Wayne Pacelle’s stockings are all in a twist this holiday season. The Chief Lobbyist and Spokesmodel for the radical animal rights lobby known as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is none too happy with a new organization that actually does what it says it does: gives money to local animal shelters.
That, you see, is a big problem for Pacelle and company because HSUS does not give vast sums of money to local humane societies, despite the fact that they aggressively lead donors to believe otherwise.
Enter the Humane Society for Shelter Pets.
The lead to the AP story on this new group tells you all you really need to know: “The Humane Society of the United States says it's under attack by a new group that's trying to starve it of funding by urging donors to send money to local animal shelters instead.”
GASP! SHOCK! Oh, the horrors! HSUS starved of funding because some radical new group has the temerity to suggest donors should give money to local animal shelters instead of a $120 million lobbying organization that gives roughly one penny of every dollar raised to local animal rescue efforts?
Yet that is exactly the stance Pacelle and company are taking in confronting the cold reality that the general public is slowly but surely learning the truth about the group I generally refer to as “PETA in Pinstripes.” To borrow a phrase from a movie, HSUS may not actually want to buy a Congressman, but they are well-heeled enough to rent one from time to time. They have little interest in actually helping shelters, as Pacelle admits in the AP story, but rather in imposing their narrow view of animals’ role in society through legislative, regulatory or judicial fiat.
Make no mistake, HSUS cares not one whit about the poor, neglected puppies and kittens that populate the vast majority of their fundraising messages, but rather about running food animal producers out of business and precluding society from enjoying the many proteins and products these animals sustainably provide.
As far as I am concerned, the Humane Society for Shelter Pets is a brilliant concept. Rick Berman’s HumaneWatch has done a commendable job of providing a consistent stream of information about what HSUS is really all about, but you can only campaign against something for so long… At some point you have to start campaigning for something to truly be effective.
That’s where the Humane Society for Shelter Pets comes in. Rather than relying solely on pointing out the flaws, inconsistencies and misleading information coming from HSUS, animal advocates can now encourage consumers to put their money where they actually want it to go: to help the truly neglected and displaced pet population. I am convinced from my conversations with animal lovers across the country that we all want what is best for animals and that starts, in many cases, with ensuring unwanted or abused animals find a loving home.
HSUS does not and will not make sure that happens. The Humane Society for Shelter Pets will.
The message is simple: make sure your money goes where you really want it to go, rather than sending it to a Humane Society in Name Only that will use your money to impose a radical anti-meat agenda on a society that believes animals serve a purpose in our society that rightfully includes providing a healthy, nutritious, sustainable food supply.
No wonder Wayne Pacelle and HSUS are so outraged.