A recent HumaneWatch survey of Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) donors found that respondents felt the organization misleads the public on its objectives after learning that only 1 percent of donations go to local pet shelters.
The four-question survey of 1,010 HSUS donors began by asking the donor’s primary reason for giving to HSUS. Only 1 percent of respondents give to support HSUS’s farm animal protection programs, while 74 percent give with the intent of helping local pet shelters.
However, when asked if they were aware that only 1 percent of HSUS’s budget went to local pet shelters, 90 percent of respondents said they were not. Subsequently, 80 percent indicated they felt HSUS has misled the public on its true objectives and 47 percent said they were less likely to give to the organization again.
The HumaneWatch national survey was conducted online from April 21-25, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.