INDIANA LAWMAKER SEEKS INVESTIGATION OF HSUS

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that six Indiana legislators have asked the state’s Attorney General to investigate the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for deceptive fundraising practices. State Senator Brent Steele and five of his colleagues have sent a letter to Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller accusing the nation’s wealthiest animal rights organization of misleading Indian residents into “believing that donations will benefit abandoned pets at local humane society shelters, which are not affiliated with the national group.”

In the letter, Steele wrote, “Hoosiers would be well-served to know that their donations may go to high-powered lobbying and public relations experts of a national organization that has attacked institutions, traditions and practices that are part of Indiana’s heritage, such as farming, ranching and hunting.”

If Zoeller grants the request, he will be the second state Attorney General to investigate the wealthy animal rights giant. In 2014, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued a consumer alert about HSUS and opened an investigation of the organization’s fundraising practices in that state. After Pruitt issued subpoenas to obtain HSUS fundraising and financial records, the HSUS filed a lawsuit against him. That action is still pending before the court.