Tag: ringling brothers circus

Do Wayne Pacelle’s Initials Also Stand for Witness Payoff?

Big news came out over the holidays when the ASPCA announced that it would pay Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. circus, almost $10 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the ASPCA and others of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. It’s a crack in the defense, and we’re sure that leaders of the Humane Society of the United States—which is still a defendant in the litigation—didn’t sleep well that night.  Keep reading here…

Animal Rights, Firearms, General, Wildlife , , ,

The Writing’s on the Wall for HSUS

This from the Center for Consumer Freedom…

Two developments have recently emerged that could be body-blows to the Humane Society of the United States and its deceptive practices of raising money from pet loving Americans who are deceived into giving to the group.

First, news broke this morning that the ASPCA has agreed to pay Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. Circus, nearly $10 million as part of a settlement in a federal racketeering lawsuit. Feld will continue its litigation against other defendants, including HSUS and two of its attorneys. HSUS could be on the hook for millions upon millions in damages. And for anyone who may have been thinking this lawsuit didn’t have merit, the fact that ASPCA was worried enough to shell out almost $10 million just to make it go away should make them think again. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife , , ,

Was HSUS Involved in a Pay-to-Play Racket?

When we formally launched HumaneWatch in February 2010, one of the first things we reported on was that the Humane Society of the United States and two of its lawyers were defendants in a federal racketeering lawsuit. There are some key updates that you should be aware of.

First, some background: A decade ago, animal-rights groups sued Feld Entertainment (parent company of the Ringling Brothers circus) alleging elephant abuse in violation of the Endangered Species Act. That lawsuit was dismissed by a US District Court, and a US Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal the other week.

The key witness in that case was a former circus employee named Tom Rider. The case dragged through the court system for years before a federal judge ruled in December 2009 that the animal-rights plaintiffs, which included the Fund for Animals (which merged with HSUS in 2004/2005), had engaged in essentially a pay-to-play scheme with Rider, who received at least $190,000 as the lawsuit made its way through the courts (his “sole source of income,” according to the ruling). Here’s part of the ruling (Markarian is an HSUS executive who used to run the Fund for Animals): Read more

Animal Rights , , , ,