Humane Society of the United States Misled Americans With Fundraising Pitch, Says Center for Consumer Freedom

Animal rights group falsely claimed it would “care for” Michael Vick’s dogs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today the nonprofit
Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) called on the Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS) to return all the money it has raised in the wake of
the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal. CCF revealed today that beginning on
July 18 — the day after Vick’s criminal indictment — HSUS promised on its
website that financial contributions would be earmarked for helping it
“care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case.” But yesterday The New
York Times reported that HSUS is not, in fact, caring for the animals. And
HSUS president Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group is recommending
that government officials “put down” (that is, kill) the dogs rather than
adopt them out to suitable homes.

“Like most Americans, we can’t stand dogfighting,” said Center for
Consumer Freedom Director of Research David Martosko. “But we also can’t
stand animal-rights fundraising that smells this fishy.”
The Humane Society of the United States is not affiliated with any
local “humane societies.” Although the organization runs no hands-on dog or
cat shelters anywhere, some of its fundraising materials hint at a direct
connection with pet rescue operations.

HSUS’s online fundraising pitch related to Michael Vick has now been
quietly altered to remove the claim that the group is caring for his pit
bulls. But there’s no reliable way to know how much money the group raised
on the basis of its earlier promises.

“As usual, HSUS is exploiting Americans’ emotions about dogs to build
its war chest for anti-meat, anti-dairy, and anti-medical-research
campaigns,” Martosko added. “These predatory activists should return every
cent and apologize for misleading the public.”

In a similar episode, HSUS raised a reported $32 million in the wake of
the Hurricane Katrina disaster, promising to use the funds to rescue and
reunite lost pets with their owners. But since March 2006, Louisiana
Attorney General Charles Foti’s office has been investigating what happened
to the majority of those funds, which HSUS does not appear to have used for
Katrina- related rescues.

– The New York Times article is online here
– HSUS’s false fundraising claim is preserved online here

For more information about the Humane Society of the United States,
visit www.ActivistCash.com/HSUS.

For an interview, call
202-463-7112.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by
restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote
personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.
Media Contact: Sarah Longwell
202-463-7112