USSA: Microsoft Ignoring Sportsmen's Protests

Continue your calls opposing Microsoft's funding of HSUS

Microsoft is dodging sportsmen’s outcries over the corporation’s donation to the largest anti-hunting organization in the United States. It is routing sportsmen’s protests to an e-mail inbox where they can be deleted with the click of a mouse.

The software giant is refusing to connect sportsmen who object to the company’s $100,000 donation to the Humane Society of the United States via telephone to a live representative. Instead, receptionists will only give hunters’ rights advocates an e-mail address for a customer service agent.

“Microsoft is silencing sportsmen by passing them off to an e-mail where messages can quietly come in and quietly be erased,” said USSA President Bud Pidgeon. “Sportsmen who take the time to make the call want their opinions to be heard, but the e-mail runaround is a brush-off and comments can easily be deleted with a key stroke.”

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Sportsmen who want to make their voices heard should call (425) 882-8080 and ask for Richard Kaplan using the automated system. It is crucial to reach Microsoft by phone or fax so you know your voice is heard.

In May, USSA informed sportsmen about the software giant’s huge donation to HSUS and its decision to enter into a pilot fund-raising program that will generate uncapped funds for the animal rights group.

The HSUS is a direct, bolstering opponent hunting, fishing and trapping. It led a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Michigan, contributing $1.6 million to the effort, and opposes hunting on National Wildlife Refuges. In fact, the organization is a plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit to ban hunting on federal lands, and other suits to manipulate the Endangered Species Act to ban outdoor sports. HSUS does not operate or oversee any animal shelters or have any legal controls over them.

Sportsmen should contact Microsoft and demand that its financial support of HSUS be terminated. Contact Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (425) 882-8080. Fax: (425) 936-7329. Also, call and ask to leave a message for Richard Kaplan, Vice President, Supportability and Customer and Partner Experience regarding the issue. For a sample letter, visit the Legislative Action Center.

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