Even Animal Activists Don’t Like HSUS

A number of animal activists in the “no kill” shelter community aren’t fans of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), to put it mildly. Perhaps the most vocal is Nathan Winograd, who told USA Today that “If [HSUS] actually spent as much time, energy and money on saving animals as they now only pretend to, not only would they not have to cover up their failures to do so […] they could truly be the heroes they now only pretend to be.” And the dislike appears to be broader.

We’ve found an interesting account from Ric O’Barry, an animal activist who is a former dolphin trainer turned dolphin rescuer. In his book To Free a Dolphin, O’Barry recalls his interaction with HSUS concerning dolphins the Navy wanted to turn over.

In short, O’Barry describes HSUS as a money-grubbing outfit interested in marketing. “The Obscene Salary Watch,” he notes, “lists HSUS’s officials as some of the greediest in the business.” Though HSUS officials were happy to help themselves when it came to salaries, HSUS wouldn’t even buy lunch for O’Barry and his colleague when they flew up to D.C. from Florida to meet with HSUS personnel. “It wasn’t just the money,” he writes, “it was the predatory attitude. That I should have noticed.”

Click the image below to read the excerpt (which we are reprinting under “fair use”). We have to wonder how many others in the animal activist community have felt the same way.