Won’t You Help These Lawyers?

Despite its name, the Humane Society of the United States is not affiliated with your local humane society. HSUS doesn’t run a single pet shelter and gives only 1 percent of its budget to local shelters.

This is news to most Americans. According to public polling, about 70 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that HSUS is a pet shelter “umbrella group” and that HSUS gives most of its money to pet shelters.

Why the massive perception-reality gap? We can certainly thank HSUS’s multimillion-dollar ad campaign. You know the formula: Slow music, B-list celebrity spokeswoman, and pictures of sad-looking dogs and cats. And that fine-print disclaimer that HSUS is independent of local humane societies? It’s on less than 1 percent of the ads. See how the scam works?

Here’s what an honest HSUS TV appeal might look like. There’s no confusion, and no need for a disclaimer. But we’re going to go out on a limb and guess it wouldn’t be quite as lucrative for HSUS.

The $50 Million Scam

If you haven’t read our report (PDF) on the Humane Society of the United States’ deceptive TV fundraising appeals, it’s worth your time. Here’s our major discovery: More than 85 percent of the animals in HSUS’s TV ads are dogs and cats, and yet HSUS gives just 1 percent of the money it raises to pet shelters.

That’s about as deceptive as it gets, and it’s no surprise that we hear from HSUS donors on a regular basis who had no idea that their charitable giving wasn’t going to pet sheltering. Fortunately, many decide to give to their local shelter and stop giving to HSUS.

And that’s just TV appeals. According to its latest tax return, HSUS had almost $50 million in fundraising-related expenses. That includes piles of money spent on direct mail. So we wondered: Could its direct mail be even worse than HSUS’s TV appeals?

We were able to obtain a sample consisting of dozens of HSUS direct-mail appeals from 2003 to 2011. And they’re arguably just as awful as HSUS’s TV ads. By our rough estimate, about 80 percent of the animals mentioned are dogs and cats in these 32 appeals. Only one letter in our sample, a 2009 mailer about farming, was completely about non-companion animals.

The deception is also present in the content of the letters. Take one 2005 appeal, which told the story of “Scruffy,” a Kansas dog that experienced abuse. The story is quite heart-wrenching, and the letter includes an in memoriam card dedicated to Scruffy.

But here’s the thing: The incident occurred in 1997. And the HSUS fundraising letter went out eight years later asking potential donors sign a card that would be sent to Scruffy’s owners.

Is it just us, or is that a little, you know, sleazy?

HSUS donors received plenty of doodads and tchotchkes throughout the years, too. Almost two-thirds of the appeals included some kind of junk guilt gift, such as calendars, mailing labels, stickers, pocket planners, and blankets. You can find some on eBay.

The letters are generally membership or renewal letters. That’s important, because if these letters are most (or all) of what certain donors see, these folks could easily have a skewed idea of what their money is going towards.

We recently saw dozens of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission from people who have given money to HSUS, so it’s potentially a big problem.

Something else to keep in mind: According to records published by various state governments, much of the money raised on HSUS’s behalf through telemarketing campaigns is in fact pocketed by the for-profit solicitation firms. Is the same true for these direct-mail campaigns? How much money is rolled right back into more direct mail?

We’re reprinting some of the more deceptive and misleading quotes below. As you’ll see, many of them use emotionally manipulative language and reference puppies and kittens, as if that’s what your donation will go towards. Our regular readers are fully aware, though, that HSUS doesn’t run any shelters and even its CEO admits only 20 percent of its efforts involve pets.

2005 renewal letter: "Perhaps your renewal will go towards purchasing a pet carrier, collars, leashes and food and water bowls…"

2006 Spring renewal: “I’m sure that you, too, are appalled and outraged when you hear about animal cruelty and the terrible things that happen to puppies, kittens, dogs, cats and other pets. But of course, that’s why you joined The HSUS in the first place!”

2007 Partner’s Circle: “Your support allows us to keep fighting on behalf of the defenseless dogs, cat, puppies, and kittens who can’t speak for themselves.”

2008 renewal: “I know that you are a person who is appalled and outraged about animal cruelty, abuse and neglect, and the terrible things that happen to puppies, kittens, dogs, cats and other pets. That’s why you joined The HSUS in the first place!”

2010 renewal: “Every day that passes, another 10,958 cats and dogs, kittens and puppies are killed. That’s more than 7 every minute! … So please send your best member gift of $15, $25, $50 or as much as you can give to protect and save precious puppies’ and kittens’ lives.”

2010 renewal: “I hope [this blanket] will serve as a reminder of the comfort and security your new membership brings to those animals in the most desperate situations. I’m talking about helpless, abused kittens, puppies, cats and dogs who need our protection—our help.”

2010 renewal: "Perhaps your renewal will go towards purchasing a pet carrier, collars, leashes and food and water bowls, and to provide immediate shelter for animals displaced [by disaster]."

2010 renewal: “Please know that The HSUS will, as good stewards of your gift, use it where it is most urgently needed and can do the most good for animals.”

2010 membership letter: “Just as alarming are reports show [sic] an estimated four million dogs, cat, puppies, and kittens are euthanized in shelters each year – that’s one pet put to sleep every eight seconds – due to a critical lack of resources.”

2010 appeal: “I know you and your family are true pet lovers. Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens – animals of all shapes and sizes bring out your soft side. That’s why you are among the proud and loyal members of The Humane Society of the United States.”

2010 appeal: “Your continued and compassionate support is helping The HSUS to…assist local shelters so that they can save lives through pet adoptions, and spay and neuter programs.”

2010 appeal: “Please say ‘yes’ to me today—before it’s too late for another little puppy or kitten who may become another victim of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect.”

2010 appeal: “So please send your best new membership gift of $8, $12, $15 or as much as you can give to protect and save precious puppies’ and kittens’ lives….Will you help me give them the comfort of our protection today through your new HSUS membership?”

2010 letter: “YOU CAN HELP US SAVE UNWANTED PUPPIES KITTENS, CATS AND DOGS FROM BECOMING GRIM STATISTICS.”

10 Questions We Dare HSUS to Answer

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS, not affiliated with your local humane society/pet shelter) has a lot to answer for. HSUS raises more than $130 million annually, so it’s in a position of public trust. Yet there’s plenty of evidence that HSUS is misleading the public in its fundraising appeals.

HSUS resorts to juvenile smear responses against its critics. We take them in stride, though it’s irresponsible of HSUS to take that attitude since it’s raising so much money from the public. To move the debate forward, we’re issuing this open challenge to HSUS: Answer the following questions in a direct manner and we’ll print your unedited responses.

We doubt HSUS will, so we’re offering this bounty: Any enterprising person who gets an HSUS official on the record fully answering these questions will get $100 (per question) donated to a pet shelter of their choice. (We would need audio or video for verification.)

When’s an HSUS representative going to be near you? Check out HSUS’s handy events page and its calendar for some ideas.

Questions:

1. According to recent polling 71 percent of Americans mistakenly think HSUS is a pet shelter umbrella group, and 93 percent of the shelter community believes that there is a lot of confusion among the public regarding HSUS and local shelters. What has HSUS explicitly done to disabuse Americans of the widespread mistaken notion that HSUS is a pet-shelter umbrella group that is affiliated with and funds local shelters and humane societies? Will you pledge to include a disclaimer in all of your future fundraising?

2. HSUS regularly claims that it has 11 million “members and constituents” in an effort to suggest that it speaks for many millions. Yet its tax returns state that HSUS’s All Animals magazine, which is included with the basic $25 membership, has a circulation of just 450,000. How many members does HSUS actually have?

3. On average, shelters believe that HSUS should give 36 percent of its budget to local groups that care for pets, according to national polling, and 59 percent of Americans think HSUS gives most of its money to pet shelters. How can HSUS’s spending—giving 1 percent to shelters—be justified in light of what the general public and sheltering community think?

4. Why does HSUS agree to contracts with professional fundraisers when it knows that it will receive very little of the money raised in the name of pets—and when donors are being told that, contrary to reality, HSUS is getting 40-50 percent of the money?

5. HSUS says that it’s “the nation's leading advocate for animal shelters.” How can HSUS reconcile this bold claim with the fact that, according to recent polling, 71 percent of shelters believe “HSUS misleads people into thinking it is associated with local animal shelters” and 80 percent of shelters are “frustrated that the Humane Society of the United States shares so little with local animal shelters.”

6. HSUS evaluations of shelter operations can cost $25,000. Humane Society University charges $1,050 for an undergraduate class and $1,350 for a graduate-level class. Even HSUS’s Animal Care Expo costs $250 for registration. What tangible support for shelters does HSUS offer at no cost?

7. A 1980 HSUS resolution pledged to “pursue on all fronts... the clear articulation and establishment of the rights of all animals.” And a later fundraising mailer explored giving animals access to the court system. Should animals be legally classified as property, as they are, or should they be given legal standing in court?

8. What can a donor do to earmark money given to HSUS to tangibly benefit pets in animal shelters?

9. HSUS states that it simply works to end the “worst abuses” in hunting. What are the humane forms of hunting?

10. If given a choice between someone eating humanely raised meat or eating vegan food, which is more humane?