I tip
my hat to
HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle. He has moved the
HSUS into the #1 spot as the nation’s most powerful organization
soliciting money under the pretense of helping
animals.
To many, that's fraud, but apparently it is not criminal fraud under
U.S. law and IRS tax code. PETA does very well financially
but let's just
compare the hated HSUS to our beloved AKC.
When Pacelle became CEO, HSUS reported $100 million income on IRS
form 990 as compared to AKC’s $60 million for the same year.
Since 2006, HSUS not-for-profit income has shot skyward, thanks
to Hurricane Katrina and Pacelle’s fund raising skills.
See
AKC Executive Salaries Revealed
for more info on comparative
expenses.
HSUS’s Wayne Pacelle is the most recognizable Animal Advocate
on TV. He is the media’s talking head for animal (rights)
welfare. Notably, “consultant” or “contributor” TV
appearances are handsomely paid. Perhaps Pacelle donates
his expertise. We’re not sure.
By comparison, no one, including AKC’s CEO Ron Menaker
is seen or consulted. The significant result is that AKC has steadily lost registration income during the same period
in which HSUS has grown like a cancer cell. That happened
because AKC lost puppy mill income and due
to disillusionment, a significant percentage of long-time show
breeders. Compare those facts with HSUS's growing
visibility on TV advocating for animal welfare (implying that
AKC purebreds are raised in horrid conditions) coupled with
PETA's strategy which says breeders kill animals and urges
families to adopt from a shelter.
Wayne Pacelle and Ron Menaker are rumored to be, if not personal
friends, at least respectful of each other. AKC seems to have borrowed the HSUS playbook and under
Menaker's leadership, developed
many of the marketing strategies as are employed by HSUS.
Pacelle is a brilliant manager and strategist. I would see
his AKC counterpart as a dismal failure except for the
fact that Menaker has kept AKC afloat through other financial
strategies, even though many such financial finaglings are not
well accepted to AKC traditionalists. Despite being an AKC judge, Menaker is either unaware of or
ignores the basic concept on which his organization was founded.
Pacelle does not.
Pacelle raises over a hundred million per year in donations.
Menaker bleeds the foundation of AKC's existence with higher
fees for less results.
The CEO's implementation of AKC credit cards, gadgets, toys, etc. and
selling the name and endorsement of the organization generates
untold $millions. And not to be
outdone in the donation department, AKC created satellite
non-profits to suck bucks from dog lovers. The AKC/CHF is
perhaps the best known due to honorable intent and
unfortunately, recent scandal. There’s the AKC Museum and,
borrowing from the HSUS playbook, the Disaster Fund.
Then, seizing the opportunity to capitalize (no pun intended) on
the presidential election, AKC created a PAC (Political Action
Committee). Menaker wants to represent all dogs and all dog
owners. So does HSUS, except Pacelle makes it abundantly
clear that, like PETA, the last thing HSUS supports is purebred
dog breeders. Ahh, now we're getting to the core differences
between AKC and HSUS.
HSUS net income is significantly higher due to a much lower
executive pay scale than AKC. According to a May 2008
report, AKC pays its CEO and Executives over twice
as much as does HSUS. I leave you to ponder the
implications of that fact. But don't despair for HSUS
execs because they make millions from satellite companies.
Serious financial issues threaten AKC even as HSUS becomes
richer and infinitely more powerful. Looking at the
difference in how the two not-for-profit organizations spend
income, we see that HSUS spends most of its income marketing,
developing, and soliciting for yet more income from animal
lovers. The AKC does not! HSUS is the media's #1 source for facts, statistics, animal care, and
animal related legislation. Where are the AKC's public
service announcements (PSA),
animal care advice, advertisements, and promotions for the AKC's
purebred dog? Nowhere except on AKC's website.
That question is so important, I am compelled to rephrase it and
ask again. HSUS is perceived as being for animals, loving
and protecting them, etc. We know better but it is public
perception that puts money in the till! AKC touts itself
as being "for dogs" but when it has incredible opportunity to
nationally promote the purebred dog on Westminster
and other high-rated televised broadcasts, it forsakes its core
constituency for dog food sponsorship showing mutts or for promoting an
alleged "animal rights" humane
society (AHA) and thereby alienating its core support.
Where are the ads encouraging purebred dog ownership and the
wholesome family competition known as "dog shows" which was in fact,
the sole reason for AKC's formation?
In this publication, we examine the good and the bad
about AKC. If we learn a little heavily on AKC's
shortcomings, well, where else are you going to get that
information? AKC has an excellent public relations staff
whose job it is to dress everything up in tinsel, golden light,
and a bit too much B.S. Our job is to balance that with
thought-provoking commentary.
So how can AKC regain the confidence and support of show and
hobby breeders? More to the point, does AKC want
that market? Many feel we are just a thorn in AKC's side,
an impediment to making the big bucks from a much wider market.
There has been much angst on the AKC Board Of Directors
over the loss of puppy mill income, or as it was so well
sanitized and cleverly termed, High Volume Breeders.
Most long-time breeders, Judges, and clubs are stubbornly
devoted to the AKC and what it traditionally represents.
We have decades of involvement and love for the sport.
Show and Field enthusiasts built the American Kennel
Club. They are the sole reason it was formed.
Historically, the AKC has never had to advertise to the public;
it was the only game in town and had no AR groups with which to
contend.
T
imes have changed!
HSUS now has vastly more support and public acceptance than does the
AKC. HSUS now generates nearly double the income of AKC
despite the required (non-voluntary) monetary support of
breeders via registrations.
So what can show and hobby breeders do to support AKC?
Offer a fair trade. They stay with the American Kennel
Club and quit running
off to other show / registry venues and in exchange for that
financial support, breeders demand that AKC support and
advertise the
purebred dog, the advantages of ownership, and the
competitive sport on which the AKC was once based.
The bottom line is this. With groups like HSUS and PETA
better known and better funded than the American Kennel Club,
we need to decide whether to cash in our chips or invest more to
protect our stock (pun intended this time). The purebred
dog fancy has no SEC or Federal government to bail us out and
our existence is at risk!
Barbara (BJ)
Andrews, Editor
Handy links:______________________
HSUS credit card info from their mass
email campaign:
“Bank of America will provide The HSUS with 25 cents for every
$100 in purchases you make with our exclusive card. And, as a
bonus, for each card account opened and activated through this
email, Bank of America will provide an additional $50 to The
Humane Society of the United States.
“Thanks to the more than 64,000 supporters who are already
Humane Society cardholders, this program generates significant
funding for our animal protection programs. Imagine if we had
one million cardholders! We would be able to put more dollars
into programs to combat animal fighting, to promote spaying and
neutering, and to crack down on puppy mills.”
