September 5, 2010
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Who is HSUS?
July 26, 2010
Who is HSUS?
What your donations really include!
Have you ever seen the TV commercials for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showing the sad looking puppies and kittens? Have you been tempted to donate to this organization to try to help these animals? You may want to double check where this money really goes before you donate to this organization. HSUS is actually an animal rights group, not an animal welfare organization. According to Humanewatch.org, less than one half of one percent of HSUS’s $100 million budget is actually given to hands on pet shelters. HSUS is not affiliated with your local Humane Society chapter, and your local Humane Society chapter is not funded by HSUS. Humanewatch.org documents that from 2006 to 2008, HSUS gave only $19,344 to Iowa hands on animal care centers.
The Center for Consumer Freedom reports that in 2008, HSUS gave $2.25 million to a political campaign committee behind an anti-meat ballot initiative in California, and also put $2.5 million into HSUS’s executive pension plans. It is the wealthiest animal rights lobbying organization in the world. Much of HSUS’s budget is used for lobbying – lobbying against livestock agriculture, against hunting and fishing, and against any form of animal husbandry, including dogs and cats. HSUS has been busy pushing for a ballot initiative in Ohio at the end of June. Their initiative in Ohio, as it was in California a couple of years ago, is to adapt much stricter animal housing standards for egg-laying hens, sows and veal calves. This is getting close to home now as they start to work on the Midwest. Their ultimate goal is to shut down livestock farming, and promote a vegan diet. Our economy in Iowa, and nationwide, is driven by agriculture and by livestock. To have this shut down would be disastrous.
HSUS has many corporate sponsors, some who do not even know exactly what HSUS stands for. These sponsors include companies like Bank of America, Microsoft, Xerox, and Petco Stores. Some corporations like Pilot Travel Centers and Yellow Tail wineries have pulled their support after public outcry of their support to HSUS. So in supporting these businesses, how much of your money supports organizations like HSUS, and do they realize what the company stands for? All it takes is a phone call to find out.
For those of us in the livestock industry, we need to be proactive and help educate the public of where their food comes from. Many believe that the animal abuse videos they see from HSUS and other animal rights groups are the norm for the livestock industry. They do not realize that the better we take care of our livestock, the better off us as livestock producers are. Let people know how their food is raised and what you do to make sure your livestock is cared for properly.
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