Who Does the HSUS Really Support?
We’re all familiar with the ads…dramatic camera pans and close ups of sad puppies and kittens in cages. Some showing signs of abuse or neglect while appropriately moving music plays in the background. The Humane Society of the United States has been using this “rip at the heartstrings” approach to their fundraising efforts for a number of years now, but how much money do they actually spend to help abandoned, abused or neglected animals in your state? According to the HSUS 2013 tax return, virtually none.
As has been pointed out in past, HSUS gives approximately 1% of its overall revenues to local shelters, and HSUS does not operate any rescue efforts or shelters themselves. As you can see by the infographic, HSUS doles out a pittance of its $130 million budget to shelters of any kind.
So where are the millions that HSUS raises every year going if not to shelters? Well, it appears that the only shelters HSUS can really get behind are tax shelters. In the past 2 years HSUS has put $50 million in off shore hedge funds in the Caribbean.
In addition, HSUS has paid more than $6 million to settle a federal racketeering and bribery lawsuit against HSUS and two of its in house lawyers. $6 million would buy a lot of cat and dog food, but HSUS is more concerned with keeping their dubious tactics under the radar.
Finally a great deal of the money collected from their well-intentioned but woefully uninformed supporters, goes straight into HSUS CEO and President Wayne Pacelle’s pockets. His compensation package for 2013 was in excess of $400,000, while the rest of the HSUS staff accounted for $44 million more. While Pacelle has openly stated he is against any form of pet ownership, and that he has no love for animals or finds them “cute” he none-the-less is not averse to using their suffering to further his own agenda.
Keep this hypocrisy in mind the next time you see an ad touting the Humane Society of the United States. While they are tugging at your heartstrings, what they’re really after is your purse strings.
First For Hunters 