Even HSUS Donors Are in the Dark

Not only did thousands of Americans see our national “Consumer Alert” ad and learn the truth about the so-called Humane Society of the United States, but many of our readers took action.

We drafted a report last month showing how HSUS’s TV appeals are deceptive. More than 85 percent of the animals shown are dogs and cats, yet just 1 percent of the money HSUS raises goes to pet shelters. HSUS also doesn’t run any pet shelters of its own.

We hear from HSUS donors on a regular basis—now former HSUS donors—who had no idea that so little of HSUS’s money—really, their money—went to pet shelters. Considering that HSUS spends more than $15 million on advertising and promotion (according to its tax return), this deception appears massive in scale. Accordingly, we asked people to file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission about this scam.

As of this writing, more than 140 complaints are pending with the FTC. It may be closer to 200 by now—the batch we received from the FTC doesn’t include any complaints filed recently. (Click here to download a PDF of what the FTC sent us. We suggest you right-click and select "Save Link As," as the file is 13 MB.) [UPDATE: This website has not verified the claims made to the FTC. We are simply reprinting them. Use your own judgment about relying on them.]

Additionally, we found about another 100 or so complaints from the previous years that appear to be against HSUS. (Some refer to simply “the Humane Society.”) Many of these are National Do Not Call list complaints.

Will the FTC take action? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, here’s what some folks had to say. When even HSUS donors feel misled, there’s clearly something afoul:

“I pay $19.00 monthly and have been paying for a minimum of 6 months. I thought that they [HSUS] were the country’s clearing house and this way my little bit of money could help whichever Humane Shelter needed it.”

“They advertise they are helping animals, when only $1 out of $100 goes to help animals….My sister has sent them money thinking she is helping the animals, when in reality she’s helping promote vegetarianism!”

“HSUS uses false advertising that they are helping shelter animals, when in reality they donate a very, very small portion of their money to help these animals. I have contributed several hundred dollars over the last several years until I wised up!”

“I didn’t see any lobbyists on their commercials and believe they are misrepresenting their company. I wouldn’t have donated if I’d known this.”

“I run an equine rescue and we scramble for change to feed our horses. HSUS puts those dreadful misleading ads on TV and people send them money thinking they are helping groups like us.”

“I recently learned that HSUS is a sham 501(c)(3) and that only a tiny fraction of the funds I have given them over the years actually goes to assist animals in dire need. I plan to remove them from my will and only donate to local shelters…Their TV ads are extraordinarily misleading.”

“From all the information I have received from [HSUS], I understood that this organization assisted the local pet shelters financially. Based on this information I have donated my hard earned money since 1997.  I now find out that this organization only donates 1% of the money received to the local shelter….That is not what I thought the money was being used for.”

“I and my family donated under the impression that our donations would help local pet shelters. If I had known the truth, I would NOT have donated to HSUS – I would have donated directly to my local shelters.”

“I feel the HSUS has advertised deceptively implying that my donation is used to help dogs and cats ... I have donated hundreds of dollars over the years.”

“I have donated money in the past to the Humane Society of the United States and within the past few years have found out that they are not using the money to help animals, but to lobby against responsible breeders/farmers, etc…I feel I have had money taken from me to help a cause that I am not willing to help.

“I donate money to help out animals, but I didn’t realize that the HSUS did not help out our local shelters.”

“My mother-in-law believes she is helping out local animal shelter and protecting animals when she sees their ads and donates her money.”

“I have donated money to them on several occasions over the past years thinking it was helping the shelters from destroying more animals. I feel they should have to account for the donations they receive.”

“I was led to believe the money I sent was to go to the animals and feel I was deceived by the ads and they letters that were sent to me by mail.”

“It has come to my attention that HSUS does not support my local animal shelter with funds that I donate to HSUS. This is misleading and needs to stop.”

“I have been a volunteer for the Rogue Valley Humane Society for three years. Never has our organization received a cent for the HSUS as they claim they do!! Their advertising depicts them as having a shelter for animals when they in fact don’t.

“Their television advertising led me to believe that they were the national organization for all humane societies and that my money would have a direct impact on helping animals at the local level. I believe they intentionally misled me.”

“Their ads led me to believe that they were contributing most monies to the animals.”

“I donated money to this company to help shelter and rescue animals. I thought they gave money to state shelters and rescue groups, that is what they told me.”

“I sent money to HSUS for years thinking that they funded local SPCAs and animal shelters. … They do not help local shelters as they would have you believe through their ads and mailings.”

“After watching an advertisement on TV I signed up to give HSUS $19 per month for about 18 months now in the belief that the money went to help animal shelters and the animals in them….I have been deceived by their advertisements and recently cancelled my monthly contribution. It is beyond despicable that they can falsely advertise to deceive people in this way…”

“We donated to help with shelter animals…it turns out they do NOT even RUN a shelter!”

“Not only did I see the misleading ads on TV, I also got mail to become a member and did so up until now, when I found out only 1 penny of every dollar actually goes to the shelters. Very misleading!”

“I have donated several times in response to mail solicitations from the HSUS believe that I was helping shelter/rescue animals. I now know that that is not where my money went and I feel like I have been cheated.”

“Prior to my discovery many years ago (I do not have the exact date) that this organization does not use donations in the manner they IMPLY in their advertising propaganda, I had been sending them annual donations. I also discovered that my mother, an animal lover, had been sending them hundreds of her hard-earned dollars per year, THINKING she was helping animals.”

“I believe that I was deceived by its ads on both the television and along the road side. They indicated that my money was going to help cats and dogs and now I find out that it does not.”

“Their advertising is extremely misleading and deceptive. Once – and only once – did I give them a small donation several years ago. Then I learned the truth…”

“I have given money to HSUS thinking they were helping animals, only to find out that they are lining their own pockets and the pockets of lobbyists to end circuses, zoos, breeding, exhibiting of animals, etc.”

“My elderly mother (now 93) donated money to HSUS monthly for many years believing she was donating money to help animals in shelters. She was deceived into sending them money.”

“I was duped by the misleading advertising of the HSUS, sent them donations, and then found out that despite their clever name and heart-wrenching advertising propaganda, they are not using the majority of their donations to help animals.”

“I thought I was giving to an organization that gave their money to the Humane Societies…”

“I am a volunteer with the Pike County PA Humane Society and when I speak with potential donors and/or members I have often been told by the person I’m speaking with that they donate to the Humane Society of the United States in response to the TV ads that makes them feel so sad….I have heard this literally hundreds and hundreds of times….I can readily correct their understanding when I have the chance, but the extensive misleading TV advertising that gives the impression that our local needy cats and dogs are benefiting from a viewer support is like swimming against the tide.”

“I gave a donation to The Humane Society of the United States after seeing their commercials featuring animals in animal shelters without realizing that they actually give less than 1% to these shelters.”

“They mail out letters requesting a donation to help dogs and cats. They mail “calendars” & “address labels” and the elderly people who receive this mail think they must send in a donation for those items…I know because I receive their “donation request letter” and so do several elderly people in our neighborhood who receive the same mailing and they send money they really can’t afford to donate because of limited finances and illnesses.”

“Based on the TV ads I thought the donations would go to the local animal shelters to help abused animals only to find out that LESS than ½ of 1% of its $100-plus annual budget is given to local shelters for the help of abused animals.”

“I sent a cash donation to HSUS only to find later they spend less than 1% on animal shelters. Very deceptive TV ads.”

“I gave money to HSUS but I now believe that I was deceived by its ads. By watching their ads I truly believe that the HSUS directly helps abused, starved, abandoned animals with my dollars donated and directly helps local shelters with that money as well.”

Tell Honda to Give Shelter Pets a “Day Off”

It’s Super Bowl weekend, and we’re looking forward to sitting back with some wings and nachos and enjoying a good game. Like many folks, we’re also psyched for the commercials—especially one from Honda that’s getting a bit of buzz due to its “Ferris Bueller” theme.

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.

HSUS Ads Still Lack Disclaimer, Still Deceptive

A few weeks back we released a detailed report regarding the Humane Society of the United States’ deceptive television advertisements. By analyzing data compiled by the Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG) from 2009 through September 2011, we learned that more than 85 percent of animals shown in HSUS TV ads—which aired more than 20,000 times—asking for donations are either dogs or cats. 

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).

Has HSUS Reached a New Low?

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), not to be confused with your local humane society, regularly runs deceptive ads on TV that help mislead Americans into believing that HSUS is primarily a pet-sheltering organization. (It isn’t.) But a new fundraising ploy targeting children is perhaps the most outrageous scheme yet that we’ve seen HSUS involved in.

The social-game company MindJolt SGN released an HSUS-backed iPhone/iPad game on January 2 called “Fluff Friends Rescue,” in which players can build an animal shelter, rescue animals, adopt animals out, and—last but not least—buy HSUS-branded in-game items, 100 percent of the proceeds of which go to HSUS. One report characterized the game as trying “to raise awareness of what the Humane Society does.”

There’s only one problem: That’s not what HSUS does.

HSUS does not run a pet shelter anywhere. And it gives only 1 percent of its budget to pet shelters. Yet, there’s a whole new game on just that—building and operating a shelter that adopts out cats and dogs. Even HSUS’s CEO admits that only 20 percent of HSUS’s efforts concern pets.

It’s a sick irony that HSUS doesn’t run any shelters and yet there’s a game with HSUS’s logo in it that makes it seem like HSUS does. (In the game, you can build a special HSUS play pen or vet clinics for your rescued animals. You can buy in-game money with real money.) It gets even more nauseating when you consider a target market of this game: Kids.

Even if you know the truth about HSUS, this HSUS-backed game might be planting false seeds in your children’s minds. (Targeting kids, by the way, is straight out of the PETA playbook.)

While this game may instill habits by getting youngsters to buy HSUS stuff early on—presumably, HSUS hopes they’ll keep this up into adulthood—it also has a more nefarious effect: To perpetuate the misperception that HSUS is a pet-shelter group and not the fringe anti-meat group that it is.

According to nationally representative polling, 71 percent of Americans wrongly believe that HSUS is a pet-shelter “umbrella group” while 68 percent mistakenly think that HSUS gives most of its money to pet shelters. (We’ve even heard from HSUS donors who were shocked to find out how little of their donation went to pet shelters.)

Of course, this polling only measures what adults believe. The next generation of adults is playing “Fluff Friends Rescue.”

The game’s creator thinks it “has the potential to hit the top 10 or top 20 games and stay there for a long time.” That’s quite the potential cash stream for HSUS, which is no doubt licking its chops.

Meanwhile, HSUS says that the game is a way to “inform [players] about the hard work of animal rescue groups”—yet the money raised all goes to HSUS, not to true rescue groups. Yes, HSUS does run an animal rescue team, but it’s a small portion of HSUS’s budget. If HSUS wants to become a true rescue group—instead of just raising money like it is one—then by all means, it should. But we suspect HSUS will just keep raising money and banking on public misperception.

It’s hard to believe a “charity” like HSUS can be so unscrupulous. It’s not just a new low for HSUS—it’s a new high in deception.

“Ethical Appeals” Isn’t Spelled With H-S-U-S

During the holiday season, people tend to open up their wallets more generously, especially as charities make year-end appeals. A reader suggested that we look at some professional material on what constitutes ethical fundraising. We did, and made some noteworthy discoveries.

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.

The Importance of Giving Local

The story is spreading like wildfire: The Arizona Humane Society put down a recovering drug addict’s 9-month-old kitty Scruffy after the man couldn’t afford a $400 treatment following the cat getting injured by some barbed wire.

The outrage is understandable, and the Arizona Humane Society says it has since made some reforms. You can read a reply from its Director here. But to us, the bigger picture here is the lack of resources that many local shelters have that limits their ability to provide care for dogs and cats.

Consider the following facts about the Humane Society of the United States, which isn’t affiliated with any local humane societies and doesn’t run any pet shelters:

• HSUS raised $131 million from the public last year and uses deceptive ads chock full of cats and dogs;
• HSUS’s CEO made $287,786 last year, and has pulled in nearly $3 million in compensation in his time at HSUS;
• HSUS put $2.6 million into its pension plan last year;
• HSUS shared just 1 percent of the money it raised with pet shelters.

If you know anyone who donates to HSUS, share this with them and ask them if that’s really how they want their contribution used.

The Grinch Who Stole (Pet) Christmas?

Though we’re critical of many things HSUS does, a few of its programs, like its animal rescue team, are laudable. Now, however, we’re seeing a disturbing new trend.

HSUS—supposedly a charity—seems to have adopted the mantra of “never do anything for free.”

In the face of criticism that it donates little money to pet shelters, HSUS provides a list of things it does to assist local shelters, like publishing Animal Sheltering magazine, providing training through Humane Society University, conducting shelter evaluations, and hosting conferences for shelter professionals. HSUS goes so far as to call itself “the nation's leading advocate for animal shelters.”

But all of these services come at a price to shelters. HSUS charges a subscription fee for Animal Sheltering magazine. A shelter evaluation costs up to $25,000—not including the cost of implementing the evaluation’s suggested reforms. Humane Society University charges $1,050 for an undergraduate class and $1,350 for a graduate-level class. Even HSUS’s Animal Care Expo costs $250 for registration.

And while HSUS’s animal rescue team cares for the animal it helps seize on a short-term basis, these animals often wind up getting dumped at pet shelters that may have to care for them for the long term—assuming the animals stay alive, that is.

HSUS charges shelters for many of its services, even while its spokespersons acknowledge that times are really tough for pet shelters. Talk is cheap, after all.

If you’re looking to help pets this holiday season—or really, at any time at all—and you’re tired of the rhetoric and “awareness” coming from national groups, the best thing you can do is donate your time, money, or supplies to your local shelter.