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National Poll Shows that Most Americans Don't Know the Truth About HSUS

The results of a poll commissioned by the Center for Consumer Freedom and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation shows that a majority of people are unaware of the facts concerning the Human Society of the United States.

David Martosko, the Director of Research for CCF, says that many Americans think HSUS is a worthy charity but don't know what the organization is.

"Seventy-one percent of Americans believe that HSUS is an umbrella group that represents thousands of local humane societies all over America," Marktosko said. "Nearly two in three believe that their local humane society is affiliated with HSUS. And 59%, almost six in 10, believe that HSUS contributes most of its money, not just a little but most of its money to local organizations that care for cats and dogs. All of those statements are false."

HSUS is not affiliated with any humane society or pet shelter anywhere. Also according to tax returns, less that 0.5% of their money goes to pet sheltering. Martosko says that they are a animal rights lobbying group that is basically a richer and more formidable version of PETA.

The Center for Consumer Freedom has launched a Web site, HumaneWatch.org, to educate people about HSUS and serve as a watchdog of the organization. In less than two weeks, Martosko says it has been hugely successful with more than 6,500 followers on Facebook and more than 100,000 unique visitors.

"This is a one-stop shop for information about the Humane Society of the United States, what it is and what it isn't," Martosko said. "But we're not just blogging and sharing opinion about this, we're showing it, we're proving it, because this whole project, HumaneWatch.org, is built around a document library that is growing everyday. We're showing you their tax returns, their fundraising letters, internal communications and some things they've said to newspapers and magazines. All of this stuff is documentary evidence, so it is not just my opinion about what the Humane Society of the United States is and the threat it poses to the American way of life, it's a fact and you can take it to the bank because the documents are there."

Recently HSUS and several other animal rights organizations have been taken to court for conspiring with their lawyers to funnel money to pay off a federal witness in a suit against the Ringling Brothers Circus. This lawsuit qualifies for prosecution under the Racketeer, Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, which is normally used to prosecute the mafia.

"This is shocking stuff," Matosko said. "And I think the more people hear about this the more they'll realize that this "so-called" humane society has a nasty side."