Humane Society proud of its record of helping
Wayne Pacelle // Ventura Country StarJanuary 19, 2010
Re: David Martosko's Jan. 19 letter, "Be more humane":
Martosko is the director of research for the Center for Consumer Freedom in Washington, D.C., an industry front for tobacco, alcohol and agribusiness. It serves no function other than to attack organizations that promote food safety, public health and animal welfare.
The CCF was started with a $600,000 grant from tobacco giant Phillip Morris. It has even attacked Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The organization has always griped about the Humane Society of the United States' work to combat factory farming, puppy mills, the Canadian seal slaughter, commercial whaling and other large-scale cruelties. It's now unhappy with our work to build a shelter for feral cats rescued from San Nicolas Island - yet, CCF itself has not a single animal welfare or human welfare programs of its own.
At the Humane Society, we run our own programs, while also providing hundreds of grants a year to a wide range of organizations (more than $4 million last year). In 2009, we rescued 3,000 dogs from puppy mills, we raided dozens of dogfighting operations, we investigated cruelty cases and we provided direct care for more than 70,000 animals.
But the greatest value we bring is in professionalizing the animal-care field - publishing materials, providing training and education programs and advertising about the need for adoption.
Helping shelters is a birthright of the Humane Society, but we do so much more. We work to help all animals - through the operations of our wildlife-care centers, our advocacy for farm animals or animals killed for fur, and our emergency response and rural areas veterinary programs.
Right now, we are working on a program to sterilize 50,000 street dogs in Bhutan.
Please visit http://www.humanesociety.org to learn more or to get involved in our work.
- Wayne Pacelle is president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States.
Richard Berman has been a regular front man for business and industry in campaigns against consumer safety and environmental groups. Through his public affairs firm, Berman and Company, Berman has fought unions, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, PETA and other watchdog groups in their efforts to raise awareness about obesity, the minimum wage, the dangers of smoking, mad cow disease, drunk driving, and other causes. Berman runs at least 15 industry-funded front groups and projects, such as the Center for Union Facts and holds 16 "positions" in those organizations.
Each year, Berman, using his front groups to spread misinformation, spends millions of dollars distracting the public with misleading ads.
As a result of his largesse, in 2006, Richard Berman used $2,000,000 in cash to buy this $3.3 million house.
