WTG!!!!!

WOW!!!!!  GOOD JOB!!!  That’s all I can say!

Another common misunderstanding about HSUS comes from the “of the United States” in its name.  Many people believe that HSUS is a government agency, with some kind of authority over animal shelters - or worse, with law enforcement powers.  So it isn’t just “Humane Society” that’s misleading, it’s the whole name.

The animals and I would like to thank you for such an amazing job. I hope people see that truth about HSUS and start donating to local shelters where their donations will be used to help animals. As a pet advocate and owner, I have been disgusted how the HSUS and more specifically Wayne Pacelle have been duping unsuspecting pet lovers out of millions of dollars in donations that never make it to help the animals and pets we love so much. I am sure all the work HumaneWatch does is not easy, but it is very much appreciated. Thank you for all you do.

Beautiful!

Thats awesome!

LOVE IT <G>!!

I am in awe. That is the coolest thing ever. The animals are thanking you!

Awesome!

Sorry for the stupid question. If the Humane Society of the United States is scamming pet shelters, then who on earth is raising money for them? I’m confused.

Way to go!!! What a great display.

Peter,
It isn’t the shelters being scammed - it is the millions of people that donate to H$U$ THINKING they are donating to “help the animals” that are being scammed. If you ask the majority of people that have donated to H$U$ you will find that most of them think they were helping their local shelters.

We had the same sort of problem with the RSPCA here in England. Lots of moving pieces in the bank accounts, and eventually millions of pounds just disappeared. It sounds like your “HSUS” group needs a swift kick in the nether regions to make it behave.

HSUS is a vegan animal rights organization that shows pictures of sad dogs and cats to raise money but doesn’t use the money to help animals.  Real rescue groups, even those named “Humane Societies” are not affiliated with teh HSUS.  The scam involved is that they “appear” to be an animal welfare group and they fool people into believeing they are helping the animals when actually they are an animal rights lobby group.  They use the money to give themselves 6 figure salaries, great pension plans and for lobby and legislative efforts.  The difference between animal welfare and animal rights is that animal welfare is concerned with caring for the animals whereas animal rights wishes to give animals the same rights as humans.  They don’t want animals used for food, leather, research, or even as pets.  HSUS is PETA in a suit and tie.

Peter, each shelter has to raise its own funds or cease to exist.  Nobody does it for them.  They organize bake sales, yard sales, community events, and other fund-raisers in order to supplement the adoption fees they charge for animals.  There are a few large, wealthy shelters that use nationwide direct mail campaigns.  Some shelters also provide pet boarding to the public and retail shops to help raise money. 
Does that help clear up your confusion?

@ Peter’s question:

Each of the places that actually provides hands-on care for pets that need sheltering raises money primarily from its own community.  Some get grants for special projects from foundations occasionally.

A handful each year get a few thousand dollars - generally $2k-$5k - from the HSUS, usually for their public education programs, which are likely to involve distribution of materials produced by HSUS in places like elementary schools.  An example is a magazine that tells kids how to lobby lawmakers for laws that “protect animals.” 

Back to Peter’s question:  there is no “umbrella group” that serves as a centralized fundraiser for community-based shelter and rescue services.  The local organizations that use “humane society” as part of their name are not “branches” of HSUS.  Some of them are aligned with HSUS ideology, but in the past year many have changed their name or started including a disclaimer of association with HSUS in their local fundraising and education programs.

The local organizations that have SPCA in their names are similarly unaffiliated with the ASPCA in terms of fundraising. 

So give locally, y’hear?

It’s hard to imagine a bigger cold shower than this. I’m visiting New York City for the first time, and I learn that the Humane Society of the United States is a big bunch of fakers? Wow. I’m glad to know the truth, but geez—you guys really hit us over the head with it, didn’t you? 

Way to go Humane Watch. These billboards are a brilliant strategy to attract attention and makethe WORLD aware that the greedy, bungling boffins on huge salaries at HSUS don’t care about animals.

I am astonished. I never knew this about the HSUS. That’s the last time I donate.

I’d bet it costs no more than $500 to save an animal in a shelter long enough for it to be adopted (considering the cost of housing the animal, feeding, etc…). And I’d bet your billboards will reach at least 5 million people in two weeks, and one of out 100 of them might be convinced to donate to a real shelter instead of to HSUS. That’s 50,000 people, and if the average HSUS donation is around $25, you’ve just relocated around $1,250,000 (!!)—which would translate to about 2,500 dogs and cats whose lives will ultimately be saved. HOW COOL IS THAT? (Feel free to correct my numerical assumptions… I’m just spitballing. In any event, this billboard will save lives.)

I really, really hope this succeeds in moving millions of dollars into pet shelters, where all that money BELONGS. I’ve known about the HSUS’s monstrous scam for about 5 years now, and I always wondered when someone would see it in their own naked self-interest to report this widely. God bless you for being the ones to do it, and for doing it with some volume! (And with no apologies.) America needs more bold, simple, and fresh campaigns like this. Can you do one on Greenpeace next? Or how about Scientology?

I think it interesting that I have yet to see any acknowledgement of your Times Square campaign from CNN, or any of the other networks on their morning “news shows ” or evening news as well.  Particularly interesting when this campaign is right under their noses. No doubt they support HSUS since it runs all those ads on their networks.

Need to extend that 2 weeks til into the NEXT WEEK, Westminster Kennel Club show will be Feb 14 and 15!

I am so glad that y’all put these up, now I hope that they will help.  Donate locally!!!!  Don’t fall for the sad song and pitiful pictures that they show on there commercials!!!  GOOD JOB GUYS!!!!

Can I just say THANK YOU so much for this billboard display? I’ve been trying to get the rest of my campus to understand this ALL YEAR. This will really, really help.

YES!!!!!!  AWESOME!!!!  BRILLIANT!!!!

Crap. I gave them $100 last year. Well, at least I’ll know better for next time. Now to body-slam my brother for recommending it in the first place…

This has got to make HSUS’s top people hopping mad. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of scam artists.

Just saw the billboards. They’re the coolest thing to hit Times Square since the ball-drop. Well done! I’m donating some cash to help you with the next one.

I don’t care one way or the other about HSUS, but would certainly like to see local shelters succeed in the vital work they do.

This campaign couldn’t have been cheap. Why not use the ad space to encourage benefiting local/regional shelters instead of focus on HSUS?

OK—I’m going to admit it. I gave HSUS about $400 over the last 5 years. And now I’m royally p***ed off. How dare they take all that money and spend it on themselves instead of the animals? I donated some of my money to save those puppies, dammit! What is WITH some people? And will the Attorney Generals of a good dozen states get on the stick and investigate this? My God!

I was in a taxi cab this morning and my cabbie told me he almost hit a few pedestrians over the weekend because the billboards are so eye-catching. That’s quite a feat, considering all the glitz and bling in Times Square. Good job!

@ Matt - A vast majority of people think that when they give money to HSUS they ARE supporting local shelters.  So what needs to be brought to the public’s attention is the fact that this assumption is way wrong.  If the billboards simply promoted giving to shelters most people would think, “I already do, I gave to the HSUS.”  Job One is to get them to realize that’s not what their donation was used for.

This just tickles me pink! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

We reposted this on our facebook page. Great response—biggest comment was “Is this real or photoshopped?”

What great timing with the Westminster Dog Show coming up.  Can the billboards run through Feb 16 to get all the folks coming to see the show?
We outlawed billboards in our state decades ago, but maybe a full page ad in the Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Times Argus might get out the word in this state.

hsussucks.com—read the articles page

Story: HSUS, The Mob and The Black Egg; HSUS is trying to control the production of eggs in CA and the USA; Yep, they are a racket alright. Where is the DOJ?

OUTSTANDING! THANK YOU for educating those who didn’t know! HSUS, so with your next ‘raid’, where are you going to dump the dogs this time after the cameras are turned off?

BRAVO HUMANWATCH.ORG!! I’m donating so you can keep these billboards up THROUGH WESTMINSTER! PLEASE PLEASE DO THIS!!

So many people believe HSUS’s rhetoric and BS and of course HSUS gets all the air time they need on *animal hoarders* and Animal Planet programs, you see their little jumpsuits on with HSUS on the back.

BUT GUESS WHAT???  All those animals they remove from *bad people* (who may not be bad at all, scripted spin and spun camera work fools a lot of people) go to local shelters WHO BEAR THE BURDEN OF COSTS FROM HSUS’S BUSTS.

Thats some coverage, now if people will believe it!!!  I pray they get the message

I am appalled by the sheer hubris of these phony “humane” people. Have they no shame? I can only imagine how many people they have scammed with their load of doggie doo doo. I wonder how many of my neighbors got taken.

I am extremely IMPRESSED!!  Keep up the great work - we NEED to get the word out.  People need to hear the truth about HSUS - it is NOT a charitable organization looking out for the best interests of homeless animals.  THANK YOU!!!

HSUS scams good people everyday. Thank you for exposing them for what they are!

Hopefully you keep them up through Westminster held at Madison Square Garden 2/14-2/15.

Keep up the good work!!

This would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Just 1 stinkin’ percent? We get a better ROI from our government, and that ain’t saying much.

Absolutely Stunning! People need to know they are being scammed by HSUS.
Wonderful planning, and the billboards are Impressive!

I absolutely love HumaneWatch. HSUS should definitely give more to local shelters. Wake up people!

Saw the billboards. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the scales just fell from my eyes. The only question is “how did they get away with this scam for so long”?  Thanks for spending what it took to educate everyone about the truth. (BTW, I’m as left-leaning as you can get, and I don’t buy my brother-in-law’s complaint that this website is for conservatives. The truth has no political party.)

That is so awesome, you couldn’t of picked a better place to start this campaign against HSUS.
Keep up the good work!!!!

I’m having a hard time believing HSUS only sends 1 percent of my donation to its member groups. What am I missing here? You’re going to have to prove this to me.

@Josie, start with absorbing that there are no “member groups” of the HSUS.  Every community group/facility/program that uses “humane society” as part of its name is independent of the HSUS.  There are no local “chapters” or “affiliates.”  There are some local organizations that embrace HSUS ideology, and there are some that offer programs using HSUS materials or models.  But HSUS is not supporting or sponsoring the operations of these shelter; just making occasional small grants to some of them for a specific short-term purpose.  Few of these grants are in the 5-figure range.  Check the HumaneWatch home page feature at upper right, Welcome To HumaneWatch, and click the link just below that title. 

You may have seen posts by HSUS “media specialists” (Sarah and Hillary, perhaps others) saying that HSUS spends more than $20 million a year for hands-on care of animals.  That is not operation of dog and cat shelters where new homes are sought for a community’s unwanted pets.  That figure includes a handful of grants to actual pet shelters AND what HSUS spends on the operation of its own six animal sanctuaries, most of which were acquired when they took over other lucrative animal rights organizations.  The “less than 1/2%” figure is the slice of the total HSUS budget that goes to local shelters. The amount HSUS spends operating its own sanctuaries (not the same as pet shelters) is a larger percentage of its budget, but does not support community organizations.

I hope that clarifies the situation.

I wish you had told me this before Christmas. I gave them $50 on an impulse after I saw their videos. Sucks to be me. But never again!

There are no member groups for HSUS.  There are independent rescue groups that happen to use the term Humane Society in their name.  They are not under the umbrella of the HSUS.  The money to operate is raised or donated locally for the actual care of animals in the community. Same with ASPCA versus local SPCAs

Count me as another among the shocked and chastened. I’ll never donate to these frauds again, and I’ll advise my friends and family to follow suit. Boy—you think you’ve seen EVERYTHING, and then you learn something like this!

I am new to the site.  My sister told me about Wayne Pacelle’s support of Michael Vick and urged me to withhold my donations until that issue was resolved.  Yes, I’m a supporter of the HSUS.  Yes, I’m apparently another uneducated supporter of the organization.  I thought that the HSUS was THE head of the all Humane Societies.  I should have done more research but I think the name carries so much weight that I never even thought about it.  I also give money to local rescue groups as well as other larger animal rescue/support/animal rights groups but I still feel badly.

Ironically enough, my 2011 membership letter just arrived and I literally have a sealed envelope, with a check inside, waiting to be mailed on my table.  And I’m taking that check out!  I’m going to keep on reading but I applaud what you are doing.  I will certainly be sharing the message and will put my money to better use.

how can you steal from animals who need the help also ? shame ,shame .in the end tyou will have to explain to the man above !

Color me tickled pink! I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to see the truth about HSUS *finally* being exposed! For your next set of billboards, how about sharing with the public that HSUS would like to see the end of ALL pet ownership, as well as the rest of their animal rights agenda! Wonder how many, with the best of intentions,  write checks to HSUS with Fluffy sitting at their feet, realize they are being instrumental in taking away their own rights to own a pet? I wonder how many would after learning that fact? I wonder how many that write checks to HSUS realize that they are helping to take away guide dogs for the blind, specially trained companion dogs that help the disabled and therapy dogs that comfort the sick, elderly and most recently help teach our children to read better?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I can’t tell you how glad I am that something is finally being done to counter all those pitiful animal ads HSUS has had on TV!  I have a link to Humane Watch on my website and I tell everyone that those ads are all a sham, but I am only one person ... thanks again.

Proud to be a Humane Watch fan ....

So if I am contributing to the Humane Society of Washington, then this is a different organization than HSUS? I hope that is true. If not, let me know because I need to make some changes. We donate through the United Way…

I’m all in favor of all this and would cheer the demise of the HSUS, but why is the image so obviously PhotoShopped?

Way to go Humane Watch! I’ve been trying to educate people one at a time. We need more of your help.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT and then the city passed a law to outlaw so many people AT THE SHOW…“choke chains” which might should all be called SLIP CHAINS <G> that generally govern the dog by SOUND <G> and are DECORATIVE and would BREAK but the AR’s are all over the place <G>!! oh MY!!

There’s nothing I enjoy more than seeing hypocrites unmasked. You guys done good.

Allow me to say that I have been giving to The HSUS for 10 years, and I even have a bequest scheduled with my estate planner. (I am elderly). I am thankful for this web site because I have lived long enough to fix this horrible mistake of mine. Thanks to you very much for the billboards, and for your quest to help older folks like me see the light. I can’t un-do my earlier donations, but I can tear up the check that’s sitting on my buffet table, and resolve never to write another one to The HSUS. Thank you.

lol.. we have so much fake stuff we don’t believe it when it is real.. pretty funny next to an ad for bedbugs…. nothing is as creepy crawly as Pacelle

It’s really easy to throw stones like this, but I think I understand why it’s necessary. Is the idea for people to start sending money to local shelters instead of to HSUS? Personally, I think that’s a worthwhile goal. I only wish my local Humane Society here in Cheyenne had half the marketing savvy of HSUS. Lord knows the need the money more. If they asked me more often, I’d give more often.

You rock!

Yee-haw! Wow. That. Is. Awesome.

Is this for real? Wow. Is it going to stay up for a long time? Can we get one in Redmond, Washington? PLEASE??

I’m going to get boat-loads of mileage out of this website with my girlfriend’s mother, who just LOVEs HSUS. This should be fun.

I seldom leave comments on blogs, but I have to say that your billboard made a huge impact on me. I’m going to ask my company’s employee-giving program manager to investigate HSUS, and see if this warrants eliminating them in the future. We can’t support frauds, right?

HSUS sounds like PETA. Just another bunch of idiots with too much time on their manicured hands.

Why is it that no one in my dorm believes this? Is HSUS just so powerful that they can control everyone? The media? The campuses? Everyone? You guys need to start some college outreach or something. My classmates are practically brain-dead on this. I mean—you couldn’t get away with lying on a billboard like that, right? They’d sue the crap out of you, right? That’s what I’m telling people, but sometimes it’s too much to expect kids my age to think about stuff critically. They’d rather just be comfortable. And lazy.

If I wanted to start an animal welfare club on campus (UCLA), would you guys provide us with materials? I’d like to avoid seeing it become a typical political-neophyte thing where everyone gets in a circle and sings Lennon’s “Imagine.” If it’s worth doing, it’s worth actually making a difference, and it sounds like avoiding HSUS is a good guideline.

Way to stick it to ‘em! HSUS hasn’t hassled us (much) yet in Texas, but it’s just a matter of time.

Shared with my whole e-mail list.

As the wife of a third-generation dairyman, I want to thank you for everything you’re doing here. If tomorrow’s kids are going to have milk with their cookies, someone has to push back against the animal rights people. I’m just so glad you’re doing this, even though it may be hard to withstand the B.S. from them.

Hi,

I just want to add that HSUS is also against all forms of hunting and fishing, and it also complains about kids dissecting frogs in high school biology classes. (Frogs? It’s not like the kids kill ‘em. They arrive preserved in formaldehyde.) What a bunch of loons. It’s like the Scientologists renamed themselves “Warm & Fuzzy Baptists” just to get credibility.

I am just heartbroken about this. I convinced my whole sorority to help me raise money for The HSUS last fall. What the hell am I supposed to tell them now? I really wish I had seen this website about 5 months ago. Grrrr….....

You should take it as a good sign that HSUS hasn’t sued you (so far) over the billboards and this website. With all those lawyers, I have to think they would be all over you in federal court if you were painting them in a false light or libeling them here. So I’m thinking that’s a decent indication that you’re telling the truth.

@ Gerry Holliday

I don’t know where in Texas you ARE but you seem out of touch just a bit, they are behind THLN, ASPCA and are involved with a lawsuit with ALDF (suing our Ag Dept), are proposing bad laws for our cats and dogs while after our cows, chickens, pigs and guns and hunting! 

Try looking at all the bills introduced so far this legislative session and realize they are involved in those even if they aren’t saying much about it yet.

HSUS is sick. Just sick. That’s like $100 million a year that could go to dog shelters and cat shelters. I could just cry.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  Your billboards ROCK!!!Wonderful work folks!!!

Awesome work here!! This is so sickening that for so long people have been fooled into believing the HSUS is so dedicated to helping animals. I believe investing 100 million dollars for spay and neuter programs over the past few decades could have really help prevent animal overpopulation and abuse!! thanks for the insight! Give Local!!!

How much did those billboards cost?  I can see being on free social networking sites, but the money you spent on the billboards (if you did) could be spent feeding and sheltering animals.  Walk your talk.

Seems to me it is money more than well spent.  If it prevents millions that are needed for shelters from going to a vegan animal rights group instead, they were a bargain.  Support your local rescue groups that are actually taking care of animals.

Thank you for all your hard work!!

I wish I were in NYC to see this. Keep up the good work!

I’m so surprised and disappointed to learn that HSUS is not a part of the animal shelters across America. I never knew. Maybe this will spur them to share their “spoils!”

Yesterday I had a talk with my teenage son about this topic, and about how important it is to avoid being suckered into giving your money away to animal scoundrels. I’m so impressed with HumaneWatch, and with the level of professionalism in all the research. I can take what you say “to the bank,” which is more htan I can say for most of the fundraising envelopes that come in the mail to our house. This is a great lesson on vigilance for both of my kids, and maybe I can get their mother to stop writing cheks to these bozos too.

You guys hit this out of the park! I wish it were still around for the Westminster Kennel Club show, but you can’t have everything ...

I commend your efforts to expose the HSUS for what they really are but why are you posting an obviously PhotoShopped photograph.  I’m surprised that more people haven’t caught the obviously fake photo. 

This sort of thing puts you in the same league with the HSUS - not a place where you should be.

I apologize.  I did not see my original post or your response. 

Can you explain, then, why the images on the billboards are so much clearer than anything else in the shot, including the “Lamar” text immediately below and at the same focal length as the billboard?  Feel free to respond directly to my email.

As much as I’d like to believe this - and maybe you DID have these billboards - everything points to these images being doctored.

And, so you know where I’m coming from, I repeat that I totally support what you do.  I belong to an all breed club, a specialty club and had a dog entered at Westminster.

WOW this is news to me. I donate or I should now say I did donate to HSUS but I won’t anymore. My question is…are all organizations this way? I also donate to ASPCA and SPCA. Should i take my money else where? Does anybody know a good org that I can help?

Yes, Heather, you can donate directly to your local animal shelter, but I would ask if they support H.S.U.S. agenda first, which is actually anti pet ownership.

I am in rescue and I hate HSUS.  They collect millions of dollars and leave people like me to do the work - and our grassroots rescue group picks up the tab for the animals we save.  HSUS should be shut down.

I have donated in the past to HSUS but I will never ever do it again.  It makes me sick that HSUS is freaking liars about what they do with your money.  There is a place in H—LL for you people and people like you.  Thank You Humane Watch for opening my eyes to the truth.  I have been an animal lover all my life and would give every stray a home if I could.  That is why I donate monthly to our Humane Society.  It is a no-kill facilty and screens everyone before that person can adopt an animal and they also do a follow-up to make sure the animal is doing OK.

“I am in rescue and I hate HSUS.”

Ditto.  Moreso, when HSUS did try to run the emergency shelters after Katrina, it was a HUGE debacle because they didn’t know what the @#$* they were doing.  Some of us knew the people who went to New Orleans to run the emergency shelter and were not surprised in the least by their complete and utter failure.  But, hey, dontcha know that these same people run the HSUS seminars on emergency preparedness! 

Support your local shelters and rescue organizations!

Great work, appreciate how you are educating the public.

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Would just like to point out that shelters, especially like the ones in NYC, are also a huge part of the problem. Animal rescue organizations are the ones on the front lines trying to actually save lives. Your dollar will go the absolute furthest with a local reputable rescue in your area.

I used to donate to HSUS too, until I learned of their deceptiveness.  They don’t help dogs and cats at all—all their money goes to pay expensive lawyers, to pay their expensive state directors, for stamps for their mailers to beg for money for the poor abused sad dogs and cats [but yet the money you send to them never reaches the dogs and cats who really need the help.]  They are so deceptive, such liars!!  Way to go Humane Watch