It took several years and many complaints, but the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is finally getting called out for being a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Maybe it’s the fact the organization spends a mere 1% of its $100+ million annual budget on animal shelters, or perhaps it was the $15.75 million settlement following a racketeering and bribery lawsuit. Whatever the catalyst for this change was, I’m pleased to see that not only did Charity Navigator drop HSUS’ four-star charity ranking to a three, but now they have dropped HSUS’ rating altogether, putting the organization on a donor advisory status.

It’s about time. I’ve written about HSUS many times over the years, and it’s quite clear that the organization is no friend to animal agriculture. Fortunately for us, the organization is losing its squeaky clean reputation, and hopefully consumer donations will slow down as the word spreads.

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AwesomeOcean.com has a beef with HSUS for the hidden role it played in the inflammatory documentary, “Black Fish,” and recently reported on HSUS’ sins in an article entitled, “Breaking: HSUS Loses Charity Rating.” Here is an excerpt from that article:

“Aside from the circus lawsuit, it has come to light that the HSUS diligently moved money to several funds in the Cayman Islands, calling them ‘investments.’ We're pretty sure that moving $26 million to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands is called stashing money. And it's shady as hell.

“The HSUS has essentially operated under the same donation-guise as PETA, where a large portion of their funding comes from people who are clueless about their real agenda. The time has come for American citizens to open their eyes and stop allowing the HSUS to misuse their hard-earned money.

“In fact, PETA and the HSUS are driving the anti-captivity movement not for the welfare of animals, but to make money for themselves. They use and deceive people to promote corrupt agendas, and the Cayman Island accounts confirm just how rotten this organization has become.

“So if you care about puppies and kittens, as opposed to lobbyists and corrupt organizations, send your donations to local pet shelters instead of the HSUS. The animals will thank you for it.”

Yesterday, I blogged about how agriculture responded to Muck Boot’s apparent donation to HSUS, and while there were some interesting twists to the story, at the end of the day, we must continue to spread the word about HSUS and vote with our dollar. Don’t support organizations, companies, celebrities and entertainers who team up with groups like HSUS. It’s as simple as that.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of Beefmagazine.com or the Penton Farm Progress Group.

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