HSUS Support Plummets

Posted on January 3, 2013

In a recent online article, “Unpacking the HSUS Gravy Train (2012 Edition)” the watchdog group Humane Watch, reveals some interesting news about the Humane Society of the United States. Perhaps most interesting is that HSUS financial support dropped by $8.5 million in 2011.

The report notes that HSUS’s overall total revenue actually dropped by 10% thanks to declining public support and losses in investment income. That Humane Watch report also indicates that grants made by HSUS for the purpose of aiding pet sheltering appear to make up about only 0.25% (one-quarter of one percent) of HSUS’s budget. It seems that all the negative publicity surrounding the HSUS is beginning to take a toll—at the bank.

This online Humane Watch report also notes that HSUS had fundraising-related expenses of $48.1 million, or a whopping 38 percent of its total budget, in 2011. Another interesting fact is that HSUS added another $2.4 million to its pension plan, bringing the total to about $17 million since Wayne Pacelle took over as CEO in 2004. They are planning for their future while suffering animals seem to be ignored.

The claim that HSUS has millions of followers has also come under serious questioning. It seems that HSUS’s “All Animals” magazine had a circulation of only about 530,000. The publication is viewed as a good estimate of HSUS’s true membership size, since the magazine is included with a $25 paid HSUS membership. (HSUS likes to claim it has a “constituency” of 11 million, which inflates its influence greatly.)

The full report can be viewed at: http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/unpacking_the_hsus_gravy_train_2012_edition/

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