"If you are who you say you are..." Who HSUS claims to be and what you should know

The Humane Society of the United States sound like they have all the animal's best intentions at heart. Heck, they even sound like they cooperate with your local humane society shelters. But what's important to understand is the ulterior motives and their secret code they use in their day to day activities.  I'll do my best to help you hear what I hear when I read the mission statement, the basis of the HSUS, and how it affects us as cattle ranchers. 

*I know this is long but I really think its worth a looky*

HSUS Mission Statement
We work to reduce suffering and to create meaningful social change for animals by advocating for sensible public policies, investigating cruelty and working to enforce existing laws, educating the public about animal issues, joining with corporations on behalf of animal-friendly policies, and conducting hands-on programs that make ours a more humane world. We are the lead disaster relief agency for animals, and we provide direct care for thousands of animals at our sanctuaries and rescue facilities, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and mobile veterinary clinics.
  
Maybe our definitions of suffering are different. HSUS is constantly attacking Feedlots across the country claiming the cattle are laying in manure, under watered and barely have room to turn around. In fact, its quite the opposite. Cattle in feedlots are monitored constantly to ensure the cattle are comfortable and healthy. If there is an animal with any signs of sickness they are removed from the pens and treated separately.  Many of the larger feedlots have an in house Veterinarian to oversee the health and wellness of all the cattle.  "Factory Farming" as they call it is always portrayed in its absolute worst light. If you think I'm biased because I am a cattle rancher check out this article by a Skeptical Vegan who visits a feedlot
    When it comes to disaster relief -- HSUS is always "talking" like they are going to do something and they will gladly take your money like they are going to do something , but that's all squawk.  When the dogs were seized from Michael Vick, HSUS raised money and promised it would take care of the dogs, the NY Times later discovered HSUS was not taking care of the animals and didn't even know where they were.   
"And then there’s the infamous example of Hurricane Katrina. HSUS raised at least $34 million following the 2005 disaster, pledging to help reunite pets with their owners. Louisiana’s Attorney General conducted an 18-month investigation into how this money was raised and spent, closing it only after HSUS announced a $600,000 contribution toward the construction of an animal shelter on the grounds of a Louisiana prison".Humane Watch

We celebrate pets, as well as wildlife and habitat protection. We are the nation's most important advocate for local humane societies, providing shelter standards and evaluations, training programs, a national advertising campaign to promote pet adoption, direct support, and national conferences. We operate a Humane Wildlife Services program in the D.C. metro area to provide homeowners and businesses with humane and effective solutions to conflicts with our wild neighbors. The HSUS publishes All Animals, a membership magazine, and Animal Sheltering, a bi-monthly magazine for animal sheltering professionals.

Advocates? maybe. Financial support to shelters? definitely not! Where does all that money go? Lobbyists, TV celebrities, 401Ks, everywhere but to the animals they promised. Less than 1% of the money they raised in 2009 went to local shelters based on their tax return. You can't deny the facts!  And if you really want to get your blood boiling? Imagine your child coming home from middle school with this packet of information to go over as a family.   We don't have any children but as an educator it makes my physically sick to think that some of our teachers have been brainwashed into allowing this in the classroom.  Its our job as Agvocates to get in there as well and share the truth.

We confront national and global cruelties through major campaigns targeting the barbaric practices of dogfighting and cockfighting; abusive puppy mills where dogs are treated not like family but like production machines; the worst cruelties of factory farming in modern agribusiness such as confinement of animals in crates and cages; inhumane and unsporting hunting practices such as "canned hunts" of captive exotic animals; the slaughter of American horses for export to foreign countries where horsemeat is considered a delicacy; and the clubbing of baby seals and other animals for the commercial fur trade. Our track record of effectiveness has led to meaningful victories for animals in Congress, state legislatures, courtrooms and corporate boardrooms.

I think exposing bad ranching practices is perfectly fine. We don't want people in our industry that are mistreating and abusing the animals. But if you're going to send a mole into a processing plant to supposedly expose the truth to save the animals, why wouldn't you release that information immediately to the authorities instead of sitting on that information until a politically charged and opportune moment for HSUS? Because you don't care about the animals, you only care about advancing politically one more step.

I'm the first to admit, as a horse lover, dreamer and owner myself, that I liked the idea of not slaughtering horses from a nostalgic standpoint but facts are facts.  Whats more inhumane.. allowing horses to starve to death, wander aimlessly across highways, having them rot away in pastures of people who can no longer afford their farrier bills, vaccinations and feed OR allowing these horses to be put down in a quick painless fashion, harvested and sent overseas to feed other humans?  Now, one thing I can say with 100% confidence is I will NEVER consider horse meat a delicacy in my kitchen but to each their own.  Gene Hall  has a great article on the unintended consequences of the horse slaughter ban.

Thanks for hanging in there. I know this is pretty heavy but it's so important to know what this power house of a fundraising company is ultimately trying to do to our ranching and farming industries. Knowledge is power.