Animal rights group falsely claimed it would "care for" Michael Vick's dogs

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the nonprofit
 Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) called on the Humane Society of the
 United States (HSUS) to return all the money it has raised in the wake of
 the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal. CCF revealed today that beginning on
 July 18 -- the day after Vick's criminal indictment -- HSUS promised on its
 website that financial contributions would be earmarked for helping it
 "care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case." But yesterday The New
 York Times reported that HSUS is not, in fact, caring for the animals. And
 HSUS president Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group is recommending
 that government officials "put down" (that is, kill) the dogs rather than
 adopt them out to suitable homes.
     "Like most Americans, we can't stand dogfighting," said Center for
 Consumer Freedom Director of Research David Martosko. "But we also can't
 stand animal-rights fundraising that smells this fishy."
     The Humane Society of the United States is not affiliated with any
 local "humane societies." Although the organization runs no hands-on dog or
 cat shelters anywhere, some of its fundraising materials hint at a direct
 connection with pet rescue operations.
     HSUS's online fundraising pitch related to Michael Vick has now been
 quietly altered to remove the claim that the group is caring for his pit
 bulls. But there's no reliable way to know how much money the group raised
 on the basis of its earlier promises.
     "As usual, HSUS is exploiting Americans' emotions about dogs to build
 its war chest for anti-meat, anti-dairy, and anti-medical-research
 campaigns," Martosko added. "These predatory activists should return every
 cent and apologize for misleading the public."
     In a similar episode, HSUS raised a reported $32 million in the wake of
 the Hurricane Katrina disaster, promising to use the funds to rescue and
 reunite lost pets with their owners. But since March 2006, Louisiana
 Attorney General Charles Foti's office has been investigating what happened
 to the majority of those funds, which HSUS does not appear to have used for
 Katrina- related rescues.
     -- The New York Times article is online at
        http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/sports/football/01vick.html
     -- HSUS's false fundraising claim is preserved online at
        http://www.consumerfreedom.com/images/hsus_clip.png
     For more information about the Humane Society of the United States,
 visit http://www.ActivistCash.com/HSUS. For an interview, call
 202-463-7112.
     The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by
 restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote
 personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.
     Media Contact: Sarah Longwell
                    202-463-7112
 
 

SOURCE Center for Consumer Freedom