HSUS loses charity accreditation
Wednesday, April 11, 2018

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The Humane Society of the United States has lost its accreditation by the charity arm of the Better Business Bureau. This action follows the resignations, earlier this year, by former CEO Wayne Pacelle and vice president Paul Shapiro. 

The news of this loss was reported to walking horse industry leaders late last week by a report from a Pennsylvania newspaper, The County Press. Celebration CEO Mike Inman said the accreditation loss served as a strong action against the HSUS. 

“The fact that the HSUS has been spending approximately only 1 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars it raises has been its little secret for some time,” said Inman, in response to the Report’s request for comment about the news release. “The fact that these details along with a culture of mistreatment of employs have hit the light of day via these losses of accreditation. This should be very eye-opening to HSUS donors and those politicians who are on record supporting this organization.”

The BBB’s charity-accreditation arm, the Wise Giving Alliance, suspended the HSUS’s status following an action by Charity Navigator to downgrade the HSUS’ to two stars out of four, also poorly ranking the HSUS for being financially unwise, according to the news release referenced by Inman. The report also stated Animal Charity Evaluators, which recommends animal-rights non-profits, has also pulled its approval of the HSUS.
Pacelle’s resignation, which came in February, followed allegations of multiple sexual harassment complaints against the former CEO.

“While the BBB hasn’t issued a statement for the removal of HSUS’s accreditation, it’s widely assumed that the HSUS board’s initial decision to retain Pacelle after its internal investigation turned up several credible accusations of sexual harassment was the impetus for BBB WGA to initiate a review,” the report, written by Farm News Media, stated. 

Additionally, the report references Animal Charity Evaluators’ unprecedented action to formally rescind its 2016 standout recommendation of the HSUS’s Farm Animal Protection Campaign, citing concerns “regarding the lack of ‘strong, ethical leadership and a healthy work environment to be critical components of an effective charity.’”

Inman said the walking horse industry will continue to follow the story closely.
“As an industry, we will be watching closely the damage control that is going on at HSUS and see if it affects in any way their efforts to eliminate our horse and other animal agriculture,” Inman concluded. 

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