I hinted earlier that this was coming and it was top on my list since the Mercy for Animals video is getting lots of other input from well-spoken farmers who care about their animals. Katy Perry announced that she will be donating proceeds from her ticket sales to 3 different charities, one of them being HSUS. It pains me to say that I will be boycotting her just like I do Carrie Underwood until further notice. But just like I argue that veganism - people should instead vote with their dollar for welfare standards they support if they are so opinionated - is an unintelligent way to enact change, my boycotting isn't enough. Instead, I decided I would write a letter. If for no other benefit, it gives me the opportunity to express what I'm thinking and form it into concrete words. So included below is my letter; I encourage comments on its improvement as I do intend to send it. Thanks!
"Dear Mrs. Katy Perry,
"As a fan of your music, I cannot fully express how disappointed I am by your announcement to donate a portion of the proceeds of your tour to the Animal Rights Activist group, the “Humane Society of the United States”. I know I speak for many of Americans when I say that this contribution on your part to such an ill-intending and malicious organization leaves doubt in my mind as to your support of the hard work of American farmers who produce the food that feeds this great nation.
"The Humane Society of the United States is actually a vocal activist and lobbying organization that uses nearly its entire budget to campaign for the rights of animals and their protection from alleged wrong-doing by people responsible for the care and well-being. A misnomer which was intentionally chosen to steal funding from local shelters, the HSUS claims to spend their money on animal rescue but in truth audits of their budgets by the policing organizations have shown that they actually pocketed the money collected from fundraisers during great disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Haiti. Instead of using this money to rescue and care for animals, they used this money to campaign for their own personal agendas in states across the nation, weakening the economy with uninformed and unreasonable demands on agriculture livestock farmers that quickly moves them out of business or out of the country. According to Charity Navigator, HSUS rates even lower than the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals even though they have the larger budget. Local humane shelters also suffer from the fundraising of the HSUS because they no longer receive the contributions that they need in order to provide legitimate care to animals such as the more than six million dogs and cats that are in need every year.
"An example of HSUS’s political agenda is the banning of horse slaughter in the United States. Funded by money taken from well-intentioned donors, HSUS pushed national legislators through their well-funded lobbying to ban the slaughter of horses in the United States. This ban on the slaughter of horses in the United States led to millions of horses with nowhere to go after their careers in racing and lifetimes of foaling on the farms were done. Without the finances to feed these horses into old age, many horse owners sold the horses to Mexico for slaughter where Dr. Temple Grandin has documented even worse conditions for the horses and extended suffering during their final days. HSUS then pushed for a ban on transport to Mexico, which has led to mass horse abandonment. These horses which would have previously been mercifully killed at the end of a useful life (and provided jobs to Americans) now suffer needlessly because of the legislation endorsed by the personal agenda headquartered within the offices of the HSUS. This is not true interest in the care of animals and is only one example of the false front exhibited by HSUS in an effort to dupe well-intentioned individuals like you into funding their causes.
"Livestock farmers uphold a high standard for the care of their animals and they ensure provision of a good life for them. There is no person more personally, ethically or financially invested in the well-being of their animals as the farmers themselves. These farmers have also been active in supporting research that leads to the improvements in animal care and health and this research is ongoing. Until research can show better ways to care for animals, we need organizations like HSUS to stop pushing through legislature that later turns out to be more harmful for animals than previous care that was given to them. Otherwise we will find ourselves in even more situations in the future that closely resemble the horse slaughter debacle that HSUS created and has yet to try and fix.
"I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your position on contributions to the HSUS and find a more reputable charity to accept your money lest it be wasted on radical personal agenda.
"Thanks,
"Benjamin Wenner"
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