I have REMOVED the Stop Puppy Mills link to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) website. This was due to allegations that they scammed people for donations to “take care” of the rescues from Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring. I was just about to donate to them when I heard of this through the dobe-obed listserv on Yahoo. However, I was not able to find enough trusted information to substantiate it. Even when I googled “Humane Society” and “scam,” I came up with next to nothing. The message to the listserv included the following sites to check for more information:
<<
The New York Times article is online at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/sports/football/01vick.html
HSUS’s false fundraising claim is preserved online at
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/images/hsus_clip.png
For more information about the Humane Society of the United States,
visit www.ActivistCash.com/HSUS.
>>
The first address takes you to the NY Times login screen. If you have an account you can log in and try to search for the article, but it’s not there. If you don’t have an account, you might just move on to the next address, a simple screen shot (which may or may not have been altered) of the HSUS’ campaign graphic. I went straight to the About Us page on the “Center for Consumer Freedom” site. There I learned the site is published by a group of restaurant owners, farmers, and individuals who want the freedom to eat what they please, and apparently oppose animal rights organizations. The third address takes you a page on another anti-activist site created by the same Center for Consumer Freedom on which the HSUS is viciously attacked. The language on these two sites strikes me as blatant propaganda and quite radical, but it is just like some of the animal rights sites too. I tend to be suspicious of anything like that.
So, I’m not automatically going to believe this story. The HSUS is running a big organization. If they were really scamming people, why isn’t there any discussion about it in the mainstream news media? This is why you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet, especially posts on listservs and message boards. Of course, you should take the time to find out as much as you can about any charity you give money to, but don’t rely on extremist organizations for your research. Many folks have suggested it’s better to donate to organizations that are visible in the community – such as your local shelter. This is a good idea. And you can still help put an end to puppy mills by refusing to buy dogs from retail stores. Tell all your friends.
Actually, HSUS scams have been in the mainstream media. Thier seafood boycott was shown in several reports to be a lie. The vast majority of restaurants listed either did not know they were on the list, were serving canadian seafood and had no intention of stopping, or they never served seafood in the first place.
From what I can see, HSUS never lets animal welfare or the truth get in the way of a good fundraising opportunity.
I know this is coming late, but a friend of my mother’s sent out this email to a lot of mailing lists after Hurricane Floyd:
I volunteered full time for 3 months at the “Field Hospital” set up by the NC
State Vet Hospital for the animals saved from the flooding by Hurricane Floyd.
The first day I arrived, the HSUS had a tent set up, was taking donations and
handing out pamphlets.
Some of their people helped sort through the (literally) tons of donated
supplies.
The second day they were gone, never to be seen again. They took their money
with them the Field Hospital never saw a penny of it.
Their volunteers did not come back to help with the ~200 animals (at any one
time) housed at the warehouse converted to the hospital.
Local vet clnics helped house animals and donated their services. Volunteers
(like me) housed some animals when there wasn’t any more space anywhere else,
for varying lengths of time.
We had many volunteers, but not from the HSUS.
The vet care needed by these animals was incredible. I learned that there
were at least 4 different kinds of mange, many of the animals had at least
one and sometimes more. The animals had all kinds of GI troubles from
drinking the flooded water and eating whatever. There was a 70% heartworm
positive rate, most of the coutnies where these animals came from have little
in the way of vetrinary care. Many were injured and needed surgery from
broken bones, punctures, crushing trauma and even a few gunshot wounds.
Once, when I was being interviewed by a local news team (the news was often
there to keep track of what was going on and to help with publicity) the head
of the Field Hospital told me to get another clipboard, the one I was holding
said Humane Society on it, she said she did not want them getting credit for
anything.
The HSUS also did not help transport any of the animals either from rescue
sites or to their new housing. Nor did they help with the website, set up to
help people find their lost pets, or with the several photo albums circulated
amongst the emergency shelters for people.
I spent one day out at Tarboro, one of the hardest hit towns, volunteering at
the shelter there. No sign of HSUS anywhere there either.
The animals there were in even worse shape, these were the ones who had just
been rescued and were getting cleaned up and assessed to be sent elsewhere.
So, I am not real impressed with the HSUS.
Even tho I worked hard, long, days it was an amazing experience. I had lots
of hands on training and knew we were doing a huge service.
It was great to see pets reunited with their owners, altho it was a small
percentage that were. Most of those families had lost EVERYTHING, 40 feet of
water will do that. The only thing they got back was their pet.
ok, that’s my HSUS rant.
Greetings. The deal is this; hsus never had possession of the dogs. What they did was to get the dogs to a group that they claimed was affiliated with HSUS BUT as Nathan Winograd has stated, they used the dogs to pull in $$, then in writing, advocated to have ALL the dogs killed. Also in HSUS raids, orchestrated w/local spca’s, they kill all the dogs in 24-48hr. And they have done this all over the country. Ask questions later. Using a convicted terrorist (JP Goodwin) to select “who” to raid? HSUS, if you really research, only started political power after conglomerating with other wealthy AR groups such as Fund for animals,of the Black Beauty Ranch, who has owned it for 40 years. Do not be misled by HSUS and mills, we have uncovered at least several media reports wherein HSUS places innocent breeders’ homes (the pics taken via subterfuge) and then says this is a mill. The lady had done nothing and was cleared by AC. Yet HSUS leaves it in their videos. See petdefense on wordpress (http://petdefense.wordpress.com) we have just about everything against HSUS. We use facts.
Good luck getting a definition of puppy mill from the Humane Society of the United States or HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle. They throw the term around so much they must have a definition? Right? Wrong! It is used by HSUS to solicit donations from unsuspecting donors. The fact is, according to Wayne Pacelle admitting he has no problem with the extinction of domestic pets, one can define puppy mills for HSUS as ANY breeder or ANY pet owner who produces litters.
The sad truth is HSUS has become nothing more than a fund raising machine with a pro-vegan, animal liberation, and farming litigious agenda. They do not have the best interest of our pets in mind so please never donate to them. Do the homework and look at their IRS tax returns posted on their web site if you want to know where donations are going.
And by the way, nice salary Wayne Pacelle! I wish I worked for a “charity”!
Here you can find some background on HSUS.
http://www.animalscam.com/organizations.cfm
“HSUS is big, rich, and powerful, a “humane society” in name only. And while most local animal shelters are under-funded and unsung, HSUS has accumulated $113 million in assets and built a recognizable brand by capitalizing on the confusion its very name provokes. This misdirection results in an irony of which most animal lovers are unaware: HSUS raises enough money to finance animal shelters in every single state, with money to spare, yet it doesn’t operate a single one anywhere.”