WASHINGTON The Humane Society of the United States today praised the U.S. Senate for including a provision in the Pension Reform Act, passed last night by the Senate and last week by the House of Representatives, to close a loophole in the tax code that has been exploited by trophy hunters and allowed them to unfairly deduct the costs of their hunting excursions across the globe.  The HSUS uncovered the scam and brought it to the attention of Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), who shepherded the taxidermy tax scam provision to passage. 

The inclusion of this provision will help protect wildlife around the world and save American taxpayers an estimated $43 million over the next decade.  The president is expected to sign the Pension Protection Act, which was approved by wide margins in both chambers.

"The phoniness of this kind of donation called out for congressional action," Grassley said.  "It was time for self-enriching hunters to become the hunted. Thanks to the Humane Society of the United States, we're taking the tax cheating out of taxidermy.  I'm grateful for the group's diligent work in exposing this scam in the first place and then helping Congress shut it down."

A two-year investigation by The HSUS revealed that some trophy hunters were shooting rare animals around the world and donating their mounted prizes to phony museums in order to take a tax deduction. It didn't matter if the pseudo-museum was set up in the hunter's own living room. Investigators even found 800 "donated" trophy mounts gathering dust in an old railroad car.

"This safari swindle involved a big-game hunter shooting an exotic animal in Asia, in Africa, or at a drive-through 'canned hunt' here in the United States and writing off his hunting trip at the expense of the IRS and American taxpayers," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS. "The trophy hunting boondoggle bilked the federal Treasury of millions of dollars, and encouraged more killing of wildlife, including rare species. This fraud went on too long, but Congress has now acted to make the law unambiguous and prohibit individuals from engaging in this shameful tax dodge."

The tax deductions were engineered by unscrupulous trophy appraisers that advertised with slogans like "Hunt For Free," "Hunting in a Tight Money Economy," and "7 Secrets of Tax Deductible Hunting." The appraisals of trophy animals were extraordinarily generous, and often made by viewing photos, never seeing the actual mount. By calculating the cost of airfare, guide fees, licenses, hunting permits, skinners, trackers, shipping, taxidermy, tips for guides and other expenses, each hunt could pay for the next. In an ironic twist, the more animals that were hunted, the more rare the species became, and thus the higher "replacement value" of the animal and tax break to the hunter.

To curb this abuse, Senator Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, advocated for language specifying that trophy mount donations must have "comparable sales data" to accompany IRS tax forms claiming the donation. So instead of claiming the cost of flying to Africa to kill an antelope and writing off the expense of the trip, a donor can now only claim what it would cost to buy the antelope trophy on the open market, a figure that will be a fraction of the amount of the phony appraisals that were routinely occurring. For donations valued at more than $5,000, donors will have to obtain an appraisal by the IRS Art Board or by a certified agent, again using comparable sales figures.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.

WASHINGTON The Humane Society of the United States praised the U.S. Senate for unanimously approving a Senate substitute to H.R. 3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, just before adjourning for the August recess. H.R. 3858, as originally introduced in the House, was approved by that chamber in May by an overwhelming vote of 349 to 24.

The PETS Act, introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) and in the Senate by U.S. Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), will require local and state disaster plans to include provisions for household pets and service animals in the event of a major disaster or emergency. As this year's hurricane season approached, The HSUS had lobbied Congress and mounted a national advertising campaign to pass this legislation quickly to keep people and pets together next time disaster strikes.

"The House and Senate have taken an important step in ensuring that Americans will never again be forced to make an impossibly difficult choice: leave their animal behind while they flee a disaster or take their chances by staying in a disaster-stricken area with their pet," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "We are grateful to Senators Stevens and Lautenberg and Representatives Lantos and Shays for championing this important legislation. We hope it will soon be on its way to President Bush, who said during Hurricane Katrina that he would be sure to take his dog, Barney, if he was forced to evacuate."

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, many citizens put themselves in danger when they refused to evacuate their flooded and destroyed homes because they didn't want to abandon their pets. Many people were forced to leave without their pets, adding tremendous anguish for these hurricane victims who had already lost everything.  According to a Zogby International Poll conducted in the aftermath of Katrina, 61 percent of pet owners would refuse to evacuate ahead of a disaster if they could not take their pets with them.

The bill that passed the House in May calls for emergency preparedness plans to include consideration of people with pets and service animals before a disaster strikes. The Senate substituted its bill for the House measure, and that measure grants FEMA the authority to assist in developing these plans, authorizes financial help to states to create emergency shelters for people with their animals, and allows the provision of essential assistance for individuals with household pets and service animals, and the animals themselves, following a major disaster.  While The HSUS supports both bills, it favors the Senate version because it is more comprehensive

Currently, there are more than 358 million pets in the United States residing in 63 percent of American households. Some states and localities have done extensive planning to coordinate plans with local animal care and control agencies. When Texas called for evacuations in advance of Hurricane Rita, and Florida called for evacuations in advance of Hurricane Wilma, Gov. Rick Perry and Gov. Jeb Bush were clear in stating that evacuees should bring their pets along. Maine, New Mexico, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Vermont have passed state legislation, and California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York are now considering bills dealing with animal disaster planning and response.

"Saving animals from the effects of a disaster requires planning by individuals and by government agencies," said Pacelle. "It's important to have pets included in government disaster and evacuation planning, but responsibility still lies primarily with individual families to plan ahead and be prepared. If it's not safe for you, it's not safe for your pets."

The House can either take up the Senate version and pass it in that form or a conference committee can work to reconcile differences between the bills.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.