases.
Still, We Support Agriculture is preparing for ballot initiatives similar to those carried out in about half a dozen states to limit or ban animal agriculture.