Exposed: Humane Society of the United States Fundraising Scandal

Townhall.com - When you hear the words "Humane Society," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Is it a pet shelter where families can adopt unwanted dogs and cats? Or is it a super-rich animal rights lobbying group that runs absolutely no pet shelters, and gives less than 4 percent of its $100 million budget to those who do?

We thought so.

Meet the Humane Society of the United States. This slick and moneyed PETA clone has pulled the wool over the eyes of countless Americans - including Rush Limbaugh, who recently recorded two public service announcements for the group.

Last week WSB-TV in Atlanta uncovered what Rush has somehow been unable to see: that HSUS is "an organization actively misleading donors to get money."

If you enjoy a good steak, if you hunt or fish, if you wear leather shoes, if you take your kids to the circus, if you (or a family member) owe your life to medical research that involved lab animals — the Humane Society of the United States doesn't share your values. The group has the same agenda as PETA and the rest of the animal rights industry. And it is an industry. The Humane Society of the United States has an astonishing $200 million in the bank.

If you are a Humane Society of the United States donor, it's time to reconsider that decision. Thousands of struggling pet shelters — legitimate Humane Societies — could use your help. There's a good chance at least one of them is in your own community. And unlike the Humane Society of the United States, they're not working overtime to ban hunting & fishing, cancel the circus, turn your boots into contraband, or stop cancer research in its tracks.

The next time a solicitation e-mail comes from the Humane Society of the United States, watch this video from WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Better yet, send this link to everyone in your address book: http://tinyurl.com/HSUS-WSB.

You could be saving a friend or loved one from making a big mistake.

[UPDATE: HSUS has launched an all-out war on WSB for publishing its story. According to blogger Amanda Nolz, "HSUS aggressively worked to pull the plug on this video before it did too much damage to their reputation. They quickly pushed WBS-TV to take the video and text of the story off of its website, and they have accomplished in getting all of the text versions removed from Google, as well."

From the Center for Consumer Freedom's updated coverage via Townhall.com:

Since the report first aired, HSUS has been working feverishly to silence it. The group bullied the TV station into removing the video and the text of the story from its website. HSUS even convinced the station to contact YouTube with copyright claims to have the news segment removed from public view. The video is no longer available anywhere on the Internet. All because HSUS is afraid of the truth.

WSB-TV called HSUS "an organization actively misleading donors to get money." We added that most of the proceeds from HSUS's massive fundraising operations don't benefit homeless cats and dogs: "It's very deceptive...[the money] goes to lobbying, it goes to political contributions, it goes to pay huge staff salaries and benefits." This was a great piece of journalism on a subject most news outlets are too intimidated or biased to cover."

To say we struck a nerve would be an understatement. HSUS's aggressive response is a testament to our strategy and effective messaging. HSUS's biggest vulnerability is the public discovering that it is not a pet shelter. If we can bring that message to the public, we can seriously undercut HSUS's credibility and expose them as the radical animal rights group that they really are.

In addition, the Louisiana Attorney General's office has been receiving a deluge of questions about one of the WSB-TV report's claims: That HSUS misused money it promised to spend helping reunite Hurricane Katrina victims with their pets. Louisiana A.G. Buddy Caldwell is considering whether to re-open a full-scale investigation into this. if you feel as strongly about it as we do, PLEASE CALL his office's Consumer Protection Section at 800-351-4889 and let them know.

END UPDATE]

[UPDATE #2

The truth will out. Someone has posted the link on a server outside of the United States and apparently outside the reach of the HSUS. View here.

Apparently, at least when it comes to speaking freely about the Humane Society of the United States, there is more freedom at Iranian video sharing website known as Vidoosh than at Google or at WSB-TV in Atlanta. END UPDATE #2]

For more information about the deceptive Humane Society of the United States, including the "7 Things You [and apparently Rush Limbaugh] Didn't Know About HSUS", visit http://www.HumaneWatch.org.

Related Stories:
Is Rush Limbaugh's cat being held hostage by animal rights extremists?

Bizarre indeed: Rush Limbaugh's unholy alliance with animal 'rights' extremists

Leading Conservation Groups to Rush Limbaugh: Cease Support of HSUS