The shelterless HSUS get more free fund-raising help
By Gina Spadafori
July 21, 2007
NPR titled the piece “Stray Pets: A Complex Problem,” and then completely missed the complexity of the problem. They referenced the mandatory spay-neuter bill in California (now on hiatus, but soon to re-appear) and then let the HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle spin the story for them.
C’mon NPR, you can do better than that. It is a complex problem. So why did you just let the HSUS spin it without a look at the reasons why these animal are in the shelters and why they don’t get out? It’s not as simple as “if there were no breeders everyone would adopt a shelter dog” the way the “a breeder is a breeder is a breeder and they’re all bad” folks put it.
It would have taken about five minutes of Google searching and a couple hours of … um … I think it’s called “reporting” to discover that this isn’t a controversy at all “within the animal-rights community.” (Hey, there’s no animal-rights controversy at all: One generation and out. No more pets. Problem solved.) It’s the animal-welfare folks who are divided on how best to help, as well as the larger community of animal-lovers, including veterinarians and reputable, responsible breeders.
I’m getting really tired of the mainstream media taking the easy route and calling the HSUS on every animal story, which in turn gives this rich group the chance to get even richer, which means they get even more prominent, etc., etc.
I don’t think a group lobbying for animals is bad thing. And I think the HSUS has done a lot of really good work over the years — for example, they have been exposing the puppy-mill issue for years, and were among the first to do so. But lately it seems as if they’re offering themselves as one thing to raise money and another to push their agenda (some of which, by the way, I agree with, and some of which, I vehemently don’t).
But this isn’t really about the HSUS, except to say that they do not speak for every animal-lover in this country on every issues, nor do animal-lovers all agree on everything they do.
What it’s about is the media taking the short-cut, lazy way out and calling the HSUS (or PETA) for comment at every opportunity.
Glad you posted this Gina. I was wondering under which post I should ask about what is the best method for checking out rescue facilities for contributing. I had thought the HSUS sheltered
animals. There are several facilities that are of
great interest to me as I would like to leave a trust provision for animal care. How would I check it out on the internet (or elsewhere) and what specifically should I be looking for to know I am making the best choice for animal welfare for me.
Comment by VJ — July 21, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Charity Navigator is a good resource for analyzing charities, including how much top staff get paid, how much goes to fund raising vs. programs, etc.
I used to serve on a foundation that gave small grants to small, local shelters. I think some of these groups really get the most bang for the buck, and could really use donations.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 21, 2007 @ 8:46 pm