HSUS

HSUS stands for the “Humane” Society of the United States. It is a corporation in the United States that does not own or control any animal shelters and it does not represent humane societies in the United States, other than itself.

While HSUS began an animal welfare organization back in 1954, its current focus is toward legislation that severely impedes or eliminates domestic animals and animal ownership. HSUS disguises its political campaigns as attacks against “puppy mills,” animal cruelty, and “hoarding.”

HSUS claims that it only targets “puppy mill” breeders and not “ethical” breeders, but the definition of “ethical” provided by HSUS makes breeding of animals impossible.

HSUS defines “animal cruelty” in the broadest sense that essentially defines nearly *all* human contact and control over animals as cruel.

"Over the years, the Nevada Humane Society has learned that people are often confused by fundraising appeals from HSUS. Local residents think they are donating to the local humane society when they give money to HSUS. In fact, NHS has been told by local residents that they have already donated to them, when in fact they gave to HSUS." -Nathan J. Winograd

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hoarding

HSUS has defined “hoarding” as a mental disorder where a person owns more than the “typical number” of animals and does not care for them in the way HSUS thinks they should. HSUS has further described the “typical number” of animals owned by the typical animal owner as being about two and it provides definitions for “proper care” that are unreasonable in the broadest sense.

DSM-IV does not recognize hoarding as a mental disorder, but only as a symptom of some disorders. Hoarding, in the real world, means to keep and collect things that may or may not have value, and to keep so many things that they stop having value to the person who keeps them.

Hoarding, in the sense that HSUS would want people to believe, means to keep animals in filthy conditions. While this could be problematic, the act is not so unique that it requires its own definition or the reclassification of people who do it as mentally ill. People who keep many animals may or not be mentally ill, yet HSUS is attempting to pass legislation that defines animal owners as mentally ill “hoarders.” HSUS further wants to see mentally ill people classified as criminals.

“Typically, hoarding is an activity with obvious psychological roots, and in many cases it verges on serious mental disorder. Many who have studied it consider it a consequence of serious attachment disorders . . .. Our state anti-cruelty statutes were not drafted with animal hoarding in mind, and generally do not facilitate effective prosecution and resolution of such cases.” –Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of HSUS

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