Do HSUS donors know how their money is spent? The basics behind HSUS’ spending habits from HumaneWatch are:
- $200 Million in Total Assets
- Less than 1% supporting local humane shelters
- $74.3 million spent on mailing, salaries, and benefits
But, what about the rest? It is no secret that HSUS celebrates when buying shares in a specific company. At the cost of donors, HSUS will purchase enough shares in a particular company to be allowed to present shareholder proposals. Also known as Shareholder Advocacy. These proposals are then used to push their extreme agenda and influence in the market place. Recently, HSUS took it to the next level. Instead of purchasing shares in an individual company, they just purchased shares in four major investment firms.
The goal?…
“for the purpose of utilizing shareholder channels (e.g. shareholder proposals) to advocate for animal welfare improvements in the pork industry.” HSUS Spokesman, Pork Network
The top firms they chose were: J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Ameriprise, and Prudential. Who all make significant investments in Tyson Foods and SeaBoard Farms. HSUS’ worked to change Tyson’s stance on sow gestation crates, but was never successful. However, they were successful convincing McDonalds, Smithfield, Burger King, and a long list of other companies to phase out gestation crates. Those same companies that listened to HSUS as a shareholder, also caved into believing that HSUS has good intentions. As a company, like Tyson, if you choose not to follow HSUS’ rules you are just opening the doors for actions like:
“…Focusing on the potential financial loss associated with the failure to act by companies like Tyson and Seaboard, we believe we can garner significant leverage in the form of management and/or shareholder support from the finance sector, thus exerting further pressure on the pork industry to move away from gestation crates,” -Matthew Prescott, HSUS food policy director, Pork Network
Tyson continues to stand up to the giant, but HSUS is finding its own way around Tyson’s defense. HSUS is not concerned with compliance, but with promoting their radical agenda and destroying Tyson’s operation altogether. The $32.7 million that HSUS could spend helping local humane shelters actually ends up on Wall-Street. That is a lot of power and influence for a company message that reads:
“We are the nation’s most important advocate for local humane societies,” – HSUS, About Us Overview
Do they expect us to believe that while spending millions seeking to destroy agriculture companies? HSUS’ spending habits do not align with that message. They insist on playing the stock market game with your money and the Farmer’s well-being at stake. That should be HSUS’ mission statement.
A message to supporters of HSUS:
- Is this how you saw your money being spent? … On Wall-Street?
- Or, was it to support an actual animal shelter?
HSUS drastically changed the playing field between American Farmers/Producers when it bought stock in those four major investment firms. It is no longer a secret, HSUS’ goal: use Wall-Street to attack farmers/producers financially. You make the decision: Should HSUS, as a non-profit organization, be allowed to tank a corporation through shareholder proposals?
