I think most people care about the welfare of animals to some degree or another. However, we can care about the welfare of animals and still eat them. In our defense, they're made of meat, and meat is delicious.
We didn't make the rules.
Most hunters I know care about the welfare of animals, too. Yes, they're hunting, but they want to put down animals cleanly and humanely, plus they recognize the problems of not hunting them. Namely, overpopulation and all that entails.
Well, it seems the Minnesota DFL has a different view of animal welfare, at least based on their animal welfare event's co-host, according to the NSSF. While most of the names involved have their own share of issues, including being anti-hunting...
But there is one name that stands out more than others.
A Kevin Kjonaas listed on the fundraiser invitation shares the name and Minnesota background of the former president of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA (SHAC USA), a militant animal rights organization that targeted Huntingdon Life Sciences and businesses associated with it.
Kjonaas became involved in animal rights while studying political science at the University of Minnesota and briefly served as an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) spokesman following a 1999 raid in which activists removed 166 animals from university laboratories and caused approximately $700,000 in damage. The report says Kjonaas later established SHAC’s U.S. headquarters.
Federal prosecutors later convicted Kjonaas and other SHAC members in connection with a campaign targeting Huntingdon Life Sciences and companies doing business with it. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said SHAC “employed tactics that included intimidation, harassment and stalking.” Kjonaas, identified by prosecutors as SHAC’s former president, received a 72-month federal prison sentence.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit subsequently affirmed the convictions.
Today, PFund Foundation lists a Kevin Kjonaas as its director of advancement and says he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Minnesota — the same distinctive educational background documented for the former SHAC leader. PFund is based in Minneapolis.
Kjonaas was convicted of Conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act; Conspiracy to Commit Interstate Stalking; Interstate Stalking of specific victims; and Conspiracy to Use a Telecommunications Device to Abuse, Threaten and Harass Persons. Apparently Minnesota DFL politicians co-hosting this fundraiser are okay with a convicted felon who terrorized humans in the name of animal rights helping them raise campaign cash.
A number of the co-hosts are anti-hunting, which should be problematic in a state like Minnesota, to say the least. A convicted — and, it should be noted, unpardoned — guy like Kjonaas ought to be a bridge too far, even for anti-hunting zealots, but alas... it's not.
It's one thing to disagree with how one defines concern over animal welfare. Some will never accept hunters as conservationists, and that's their right.
It's also the right of those running the DFL Party to have whoever they want to host it.
But with the midterms coming up in a few weeks, why would you want to associate your party with someone with this kind of past? Someone had better step up and clear the air, or ask Mr. Kjonaas to find something else to do that night, such as literally anything else.
Since this story is by Jenn Jacques, a name familiar to you very long-time readers, I have no doubt that she did her homework and the information is exactly as presented here.
Minnesota's DFL leadership needs to answer for this.
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