[ SHOWGSD-L ] HSUS -- Gulf State shelter
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:33:04 -0400
Subject: Dubious Deals at HSUS
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 3:43 PM
While Gulf State shelter Tangipahoa Parish continues to kill animals, it
willsoon do so in a room built to kill animals paid for by the Humane
Society of theUnited States. The nearly $30,000 price tag for the kill room
will be paid forwith monies HSUS raised ostensibly to help the animals of
Hurricane Katrinayears ago (an estimated $20 million of which is still
unspent, not includinginterest and investment dividends). Not only did HSUS
provide political cover for the killing, not only did HSUSchief Wayne
Pacelle deceive the public into falsely believing
that there is"a new dawn" for the animals of Tangipahoa (which will never
arise forover 170 of them because they are DEAD), his HSUS is paying for a
room to killeven more of them. If that is not enough, MuttShack Rescue
recently completed a large-scale rescueof animals in Louisiana because of
Hurricane Gustav. Instead of supporting theeffort, HSUS claimed the rescue
as their own. According to MuttShack: "[We]just completed the largest animal
evacuation in the history of New Orleans.After its completion, HSUS drove
their trucks up in front of
the whole deal,shot some footage and has posted it [on their website] as
their ownrescue." Still sitting on over $20 million dollars of unspent
funds from HurricaneKatrina, using money earmarked to save the lives of
animals to build rooms tokill them, HSUS then fundraises off of the success
of others; and in doing so,diverts funds meant for the true heroes of
Hurricane Gustav to its untoldmillions piling up in HSUS bank accounts.
This
appears to be a pattern at HSUS going back decades and predates even
theircurrent CEO: Wayne "I don't have a hands-on fondness for
animals"Pacelle. In the 1980s, HSUS ran into trouble for using funds
earmarked foranimal care to provide private perks for its executive team,
including rentingocean front property. In the 1990s, they advocated for the
mass killing of feralcats in Riverside Park, VA, only to tell the public
that they were involved inmaking sure the cats were being treated
"humanely," ignoring the fact thatlactating mothers were being trapped and
killed, nursing kittens were abandoned,and that animal control was summarily
putting the trapped feral cats to death. So while Pacelle may have
inherited that approach, the fundraising team underhis reign at HSUS
continues it. There is perhaps no better example of this thenthe misleading
tactics used by HSUS to fundraise off of the Michael Vick dogfighting case.
Shortly after the case broke, HSUS contacted the U.S. Attorneyprosecuting
Vick and asked if they could be "involved" and see thedogs (then being held
at six animal control shelters in Virginia). The U.S.Attorney agreed but
only on condition that they take no
photographs and notpublicly talk about the dogs (citing fears of
compromising the case,sensitivities involved in the prosecution, and issues
surrounding rules ofevidence). HSUS agreed and then promptly violated that
agreement. HSUS stafferstook photographs of the dogs with people wearing
"HSUS" shirts to make itappear that HSUS was directly involved in the case
and their care. They then sent out an appeal for money containing a
photograph of someonewearing an HSUS shirt with one of the dogs. In the
appeal, HSUS asks for
money"to help The Humane Society of the United States care for the dogs
seizedin the Michael Vick case" and promises to take the money and "put
[it]to use right away to care for these dogs." A caption underneath
thephotograph states: "This dog was one of 52 pit bulls seized from
MichaelVick's property?dogs now being cared for by The HSUS?" Wayne Pacelle
himself reiterated this in his July 18, 2007 blog in which hestated that
HSUS was "working with federal authorities from the start, andassisting with
the care of 52 dogs taken from Vick's
property." The only problem with the appeal is that it wasn't really true.
HSUS was notcaring for the dogs as they claimed, they were not primarily
looking for moneyto care for the dogs, and the money raised was not
primarily going to be"put to use right away to care for these dogs." And
while the Federal Mail Fraud Statute (the oldest federal consumerprotection
statute in the United States) defines fraud as a scheme which usesthe U.S.
mail to obtain money by means of false or fraudulent representations,HSUS
was careful to avoid it. Beneath the photograph with the dog and a
personwearing an HSUS shirt is the statement that the dogs were being cared
for byHSUS "and other shelters." In fact, it was "the othershelters" doing
all the day-to-day caring. The appeal also asked (twice) for money to help
them care for the Vick dogs,but also "to support other? programs." In fact,
aside from a fewthousand dollars given to the shelters caring for the dogs
out of the large sumpurportedly raised, the funds raised from this appeal
went ostensibly to
these"other" programs. The Vick dog photograph, the talk of the Vick
dogs,the part about caring for the Vick dogs was all part of the
elaboratedistraction. In reality, it was the "other" programs part that
wasoperative. In reading the appeal, replete with a photograph of one of
the Vick dogs in thearms of a person wearing an HSUS shirt, and combined
with statements made byPacelle, it is arguable that people who donated to
this appeal thought they wereprimarily supporting the day-to-day care HSUS
was supposedly providing for
theVick dogs. To be fair, HSUS should divulge the names of all the
individuals whogave money based on this appeal, how much they gave, whether
they believed basedon the appeal's representations that HSUS was actually
providing direct careand/or in physical custody of the seized dogs, and
whether they thought themoney they gave would go primarily, if not
exclusively, to help care for theVick dogs. Taking people's money under
suspect pretenses is bad enough. Doing so at theexpense of the
dogs is simply unforgivable. Because HSUS violated the agreementwith the
U.S. Attorney, relations between the government agencies involved inthe Vick
prosecution and the humane movement were soured. According to
humaneparticipants in the case, HSUS's actions made it more difficult to
work withthe federal agencies, who now had reason to distrust these
organizations. Theoutcome could have been disastrous for the dogs had the
government refused towork with all humane groups as a result. No
one?including Pacelle himself?would have likely lost any sleep over
thisbecause, in the end, HSUS itself lobbied the court to have all the dogs
killed.According to Wayne Pacelle himself: "we have recommended to
the[government] , and believe, the [dogs] will be eventually put down." The
uproar among true dog lovers (people who actually do have a
"hands-onfondness for animals") was swift and unending. As a result,
HSUSback-pedaled. They stated the issue of Pit Bulls was "complicated."They
said that complaints were being spearheaded by those hostile to
animalprotection (i.e., if you can't attack the message, attack the
messenger.)
Theysaid they provided a few "thousand dollars" to the shelter
actuallycaring for the dogs. And, their violating the agreement with the
U.S. attorneynotwithstanding, they stated that they wanted to help "but the
federalgovernment has decided to shoulder the burden on its own ?"
(TheASPCA's subsequent involvement would put the lie to the latter claim.)
Thankfully, the ASPCA did step in. (As harsh a critic as I am about many of
theASPCA's policies, they did the right thing here). They told the
governmentagencies that they would not violate
any agreements. They offered to evaluatethe temperament of all the dogs.
They suggested that the court appoint a specialmaster to oversee the
placement of the dogs. And they succeeded. All but one ofthe dogs passed
their evaluation. Two are now therapy dogs, with one of the dogsbringing
comfort to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Some have beenadopted
into loving homes. And rescue groups across the country stepped up tothe
plate to promise lifetime care for the rest of them?no thanks to HSUS,which
once again did the least, potentially could have caused irreversible
harm,advocated
for the dogs to be killed, but took a lion's share of the bounty. And
therein lies the rub. For HSUS, money appears to be the goal, not a meansto
the goal of saving animals. And on this score, they succeeded. The
onlyproblem is: that success potentially betrays the animals and the hard
workingrescuers who actually go the extra mile for them.
================================
Ginger Cleary
"... The system of private property is the most important guaranty of
freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those
who do not.."-- Fredrich v Hayek
My Ebay site
Rome, GA http://www.rihadin.com/
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