Our opponents rightfully see The HSUS as a threat to their reliance on animal cruelty as a standard practice. They attack The HSUS not because we don’t do enough—but because, from their perspective, we do too much. 

Richard Berman—a Beltway con artist behind a growing network of phony charities that fight against animal welfare—wants The HSUS to stop helping animals. He’d like to see us halt our campaigns against puppy mills; stop our intervention programs against urban dogfighting; stop working with law enforcement on animal fighting raids or in cases of abandonment and hoarding. He'd like us to stop working to end the extreme confinement of farm animals on factory farms.

The trusty hired-gun never reveals who is behind his capers. But what would you expect from a man labeled “Dr. Evil” by "60 Minutes"?

F.A.Q. about Richard Berman

Who is Richard Berman and why is he attacking animal welfare organizations?

Richard Berman is a corporate front-man, a Washington, D.C. lobbyist and PR operative. Over the years, he has created a spider web of organizations whose aim is to attack established charities, nonprofits and public interest groups—from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to The Humane Society of the United States. He refuses to divulge specific companies financing his dirty work, but it is known that he launched this line of work by taking money from tobacco companies to battle those seeking restrictions on smoking—a template that has defined his career ... Read entire F.A.Q. about Richard Berman »

Animal shelter leaders are also speaking up about Berman: Read blogs written by Washington Animal Rescue League CEO Dr. Gary Weitzman, Richmond SPCA CEO Robin Robertson Starr, Humane Society of Berks County executive director Karel Minor and San Francisco SPCA Co-President Jennifer Scarlett.

“Berman and Company is quite objectively in the business of manufacturing misinformation.”—Salon, Sept. 29, 2011