I recently read an article from the Humane Society that discussed an ad that is being shown on TV where a group known as HumaneWatch is attacking the Humane Society of the US. The group, disguised as the good guys, is led by a "notorious DC lobbyist…and funded by a group with unknown special interests that want to stop you from fighting against animal cruelty in all its forms – especially in our nation's puppy mills, factory farms, and other industries that profit from animal abuse."
*** Read the rest of the article from the HSUS ***
Dubbed "Dr. Evil" on CBS's "60 Minutes," lobbyist Rick Berman has pocketed a fortune serving as a front man who fights laws against drunk driving, smoking, and animal cruelty for corporations that want to stay in the shadows. This is just the latest in a series of attacks on The HSUS by Berman's group, which has spent untold amounts of money putting up billboards in New York City, placing ads in major national newspapers, and putting phony commercials into circulation, just like the one it did this week.
Mr. Berman doesn't attack us because we are ineffective. In fact, it's just the opposite: He knows we are relentless and successful in our campaigns against animal cruelty. He knows that we are rated the number-one high impact animal charity in America by Philanthropedia. He knows that Charity Navigator gave us its highest rating - four stars.
Above all, he attacks us because he knows we are a threat to business as usual - business that profits from the suffering of animals. He and the animal exploiters that pay him want nothing more than for us to go away.
*** End of the article from the HSUS ***
Before you support a group or organization that talks about protecting animals without knowing their history, be sure to do your homework. And stick to the well-known organizations that have long histories of protecting animals, like the Humane Society of the United States. Sometimes a name, like Humane Watch, might sound like a group that is watching other groups in the name of protecting animals when it is really just using a name that elicits an emotional response from people while actually protecting big corporations who have no interest in protecting animals, but are only interested in pushing their own agendas.