The Center for Consumer Freedom (i.e. the Group That Loves Drunk Drivers, Agribusiness, Alcohol Companies, and Big Tobacco) funded an opinion survey that showed 71% of those interviewed think the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an umbrella group for all other humane societies and spcas.
I'm not going to link to the press release because I think CCF is a disgusting and misleading (irony!) organization (and much of my opinion has little to do with their irrational behavior concerning HSUS).
Anyways, here's the deal peoples - visit HSUS's website. Go to About Us. Check out their FAQ.
How is The HSUS affiliated with my local humane society?
Local humane societies and SPCAs are independent entities and are not run by The HSUS or any other national entity. The HSUS works with local humane societies and supports their work through training, evaluations, publications, and other professional services. Additionally, The HSUS operates its own network of animal sanctuaries and rescue operations, providing emergency care and homes to more animals than any other organization in the United States. Find out how The HSUS serves local animal shelters and provides direct animal care coast to coast.
This took me less than one minute to find. Amazing feat, I know.
Now, my fellow bloggers have called HSUS out when they have fund-raised off of animals they did not directly rescue or care for. Heck, they've fundraised off of dogs they wanted to kill (e.g. all those dogs rescued from fight busts). I am all for calling any org out for questionable fund-raising practices (it's not illegal, folks, and pretty much every organization stretches the truth when it comes to raising the dough).
But! I'm really tired of people not doing the most basic of due diligence. This is perhaps unfair of me. I'm like one of those crazy anal-retentive people who wants to see the last three years of financial statements and grill the director about the organization itself. For reals, I'm annoying. It's why I mainly donate to local groups - I can see the advocacy in action and stalk their director (just kidding!). I like that shit. Maybe most people just don't give a darn. Maybe it's too much work to google-fu their way to the HSUS's website and spend about five minutes there to see if the HSUS fulfills their charitable giving requirements. Maybe HSUS does play off of that name (and they should, it brings in money, which you may not like but is sorta a big requirement for a non profit). Maybe CCF can go suck it. Maybe I am just too darn harsh here.
Yeah, probably the latter. I know some of you reading this may be all WHAT? HSUS IS NOT MY HS? DAMN YOU, BLOGGER PERSON, DAMN YOU. And then maybe you'll be insulted because I basically just said you should have known better. I have done my fair share of "should have known better" stuff. Like I once donated to the Sierra Club and then found out they support sustainable hunting. And I was all, what? I'm vegan and think you should only hunt carrots. Then I felt real stupid because I just thought Sierra Club = NATURE LOVE MINUS HUNTING. That was silly of me. Of course, the Sierra Club doesn't have a nice FAQ that says We Support Hunting. HSUS does. I mean, not about hunting, but they do have a FAQ that says they're not affiliated with your local shelter. A smidgen more transparent. Practically see through when compared to CCF.
MAIN IMMATURE POINT: CCF SUCKS!
MAIN SLIGHTLY MORE MATURE POINT: Visit websites, google-fu, check out financial statements, do your part to make sure YOUR money is going to an organization and cause you can get 100% behind. This is your monies!