1) HSUS   scams Americans out of millions of dollars through manipulative and deceptive   advertising. An   analysis of HSUS’s TV fundraising appeals that ran between January   2009 and September 2011 determined that more than 85 percent of the animals   shown were cats and dogs. However, HSUS doesn’t run a single pet shelter   and only gives 1 percent of the money it raises to pet shelters,   and it has spent millions on anti-farming and anti-hunting political   campaigns.

2) Six Members of Congress have called for   a federal investigation of HSUS. In April 2011, six   Congressmen wrote the IRS Inspector General showing concerns over HSUS’s   attempts to influence public policy, which they believe has “brought into   question [HSUS’s] tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.”

3) HSUS’s   own donors feel deceived. A 2012 poll   of over 1,000 self-identified HSUS donors found that 80 percent of   HSUS’s own donors think the group “misleads people into thinking that it   supports local humane societies and pet shelters.” A second poll, conducted   last year, found that 84% of   donors think “HSUS misleads people into thinking that it supports   local humane societies and pet shelters.”

4) HSUS receives poor   charity-evaluation marks. CharityWatch (formerly the   American Institute of Philanthropy) has issued several   “D” ratings for HSUS in recent years over the group’s wasteful spending   practices. CharityWatch , finding that HSUS spends as little as 50 percent of   its budget on its programs. CharityWatch now gives HSUS a “C-minus” grade for   being slightly less wasteful. Additionally, the 2013 Animal People News   Watchdog Report discovered that HSUS spends 55   percent of its budget on overhead costs.

5) HSUS   regularly contributes more to its own pension plan than it does to pet   shelters. An   analysis of HSUS’s tax returns determined that HSUS funneled $16.3   million to its executive pension plan between 1998 and 2009—over $1 million   more than HSUS gave to pet shelters during that period.

6) The pet sheltering community   believes HSUS misleads Americans. According to a   nationally representative poll of   400 animal shelters, rescues, and animal control agencies, 71 percent agree that “HSUS   misleads people into thinking it is associated with local animal shelters.”   Additionally, 79 percent agree that HSUS is “a good source of confusion for a   lot of our donors.”

7) While it raises money with   pictures of cats and dogs, HSUS has an anti-meat vegan agenda. Speaking   to an animal rights conference in 2006, HSUS’s then vice president for farm   animal issues stated that HSUS’s goal is to “get rid of the entire   [animal agriculture] industry” and that “we don’t want any of these   animals to be raised and killed [for food].”

8) Given the massive size of its   budget, HSUS does relatively little hands-on care for   animals. While HSUS claims it “saves” more animals than   any other animal protection group in the US, most of the “care” HSUS provides   is in the form of spay-neuter assistance.  In fact, local groups that   operate on considerably slimmer budgets, such as   the Houston SPCA, provide direct care to more animals than HSUS does.

9) HSUS’s CEO has said that convicted dogfighting   kingpin Michael Vick “would do a good job as a pet owner.” Following   Vick’s release from prison, HSUS has helped “rehabilitate” Michael Vick’s   public image. Of course, a $50,000 “grant” from the Philadelphia   Eagles didn’t hurt.

10) HSUS’s senior management includes   a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group   designated as “terrorists” by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne   Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described   himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the   wake of an ALF arson attack at a California meat processing plant. In 1997,   when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer’s   feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises),   Goodwin replied, “We’re ecstatic.”

11) HSUS’s senior   management includes others who have voiced support for terroristic acts. HSUS chief policy officer Mike   Markarian has written that “A perfect example of effective   rebellion is an Animal Liberation Front raid on a laboratory.” HSUS food   policy director Matt Prescott, meanwhile, has   written that “I also believe in the actions of the ALF and other   such groups.” (Prescott is a former PETA activist.)

12) HSUS is being sued under federal   racketeering law. Feld Entertainment sued HSUS and two   of its in-house lawyers under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations   (RICO) Act for allegedly participating in a scheme to pay a witness who lied   in court. Court documents indicate that HSUS sent at least   four payments to one of the witness-paying vehicles in the alleged scheme.

13) CharityWatch found that   HSUS violated IRS rules for three years. The watchdog group pointed   out in its Fall 2013 issue that HSUS had improperly inflated its revenue.   HSUS has since revised its revenue figures.