HSUS Buys and Bullies Companies

Posted on June 21, 2012

In his June 11, 2012 blog on the Humane Society of the United States website, Wayne Pacelle, HSUS President and CEO, boasts about companies that knuckled under to HSUS pressure—and ownership.

Yes, it seems that some monies donated by the public to HSUS have been spent on buying stock in corporations—with an underlying reason.

The details are revealed in the comment in Pacelle’s blog: “important steps companies in our shareholder portfolio have taken after HSUS’s interventions.” Many of these companies have been publicly pressured, verbally attacked and ridiculed by HSUS “interventions.”

Among those companies infected by the HSUS are:

Sears, Steinmart, Talbots, True Religion Brand Jeans and Iconix— all pressured to stop using fur.
Clothing retailers Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bluefly.com –pressured to stop selling products that contain fur.
Dozens of major food companies committed to stop using eggs from hens confined in HSUS targeted cages. These companies include: Pepperidge Farm, Cheesecake Factory, ConAgra Foods, Denny’s, IHOP, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Kellogg, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Marriott Hotels, McDonald’s, Starbucks, P.F. Chang, Tim Hortons, and Wendy’s. HSUS also recently purchased stock in Hardees and Carl’s Jr. food chains.
HSUS also owns shares of Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as a way to make them conform.
Grocery chains Kroger and Safeway also received HSUS pressure to stop selling specific products.
Allergan—a major pharmaceutical company—committed to avoid using animals in testing after HSUS pressures.
Idenix—another pharmaceutical company—committed to stop product testing on chimpanzees.

When dealing with any of these companies, it’s important to remind them that the animal rights lobby does not speak for the majority of Americans.