Unfortunately, Honda is also sponsoring HSUS’s Genesis Awards in March. HSUS is a group with a radical PETA agenda that deceptively raises money as if it’s a pet shelter group, yet doesn’t run a single pet shelter and gives only 1 percent of the money it raises to pet shelters.

Shelter pets are under pressure every day, and the more support that goes to HSUS (which already has $200 million tucked) is support that pet shelters need. Millions of pets are euthanized every year because shelters don’t have the resources, especially in this economy. Meanwhile, HSUS tucks away millions into its pension plan.

So please go to Honda’s Facebook wall and ask the company to give shelter pets something to say “Oh Yeah” about by giving its support to a local humane society instead. We doubt Honda would fund a PETA event,  and we’re confident they’d be open to join Yellow Tail, Pilot Travel Centers, Mary Kay cosmetics, Precious Cat kitty litter, and Hill's Science Diet dog food in realizing that there are better ways to help animals than giving money to HSUS.

Pacelle’s solution is to watch “Babe”—a movie with talking animals—or “Bambi,” a Disney cartoon. Does anybody else see the irony here?

The political correctness coming from the animal rights movement is ridiculous. (PETA too voiced its criticism of "The Grey" for making wolves look bad—unsurprising, given PETA and HSUS have the same agenda.) By asking people to watch one form of animal fiction over another, Pacelle’s doing what he rails against. Deer are not like Bambi, and pigs are not like Babe. (Ask a hog farmer.)

Wolves are predators. Of people? Not so much. Of people’s livestock? Sure.

But let’s not forget: It’s just entertainment. It’s Hollywood, not a real-world debate on wolf delisting. It’s…fiction, not a documentary on animals.

Asking Hollywood not to play up the scary wolf stereotype is like asking Jackie Chan not to make martial arts movies. What next? Will HSUS tell elementary school libraries to stop stocking Little Red Riding Hood or Three Little Pigs?

It’s hard to believe the average viewer can’t make the distinction. And the movie itself is about much more than the survivors’ struggles with the wolves, but also about their internal struggles.

We have to wonder: Did Pacelle even see the movie? His boycott call came two days before the movie even opened. Pacelle’s post was full of vague, broad assertions but light on details. It’s doubtful he would have been invited to the premier. And it’s not like MegaVideo is still around.

Of course, all the bluster from HSUS and PETA isn’t doing much: “The Grey” was the top-grossing movie across the country last weekend. For all his talk about HSUS being mainstream, Pacelle's cries apparently fell on deaf ears (except for a few comments he printed from readers, including one saying she would misanthropically “root for” the wolves).

If the noble wolf is such a delicate creature, then why doesn’t Wayne Pacelle go live among them once his book tour is over? One man has already. Wayne is always playing up his “bond” with animals, so we’re confident he could fit right in.

Clippings culled from all over the electronic news world. (E-mail submissions for next time.)

• New HSUS political ads may soon appear in Missouri
• University of Nebraska student: Don’t suffer humane confusion
• HSUS pushes breeding bill in West Virginia
• HSUS-backed bill “recipe for a federal takeover of farming,” says hog farmer
• Featured Shelter: California’s Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe (Donate. Volunteer. Adopt.)

In other words, the amount of “direct care” to animals provided by the Humane Society of the United States dropped by about 40 percent—in a single year.

That’s really too bad. As critical as we are of HSUS (we are a watchdog group, after all), we’ve given it a thumbs up for its direct-care programs. Hopefully this trend reverses in 2012.

According to HSUS’s 2010 annual report, the breakdown of its direct care that year is roughly: 11,000 animals helped via the Animal Rescue Team; 68,000 through spay/neuter surgeries during “Spay Day”; 6,400 from animal fighting investigations; and 16,000 in HSUS’s wildlife care centers and horse sanctuaries.

How does 2011 match up? (HSUS’s 2011 annual report isn’t published yet, so we’re going by available data.)

• Animal Rescue Team: 8,000 (a drop of 27 percent)
• Spay Day: 48,000 (a decline of 29 percent)
• Investigations and care centers (the remainder): About 5,000 (a decline of 77 percent)

It’s also interesting to note that “Spay Day”—which is a big PR event for HSUS—accounted for 80 percent of the animals HSUS provided “hands-on care” for.

Why is this significant? Because “Spay Day” isn’t long-term care. It’s a one-off event, and it seems that HSUS isn’t as effective as the Doris Day Animal League was in running Spay Day (HSUS took over the event in 2006 after the groups merged).

Remember, HSUS doesn’t run a single pet shelter, and the animals it does provide long-term care for generally are not dogs and cats. Yet, more than 85 percent of the animals in HSUS’s TV appeals are cats and dogs. According to public polling, most Americans mistakenly believe HSUS is a pet-shelter umbrella group and that HSUS gives most of its money to pet shelters.

HSUS’s ads clearly fuel this misconception for HSUS’s gain. And in the meantime, HSUS’s actual direct care—for cats, dogs, and all animals—is falling rapidly. We’ll have more analysis as more information becomes available, but it’s worth wondering: Could the decline in direct care indicate that HSUS’s budget dropped significantly in 2011?

As long as hands-on care isn’t a top priority at HSUS—it still doesn’t run a single pet shelter—the rule remains: If you want to help with the care of pets, give to a local group

HSUS’s deception is clear, especially considering that it only gives 1 percent of its $126 million budget to help local pet shelters and that it doesn’t run any pet shelters of its own. It’s easy to see why 71 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that HSUS is a pet-shelter umbrella group, according to a recent national poll. Similarly, 71 percent of animal shelters agree that “HSUS misleads people into thinking it is associated with local animal shelters.”

HSUS responded that its ads include a disclaimer stating that HSUS is separate from local pet shelters. However, our analysis of CMAG’s data determined that far less than 1 percent of HSUS’s television appeals include a disclaimer. The CMAG report also estimated that HSUS spent over $11.2 million running more than 20,000 TV spots without a disclaimer.

You’d think that HSUS’s ad guys would knock off this nonsense. In fact, HSUS’s Emerging Media Manager claimed last week that “there is a disclaimer on the most recent commercial, which says the HSUS is not affiliated with local shelters.”

Oh, really?

We asked CMAG to compile a report of the ads aired by HSUS from January 1-8, 2012. And again we found that less than 1 percent of HSUS’s TV appeals include any such disclaimer.

The Humane Society of the United States continues to air deceptive ads without disclaimers that mislead and exploit pet-loving Americans, yet HSUS tries to falsely assure people that it isn’t doing what it, in fact, is doing. You’ve got to admire HSUS’s gall. The only problem is that it continues to come at the expense of the nation’s pet shelters and, of course, needy dogs and cats.

Here’s how you can help: Contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint about HSUS's misleading fundraising. You can do this in just a few, quick steps:

1. Go to the FTC’s Complaint Assistant and fill out your personal information.

2. Under Step 1, when it asks you “What kind of company are you complaining about?,” check “Other” and write in “Deceptive 501(c)(3).”

3. When you offer details about your complaint, if you’ve given money to HSUS and believe that you were deceived by its ads, be sure to say so.

4. Let us know when you’ve filed a complaint (email info@HumaneWatch.org).

Clippings culled from all over the electronic news world. (E-mail submissions for next time.)

• HSUS disappointed California doesn’t give more money to pet shelters. (Funny coming from a group sitting on close to $200 million.)
• Nebraska Governor: “HSUS wants to destroy job opportunities for our sons and our daughters and our grandkids”
• North Carolina animal shelter struggling for money, battling “humane confusion”
• HSUS gets money from a pet-rescue game, yet stiffs pet shelters
• Ag groups gear up for battle against HSUS over the Farm Bill
• Featured Shelter: Kansas’s Humane Society of the High Plains. (Donate. Volunteer. Adopt.)

In response, HSUS is trying to act like it’s the pet sheltering community’s biggest advocate. But we’re skeptical. We’ve noticed numerous comments made to the media from shelters that have been willing to publicly speak out against HSUS. And we’ve suspected these represent a broader portion of the community.

Our own November poll of the sheltering community, which used a nationally representative sample of 400 rescues, shelters, and animal control organizations, found that 71 percent agree that “HSUS misleads people into thinking it is associated with local animal shelters.”

We’ve decided to print some of the comments we received during our poll. Some have been edited for grammar and spelling. For obvious reasons, we’re not going to identify them.

===============

“A horrible organization that does a disservice to those of us who are helping dogs and cats.” –A rescue

“I don't believe that HSUS or ASPCA either one should use money that was donated to their organization to create their heartbreaking commercials that play on the hearts of people!  Both commercials make you believe that they are working in "local" areas as well but I for one have NEVER seen them in the [redacted] area, nor have they ever done anything to help my rescue animals!  I also don't believe that they should be paying their executives a six-digit salary out of donated money!  That is SO wrong!” –A rescue

“I am appalled that they share so little of the funds raised with organizations that are actually out there in the trenches fighting the war against pet overpopulation and abuse.”—A shelter

“I feel they deliberately misrepresent what they are and what they do.”—A rescue

“The commercials you see on TV ads imply that the HSUS and the ASPCA give the money they raise to local shelters because of the footage and pictures they use. It is my understanding that the money they raise is to attack other groups (i.e. hunting, agricultural) and to lobby at the government level. … It makes me pretty angry when I then read articles that the President of HSUS is spending money trying to convince people that eating meat is wrong and going after hunting organizations. He is only looking at what he thinks is important and has lost sight of the real issues.”—A shelter

“One look at HSUS IRS filings will show that they have well over $200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred MILLION dollars) in investments & cash that can easily be converted to cash (i.e. stock market investments). I'd like to know what a "humane society" that doesn't own ONE SINGLE shelter, needs that money for?  …The HSUS is perpetuating a SCAM on the public.” – A rescue

“I've sat on local and statewide task forces for animal welfare and am never surprised the lengths the HSUS/ASPCA will go to get their way.  I frequently post informational HSUS articles to my FB account so people understand where the funds go.  ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!!” –A rescue

“They use animal tragedies like hurricane Katrina and the Vick case to raise funds and yet do not voluntarily use those funds raised to "help" the animals.  They only use the tragedy to further their agenda. They are despicable.” –A rescue

“They mislead the public and money is misappropriated just like with government taxes, etc.  […]  The Humane Society gets all the publicity, funds and praise.  How much physical labor is involved for their administrators each day?” – A rescue

“A whole lot of talk, very little action.”—A shelter

“I would like to see a good portion of the money spent on the political front spent helping these shelters.  We are lucky where we are and I have good support from my city officials.  I know there are some shelter who could really use the help.  I know there are evaluation tools available but I also believe there is a cost to them and know that many can't afford it.”—A shelter

“It frustrates me that they do not make it clear to the general public that they (HSUS) do not directly maintain any shelters for homeless animals and they do not make it clear that they are a distinctly separate entity from the local Humane Society.  HSUS, I believe, misleads the general public into believing that they support the local humane societies and small rescue organizations when this is not the case at all.”—A rescue

“I think of HSUS like PETA, they take money from the public in the guise that they help animals, but they are more POLITICAL organizations than anything else.”—A rescue

“I have no positive thoughts towards the HSUS at all. I think they are money-hungry and attention-seeking, riding into a situation when the media is there then dumping the problem on someone else's shoulders.”—A rescue

“Like any national nonprofit, they have overhead for administrative costs that get paid first....I often wonder just how much they really do for the animals because I have been in ditches and never saw one of them beside me getting animals to safety.  Or do they only do things on a national level that will bring in the donations to pay the help?”—A rescue

“Don't care for them at all, they do a disservice to all shelters and rescues.”—A rescue

“Misleading advertising, hidden agenda, funds could be better used elsewhere.”—A rescue

“They need to spend more money helping animals and local rescues more directly and consistently.”—A rescue

“When the HSUS supported Michael Vick, my suspicions were confirmed.  They are all about the money vs. truly helping animal welfare causes.  I think they should be supporting rural and poor shelters vs. all shelters.” – A rescue

“I think they misrepresent themselves to look like they're "your local neighborhood shelter or rescue organization" in their literature and all of the mailings they do.”—A rescue

“Useless, harmful, and misleading.”—A rescue

“I do think these national groups should disclose on all fundraising or donation solicitation material what percentage goes into a much smaller, local organizations so that people can learn to differentiate. More than the money, I think a lot of small groups would greatly appreciate hands-on advice & resources from these groups when called upon. That seems to be the biggest complaint...”—A shelter

“We really don't know how they are helping any animals directly!”—A shelter

“I am extremely unhappy with HSUS's lobbying against stronger animal protection laws (e.g., Hayden Act, Oreo's Law), [...] their support of Michael Vick, and their disingenuous fundraising annually and after large-scale disasters like Katrina. HSUS dumped countless animals on small, underfunded rescues in the aftermath of disasters yet took credit in the media for rescuing animals. Some of these animals were left at kill shelters where they likely lost their lives after "rescue" by HSUS.”—A rescue

“A scam.”—A rescue

“They are not an organization aimed at providing care for animals in shelters, and should stop advertising themselves as such.”—A rescue

“For the amount of money they bring in they do not do enough good.”—A rescue

“It misrepresents what it does. They have turned into a front for PETA.” —A rescue

“Only does those things that will grab media attention.  Misleads public.”—A rescue

“It, like a lot of organizations, looks only towards causes that get them publicity. They spend way too much money on glossy magazines and staff salaries and way too little on local shelters that are not "publicity magnets" but need day to day financial assistance from an organization that has it to give. I myself will not continue as a HSUS member.”—A shelter

“That they need to scale back their big fat salaries and put more of their money into educational campaigns and facilities to support low cost spay/neuter.  They aren't doing enough to end the needless, horrendous euthanasia statistics from animal shelters across the country.”—A rescue

“Their nightly solicitation by way of commercials is but one way they mislead the public into believing that money raised actually is helping ‘save the animals.’ If they are so proud to be collecting from the public by the money they spend on these commercials, then it should be noted on the bottom of the TV screen just how little even goes to the animals, or any other community outreach program. I think they are a disgrace to the rescues that actually do work for next to nothing to help get animals adopted.”—A rescue

“A mouthpiece with no true interest in helping those really dealing with the issue. A politically driven organization.”—A rescue

“I think the HSUS has a slick marketing campaign and huge PR budget ... with little benefit to the local shelters and rescues.”—A rescue

“They prey on people who are truly concerned with animal welfare who are willing to donate money to help, when they are only helping their own pocket books and let needy animals sit in over crowed, underfunded shelters until they are euthanized.  All the time, the public thinks they are helping their community and can't understand why so many animals are still being put down or why rescues need so much financial help.”—A rescue

“A lot of misrepresentation of what they do and how they "help" animals. The money spent on "administrative costs" while denying the animals is pathetically unbalanced. They use their name to address issues, but I wonder how many who may have come from the smaller world of shelters, remember what it was like to work in them.”—A rescue

“They make a good statement, but when it comes to actually doing, they don't! They do money type things such as the commercials but … we do the day in and day out work that no one ever sees! We are the ones that see and feel the heart ache when these babies get sick and die in our arms from whatever reason. We are also the ones that are first in the field such as during Hurricane Katrina…”—A shelter

“HSUS attempts to cash in on every disaster event that occurs, from floods to earthquakes.  The reality of the situation, as we learned first-hand in the flood of 2008, is that they arrive with cameras, take pictures of what the real workers on the scene are doing, claim that they are making a huge impact on the situation, and beg for money from people who don't know any better.  In fact, they come, they take pictures, they leave.”—A shelter

“I think it’s not right that they market the way they do. I think they need to actually do something. I don't feel like they are really working to solve the problems in the animal rescue world. I feel like they are taking people's money, and misleading them. I think things need to be turned over to local communities.”—A rescue

“I have no respect for the national organizations, they have lost their vision and are doing little to actually help animals in need.  This is especially sad given the amount of money the national organizations take in per year and how little of that money actually goes to helping animals either directly or by sharing that money with smaller grassroots organizations.”—A rescue in Ohio

“Not hands-on. All political BS.”—A rescue

“With the adverts misleading the public thinking they are giving directly to the local animal shelters the HSUS and ASPCA, more of the funding should be given to the local shelters.”—A shelter

“Big business that can use its money to advertise nationally and call in the voices of actors and stars to increase their revenue to pad their own wealth, and to heck with the grass roots groups doing all the work.”—A rescue

“Frankly my dear, they suck!”—A rescue

“The HSUS is an advocacy group who has deceptive fundraising practices. Their advocacy is directed towards progressive causes that are outside of what the typical Humane Society is involved with.”—A rescue

“It does disturb me that there are so many ads asking for money to help the animals and publicity boosts.”—A rescue

“They are a "Hollywood" organization [...] They do not help animals as directly as the small-town rescues do, yet they reap all of the benefits for their employees. They are overpaid solicitors!”—A rescue

“We changed our name … because we in no way want to be affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States.  I personally believe their ad campaigns are deceptive.”—A shelter

“I think they're deceptive in their fundraising and take away funds from local shelters/rescues.”—A rescue

“Shameful that an organization would raise all that money and then not use it for spay/neuter which is what is going to fix that overpopulation problem.  Most people who donate to the HSUS do not care about the veganism that HSUS is promoting.”—A rescue

“People believe they are helping animals in shelters when they give money to HSUS.  HSUS is very misleading in this because they do not make it clear no animals are helped in shelters or rescue.”—A rescue

“It is not an actual shelter or rescue, yet solicits funds by presenting itself as such.”—A rescue

“I question some of the recent moves to promote an extremely different lifestyle from the majority of the public.  As it moves in this direction, the voice of the Humane Society will have less of an impact on the very people it needs to reach to make a lasting change in regards to animal welfare.”—A shelter

“We have contacted them on several issues in our parish for help and never got a response. I feel they put more into payroll and advertisements instead of helping smaller humane societies and shelters.”—A shelter

“I'm sure the majority of people in the world think they financially support shelters, and I believe they intentionally do that. Shelters are in dire straits these days, with donations down, and more animals needing costly medical care. Many animals that could be helped and saved from death are passed over because we cannot afford to save them. In light of that, I would love to see help from the big boys!”—A shelter

“Some of their views have made it very hard for shelters. They offer help but only to a few.”—A shelter

“I believe that the local shelters that are involved in the day to day care of the animals and responsible for getting the animals adopted should be provided with a much greater portion of the national fundraising money. We see so many shelters struggling to stay afloat with the costs of animal care and the current economy only makes it worse. So many animals suffer from the lack of funding for shelters. So many more could be saved if the local shelters benefitted from the donations to the national organizations.”—A foster group

You’d think HSUS would be committed to honoring donor intent so that shelter pets could be helped. Instead, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle settled on personally targeting one of HSSP’s co-directors, Didi Culp. Pacelle sent a letter to Frederick County, MD (Culp’s employer) complaining about a “harmful” video posted on the HSSP website. Sometimes the truth hurts.

It is incomprehensible to think that a person who works for an animal shelter has a conflict of interest by attempting to help raise funds for local pet shelters, if anything she is supporting a mutual interest. She is not benefiting from asking people to donate to local shelters, the pets are benefiting. That is like telling a doctor that he can’t encourage people to donate towards lifesaving medical equipment. But that is just what Pacelle did.

Pacelle pushed a conflict of interest complaint that was allegedly written by a former HSUS wildlife services employee. (We say allegedly because it’s hard to believe she could write all that legalese—it’s a product more befitting of HSUS’s dozens of lawyers.) The complaint claims that Culp has a conflict of interest because the video was filmed on Frederick County property.

Well, we’ve got news for you: Shelters across the country also allowed HSUS to film and photograph in their facilities.

The Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, which contracts with the local government, allowed an HSUS photographer to take photos for a series on HSUS’s website that shows the shelter dogs below an “act now” button. The button, of course, is for donations to HSUS. However, only one percent of the money HSUS raises is given to pet shelters.

Tupelo-Lee isn’t alone; a video with an accompanying HSUS donation pitch was taken of the Caldwell County Animal Control at the Caldwell County fairgrounds. Another video produced by HSUS was shot at the St. Bernard Parish Animal Control Center. HSUS has to work with outside pet shelters, because despite public confusion it doesn’t run any of its own.

So does every shelter that lets HSUS film or take pictures have a conflict of interest? We certainly wouldn’t be making that argument. We don’t see much difference between this and Ms. Culp using the shelter she works at as the backdrop to film her informational video. One difference may be that the Humane Society for Shelter Pets only encourages people to give to their local shelter, while HSUS seeks to raise money from its use of the shelters—which, somewhat ironically, furthers the confusion that HSUS gives most of its money to pet shelters.

The hypocrisy of HSUS is so out of control, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Wayne Pacelle thinks a convicted dogfighting kingpin would be a good pet owner. Oh, wait.

This post will be a bit long, so here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: The Humane Society of the United States' (HSUS) fundraising is rather unethical.

Why? Read on.

Of the four models of fundraising Kathleen Kelly describes in Effective Fund-raising Management, HSUS clearly uses the “press agentry” model. (Don’t fall asleep—we’ll keep the boring academic terms to a minimum. We promise.) The purpose of this style of fundraising, which the other three don’t share, is to propagandize. It’s designed to get publicity or influence the audience to do what the messenger wants. For fundraisers, this means getting people to write checks. (You can get a feel for the other three models of fundraising, and how they differ, on Google Books.)

In this model, the truth isn’t important. After all, it’s about propaganda. “Press agentry” fundraising relies on emotional appeals to influence opinion or action, shirking the burden of truthfulness or analysis. This model, Kelly writes, “is the most unethical and socially irresponsible of the four.” And it’s a perfect fit for HSUS.

Let’s take some recent HSUS fundraising letters that readers have sent us. How do they fit the model?

Consider the language used. In one letter, HSUS writes that “the only way we can make these critical life-saving programs work and help save the lives of puppies and kittens in peril is with the continued support of our very best members such as you.” Elsewhere, HSUS asks, “How can we save these innocent puppies and kittens and find them good, loving homes?” In another section, HSUS claims that “disgraceful cruelty, neglect, and abuse […] appears to be increasing at an alarming rate all across the county.”

How is this emotionally manipulative? Well, “guilt is the gift that keeps on giving,” as the saying goes. The clear implication is that if you don’t open up your wallet, these poor little animals will all suffer. And you wouldn’t want to be responsible for that, would you? (To ram the point home, HSUS helpfully encloses a snapshot of an appropriately cute puppy and kitten.)

HSUS also uses loaded, creepy buzzwords to push emotion buttons. What are these “puppy mills” and “factory farms”? We never know, because HSUS never actually defines them. They’re frighteningly nonspecific “bad” places where animal cruelty goes on. In place of a real analysis of the problem or the solution, there’s a not-so-subtle invitation to let your worst nightmares run wild.

That’s not to mention the tchotchkes that are included in some HSUS mailings, which can create or reinforce that guilty, obligated feeling to give.

As for HSUS’s TV appeals, they have a pretty simple formula. Show tear-jerking images of cats and dogs (there’s that emotional reaction again), play music slow and sad enough to make you feel awful about any image on the screen, and make vague claims such as “many more animals urgently need help” without getting into details. (Where? How will your donation help them? What will HSUS actually do?)

As a rule, truthfulness is not top priority in press agentry fundraising. We’ve documented how HSUS’s fundraising is clearly misleading. Through the heavy use of dogs and cats, HSUS gives off the image that it’s in the pet-sheltering business. In reality, however, HSUS doesn’t run a single shelter, and isn’t even the leader in providing hands-on care to animals, despite having a massive $126 million budget.

Of course, plenty of nonprofits use similar tactics across all kinds of issues. HSUS is by no means the sole offender when it comes to using the “most unethical and socially irresponsible” model of fundraising. With animals we humans like to keep as pets, it’s just so easy.

Most pet shelters don’t see a single penny from the “Humane Society” of the United States

A few weeks ago a new nonprofit launched called the Humane Society for Shelter Pets, which is a separate nonprofit organization that contracts with the same management firm. The Humane Society for Shelter Pets has a quite simple message: If you want to help pets, give to a local shelter. (Most Americans experience confusion about HSUS and their local humane society, so it’s a needed service.)

Despite its claims to support shelter pets, HSUS replied by savaging this new group—and us. Then, a handful of HSUS litter-bearers in the sheltering community parroted its scorched-earth attacks on us.

Unsurprisingly, some of these groups receive money from HSUS (a fact that, oddly, was absent in all of their diatribes). Here are the most recently available numbers (2010):

• Washington Animal Rescue League: $5,000
• Richmond SPCA: $10,000
• Humane Society of Berks County:  $5,000

We don’t know if these groups received money this year. But it wouldn’t surprise us.

In response, we sent letters to some of them demanding that they correct some false statements in their attacks. We’re pleased to report that both the Richmond SPCA and Humane Society of Berks County removed false statements. WARL also made a slight change, though we are not satisfied.

But there’s a new twist. Interestingly, HSUS is now giving these groups free legal counsel. Yes, that’s right—instead of, say, helping shelter animals, HSUS’s resources are now going towards helping other people spew false attacks.  We suppose when you have dozens—yes, dozens­—of in-house lawyers like HSUS does, they need something to do. (Golly, can’t HSUS stick to a mere 10 lawyers and give more to pet shelters?) [UPDATE 12/27/11: The Richmond SPCA informs us that "HSUS has never given the Richmond SPCA free legal counsel" and it "has not received any resources from the HSUS in connection with the things that we have said."]

Meanwhile, HSUS’s truth-challenged water-carriers are now asserting that we’re “threatening” shelters with our letters that seek to set the record straight. Apparently the truth is “threatening” to HSUS.

We’ll make it clear to everybody, as it was clear in our original letters: You’re free to criticize us, just don’t make false statements. And if you continue to make false statements—as HSUS has been put on notice about—then you put yourself in legal peril. That’s not a threat. That’s just a simple fact.

In the meantime, we’ve compiled a nice list of what some in the shelter community have had to say about HSUS. There are a lot more than the handful that has taken HSUS’s side this month. And remember, these are small shelters (the “Davids”) speaking out against the wealthy, lawyerly establishment (the “Goliath”). For every one that speaks out, we bet there are scores more who are intimidated by HSUS’s hardball tactics.

“Not one penny. We receive nothing from them, and the amount of money they get nationally and don’t share with needy shelters like ours is a shame.”
 --Roseann Trezza, Executive Director of the Associated Humane Societies (on News 12 New Jersey)

"We often hear, 'We gave to the national organization.’ It's frustrating. I'd appreciate it if they didn't do direct-mail [fundraising] pieces here."
--Lynae Gieseke, executive director of the Minnesota Valley Humane Society, in the Star Tribune

“[People think] that if they give to the national organization that somehow the local organization is benefitting. That's completely false. There's no money whatsoever. We have never received one dime from the HSUS.”
– Raynette Mayer, Central Savannah River Area Humane Society volunteer (Georgia)

“We hear it all the time, ‘But I already gave to the Humane Society.’ They think they are helping the shelter here, but they don't understand that money doesn't come locally.”
–Donna Clark, Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association executive director (West Virginia)

Want more? You can read them all here.