Recently the parent company for Ringling Brothers circus, Feld Entertainment, filed a lawsuit against the Humane Society of the United States (HUSUS) and its components, charging the non-profit with, among other things, bribery, tax evasion and racketeering. No, HSUS is not the Humane Society most people associate with the nationwide animal shelters such as operated by the SPCA, but rather a highly active and wealthy animal rights lobbyist that is apparently intent on turning us all into vegans.

In its lawsuit, Feld accuses HSUS of tax evasion, bribery, and falsifying records. During a lawsuit trial in federal court in 2009, it was disclosed that HSUS illegally paid a former Feld employee more than $190,000 to give false testimony regarding mistreatment of animals. The judge dismissed the case when the payola was discovered and HSUS’s “witness” failed to substantiate any of the claims, and this was the beginning of an intense investigation by Feld and HumaneWatch, the latter being a watchdog group that seeks to disclose false claims and illegal practices by such “animal rights” non-profits as HSUS.