Local Animal Shelters Are Supported By Locals — Not HSUS
By Beverly Fox, State Coordinator ArkFed
Most of us think of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) as caring individuals providing care for dogs, cats and other animals. This is far from the truth. It is time they are exposed for what they really represent. Your local shelters are supported by local people and not HSUS.
This is lobby month and they have a lobby day planned for February 25th in Little Rock to inform our state Senators/Representatives of their idea of animal welfare. It is lies. Their agenda is to do away with all types of animal agriculture, ownership and pets under the guise of animal rights. They are doing a lobby day in 31 states all over our country.
If you care about your animals and your constitutional rights to have them, please plan on attending a lobby day on February, 23 at 1 PM, meeting at the second floor rotunda. We will be visiting with our Senators/Representatives and providing them with information about our concerns with the HSUS and their agenda. They are a lobbying group for the rights of animals and not their welfare.
Please dress appropriately and be prepared to address our officials with courtesy and respect. Check out the information below.
HSUS runs one of the most despicable scams of any “charity” in the country. They are a total fraud. Every current member of its administration has come up through the ranks of the most radical animal rights groups like Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who kills 97% of the animals entrusted to them, their agenda has nothing to do with the “care” of animals. They don’t run a single shelter.
Of the almost 4% of donations they claim for “shelters,” a large percentage of those grants were handed out to organizations that did not provide direct care to animals in need. It was a lie. 90% of that funding was intended for political purposes. In 2007, the $900,000 grant to Mississippi State University was for a Spay/Neuter program assisting in the HSUS spay/neuter mandate. In fact, every dime that supposedly went to “direct care” went to similar spay programs or political efforts to require mandatory spay/neuter efforts.
During Katrina, in the last few days we were there, we devoted a great deal of time to rescuing animals that were affected by the devastation. The shelter operation at Lamar Dixon Equestrian Center was likely the largest animal shelter operation ever mounted in the United States. Thousands of animals rescued in the wake of Hurricane Katrina were brought by the hundreds to Lamar Dixon. The shelter hospital was maintained to treat these animals. Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, pot bellied pigs, turtles, ferrets, rodents, rabbits, spiders, and every imaginable reptile made their way to the shelter. At the height of the operation, more than 200 animals were receiving twice daily treatments. Over 7,000 animals a week went through the facility.
- VMAT: Lamar Dixon, Katrina 2005
Dr. Heather C.F. Case, VMAT 5, Commander of Shelter Medicine at Lamar Dixon
HSUS took credit, and solicited tens of millions of dollars for “Katrina animals.” The fact is that not one HSUS representative ever set foot at Lamar Dixon and only THREE dogs ever were “rescued” by them. Those three were sent by local shelters and when the owners finally tracked down the whereabouts of their animals after more than two years of searching, they found that they had been put to sleep. Humane Society of the United States fundraising efforts raised 34 million dollars. By two years after Hurricane Katrina, only 52% (18 million) could be accounted for and that was supposedly for “reconnecting animals with their owners.” The premise for the Hurricane Katrina fundraising, was tenuous at best for a number of the projects indicated as supported by Hurricane Katrina funds. As of the two year mark, funds related to the Gulf Coast began to make a shift to HSUS legislative goals again.
During the Michael Vick case, HSUS again solicited tens of millions of dollars to “care for the dogs” confiscated at the Vick property. The problem is, HSUS never had control of them or anything at all to do with the case other than to send a local representative along on the original raid. The only association they had during the trial was to send a letter to the judge advising him that none of the dogs had a chance for rehabilitation and that they should all be killed. HSUS never returned a dime of those donations that they fraudulently acquired.
HSUS is a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt “charity.” Is the HSUS in compliance with requirements to maintain its 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt status? According to Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for the HSUS, activist and lobbying efforts form the bulk of her activities. Yet, according to IRS 501 (c) 3 regulations:
“In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.
Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive office), or by the public in referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.
An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.”
Yet, the Humane Society of the Unites States dedicates virtually all resources that don’t line the pockets of its administration to its efforts to introduce and influence legislation, as demonstrated by the portion of its website tracking HSUS legislative efforts at the state and federal levels, as well as through ballot initiatives. This raises an important question. With an income of over 152 million dollars annually, the Humane Society of the United States is not in compliance with the 501 (c) 3 charitable organization requirements. The HSUS claimed involvement in 140 legislative bills at the state level in 2008 alone, has claimed credit for a great deal of legislation in 2009 and publicly acknowledges ’urging’ assorted legislators on a variety of bills. (read campaign donations).
References | Resources | Related Material
- Sifting through the muck: HSUS, financial grants and mudslinging
http://ar-hr.com/2009/03/24/sifting-through-the-muck-hsus-financial-grants-and-mudslinging/
- VMAT: Lamar Dixon, Katrina 2005
Dr. Heather C.F. Case, VMAT 5, Commander of Shelter Medicine at Lamar Dixon
http://www.mvma.org/Proceedings/PublicHealth/PH2.htm
- Money Mysteries Part 1: Hurricane Katrina HSUS Fundraising
http://ar-hr.com/2009/04/05/money-mysteries-part-1-hurricane-katrina-fundraising/
- HSUS & Wayne Pacelle -Vick’s Dogs Must Die
http://www.dogpolitics.com/my_weblog/2007/08/hsus-wayne-pace.html
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