PRESS RELEASE: HSUS CEO Says It’s “Okay” for Ex-Dogfighting Kingpin Michael Vick to Own a Dog

Washington, DC – Today HumaneWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), is calling out Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) CEO Wayne Pacelle for his recent remarks at the Philadelphia Fur Ball. Pacelle reportedly proclaimed it was “okay” for convicted dog abuser Michael Vick to own another dog, stating he is “concerned about more than one dog.”

HumaneWatch.org points to the Philadelphia Eagles’ $50,000 donation to HSUS in 2009 as one possible motivation for Pacelle’s indefensible suggestion that Vick should be allowed to own more dogs. HSUS has continued its rehabilitation tour for Vick’s image after he was found guilty of unspeakable animal cruelty. In 2010, Pacelle told an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter that Vick “would do a good job as a pet owner,” but quickly backtracked after a justified uproar from animal lovers across the country.

“It is dumbfounding that Pacelle is doubling down on his belief that a convicted animal abuser should be allowed to own another animal,” said J. Justin Wilson, CCF’s Senior Research Analyst. 

Before HSUS used Vick as an ambassador, it ran a misleading online fundraising campaign, pledging to “care for the dogs seized” at Vick’s home. Wayne Pacelle later admitted to The New York Times that HSUS was not caring for the dogs, and in fact had recommended that officials “put down” the animals. Despite HSUS’s wishes, many of those dogs have successfully been placed in new homes.

Following Vick’s alliance with HSUS, the Pennsylvania SPCA reported that animal-fighting investigations significantly spiked upward. Compared with 2008, Pennsylvania SPCA animal fighting investigations tripled in 2009, the year Vick signed with the Eagles and partnered with HSUS, and rose again in 2010. “Michael Vick in my view definitely enters into the equation,” the PSPCA’s director of investigations has stated.

“When it comes to Michael Vick, HSUS has always had its priorities in the wrong place,” said Wilson. “HSUS is successful at emotionally manipulating pet lovers to fund a big pension plan but offers little assistance to actual dogs and cats.”

For more information, visit www.HumaneWatch.org. To schedule an interview, contact Allison Miller at 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.

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Times Square Billboards Blast Humane Society of the United States

Good news: We've got, two new HumaneWatch billboards in Times Square! They're on the corner of West 46th Street and 7th Avenue -- a great location. Here are some photos; our press release follows below. (For our previous billboards in Times Square, see here and here.)

Watchdog Group’s Times Square Billboards Blast Humane Society of the United States
HumaneWatch.org Warns HSUS Donors: A Tiny Fraction of Contributions Go To Help Pet Shelters

Washington, DC – Today HumaneWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom, unveiled two new Times Square billboards on the corner of West 46^th Street and 7^th Ave. The billboards highlight the Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) duplicitous fundraising practices—as the vast majority of its fundraising commercials feature dogs and cats, yet only one percent of the money HSUS raises from the public goes to local, hands-on pet shelters.

The billboards feature a dog and cat reminding Americans to “read the fine print” and not let “HSUS disguise itself as a local pet shelter.” According to recent public polling performed by ORC International, 71 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that the Humane Society of the United States is a pet shelter umbrella group and 68 percent wrongly believe that HSUS gives most of its money to local pet shelters.

“HSUS uses emotionally manipulative ads to raise money on the backs of abandoned and abused dogs and cats, yet it gives just one penny of each dollar it raises to local pet shelters,” said CCF Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson. “Our Times Square billboards are educating Americans about HSUS to ensure their donations go to support the cause they intended. If they want their dollars to aid cats and dogs in their community they should give directly to local pet shelters instead of inadvertently bankrolling HSUS’s aggressive animal rights agenda.”

HSUS’s advertisements routinely employ the images of downtrodden dogs and cats to tug at the heart strings and wallets of America’s pet lovers. However, according to the animal rights group’s own tax documents it shared a meager 1 percent of its $126 million budget with sheltering organizations nationwide in 2010. In the same year, HSUS spent an astounding $47 million in fundraising-related costs (37 percent of its total budget) and parked $32 million in hedge funds.

Wilson continued, “HSUS should know full well that the American public experiences ‘humane society’ brand confusion, yet it continues to mislead the public with multi-million dollar ad campaigns.”

For more information, visit www.ConsumerFreedom.com. To schedule an interview, contact Allison Miller at 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.

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PRESS RELEASE: Academy Awards “Consumer Alert” Ad

Television Ad Airs During Academy Awards Targeting Humane Society of the United States' Deceptive Fundraising Practices
Research from HumaneWatch.org Exposes HSUS’s Misleading National Ad Campaign

Washington, D.C. – HumaneWatch.org, a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), aired a consumer alert during the 84th Annual Academy Awards, warning Americans about the deceptive fundraising practices of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The ad highlights HSUS’s duplicitous fundraising tactics—the vast majority of its fundraising commercials feature dogs and cats, yet only one percent of the money HSUS raises from the public goes to local, hands-on pet shelters. The ad also encourages Americans to give directly to their local pet shelters to make the greatest impact in their community.

A recent analysis of HSUS’s television ads by HumaneWatch.org determined that the group’s television fundraising appeals perpetuate the misperception that HSUS is an organization that primarily supports pet shelters. Specifically, CCF examined 28 separate HSUS television appeals that ran from January 2009 through September 2011, identified by the Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), and discovered that more than 85 percent of the animals shown in the ads were dogs and cats despite very little of HSUS's budget going to pet shelters.

“HSUS uses emotionally manipulative ads to hook Americans who love pets, whether famous – like The Artist’s Uggie – or non-famous, yet it gives just one penny of every dollar it raises to local pet shelters,” said CCF Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson. “HumaneWatch.org wants to ensure that donations go to support the cause donors intend. If they want their contributions to aid cats and dogs in their community they should give directly to local pet shelters instead of inadvertently bankrolling HSUS’s aggressive animal rights agenda.”

HSUS asserts that its ads contain a disclaimer that local humane societies are independent from HSUS. However, based on CMAG’s data on ads that aired between 2009 and 2011, more than 99 percent of HSUS ads did not contain a disclaimer. The one percent that did contain a disclaimer only appeared—in fine print—for a few seconds on a few dozen individual ad spots.

“HSUS knows full well that the American public experiences ‘humane society’ brand confusion, yet they continue to mislead the public with multi-million dollar ad campaigns,” remarked Wilson. "They seem to want to have it both ways. On one hand, they say 'we never said we funded animal shelters' and on the other they continue to rely on cats and dogs—oftentimes depicted in shelters—to raise money."

According to recent public polling performed by ORC International, 71 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that the Humane Society of the United States is a pet shelter umbrella group and 68 percent wrongly believe that HSUS gives most of its money to local pet shelters.

CCF asks Americans to give to their local humane society.

For more information go to www.HumaneWatch.org or contact Allison Miller at 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.

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