Animal Ag Alliance to Yellow Tail: Please Reconsider
By Pork news staff  |  Friday, February 12, 2010

In an effort to assist Yellow Tail Wines in determining its best opportunity to help animals, the Animal Agriculture Alliance has written a letter this week to the company’s owner, Cassella Wines. Yellow Tail Wines announced last week their intent to donate $100,000 to the Humane Society of the United States.

Yellow Tail’s announcement has generated considerable controversy among livestock producers and a backlash against the wine company. “The uproar over the last week has shown that you will undoubtedly lose a significant segment of your American customer base if you continue with your pledge of support for HSUS,” the letter says.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance pointed to the tactics employed by HSUS to encourage donations from individuals or organizations not aware of how the contributions are used. “(HSUS) is not affiliated with local animal shelters and instead uses its considerable budget to threaten America's hardworking farmers and ranchers,” the letter stated. “HSUS is not the organization that it appears to be.”

The letter urges Yellow Tail to reconsider its choice to fund HSUS citing the groups numerous campaigns against animal agriculture and other animal industries. “While wanting to help animals is indeed a noble goal, we urge you to not aid a group that works to eliminate animal agriculture. The letter goes on to suggest Yellow Tail instead support the American Humane Association which has a solid record of providing aid to animals.

The letter goes on to explain that “HSUS has a vegan agenda that does not wish to truly improve animal welfare, but to eliminate meat, milk, and eggs from consumers' diets.” Saying that  Yellow Tail is not the first company to have been sold a bill of goods by HSUS the Alliance letter offers assistance to the wine company in recovering from the unfortunate situation.

HSUS has received criticism and come under increasing scrutiny after its 2008 tax return showed that only one-half of one percent of the group's funds actually went towards caring for animals. “Clearly, improving the lives of animals is not the main goal of HSUS,” the letter said.

Read the full letter.

Read more:
Yellow Tail Wine Gets a Sour Taste
|
Source: Animal Agriculture Alliance