Another One Bites the Dust

A few weeks ago I told you about the flub that Yellow Tail wine made by donating to the Humane Society of the United States.  I never had a chance to give you an update though..... let's just say the last few weeks have been rough for HSUS.

I'm very happy to say that Yellow Tail has offered another apology, this time a little more heartfelt (or maybe walletfelt?).  In a letter to the Animal Agriculture Alliance they said, "We pledge to you that any future support for animal welfare will go to organizations specifically devoted to hands-on care, such as rescue, sterilization, feeding, or disaster assistance."

Not long after the Yellow Tail debacle went down, another corporate sponsor of HSUS came to light.... Pilot Travel Centers.  That's right, a truck-stop and gas station chain based in Tennessee, where a good chunk of their custumers work and depend on agriculture - the very thing that HSUS fights against.

HSUS actually opened the door with a post on it's Facebook page: "We're giving a shout out to Pilot Travel Centers for standing up against animal cruelty and supporting us!" 

It only took one day for Pilot to recognize the error of their ways.  They issued a statement regarding the relationship of the company with the animal rights organization saying, "We sincerely regret any actions that led to the misperception of our support of this organization. Pilot Travel Centers is a strong supporter of agriculture interests in our home state of Tennessee and across the country.  In order to avoid any further misunderstandings, employees will immediately cease collections of donations to HSUS. Pilot corporate has never matched a single dollar of these donations and will not support any organization that has an agenda that works against agriculture interests."

And to top it off, this week a third company has withdrawn it's support of HSUS!  Precious Cat, Inc. is a cat litter company that has been listed on HSUS's corporate supporters page for quite a long time.  Maybe they decided it was just time to stop donating, or maybe they heard about the trials of Yellow Tail and Pilot and finally took a look at what HSUS is all about.    

In a statement that Precious Cat released, they said, "Precious Cat, Inc. has withdrawn it’s sponsorship of the Humane Society of the United States Shelter Partner Program. However, Precious Cat will still continue to support shelters by providing them with free Shelter Kits."

I think it's great that they are going to continue to donate their product to ACTUAL hands-on cat shelters.  I have never heard of Precious Cat before, but the next time I am in the store I will keep an eye open for their products and show a little love and appreciation for them, and I hope you do as well!