The San Francisco Chronicle have described HSUS as devoted to "animal rights", as opposed to "animal welfare". Shortly after Wayne Pacelle joined HSUS, he stated in an interview with the Animal People newspaper that his goal was to build "a National Rifle Association of the animal rights movement". The IHT describes HSUS as the "least radical" of animal rights groups. Feedstuffs, an agribusiness newspaper, has leveled the charge that HSUS is pursuing a vegetarianism and veganism agenda instead of animal welfare. In 2010, one journalist in Oregon also claimed that HSUS "primarily works on animal rights legislation." Charity Navigator In June 2014, Charity Navigator replaced its rating of HSUS with a "Donor Advisory" citing a $15.75 million settlement of a lawsuit. A Charity Navigator representative told The Washington Examiner that a Donor Advisory indicates "extreme concern." The advisory has since been removed. At no point did it ever have anything to do with financial metrics, governance, transparency, or the impact and effectiveness of work to protect animals. It came solely as a result of a legal settlement the HSUS and several other parties reached with the owner of Ringling Bros. circus. Charity Navigator rated them at 85.09 for the 2014 fiscal year, and at 75.61 for the 2019 fiscal year. Charity Watch The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), now called Charity Watch, has been critical of the HSUS. Charity Watch gave the HSUS a "C−" in 2013. Charity Watch believes that HSUS spends an insufficient percentage of donations on programs, and an inordinately high percentage on fundraising. Using different estimates of fundraising expenses and efficiency, the AIP's rating system heavily penalizes charities for possessing large assets or maintaining more than three years' operating expenses in reserve. Only Charity Watch among all charity evaluation groups believes that organizations should not write off some of their fundraising costs as program expenses. Other evaluators agree with the approach taken under Generally accepted accounting principles, which permit such joint allocation of expenses. The organization maintains a focus on particular financial measurements, strictly interpreting all direct mail, telemarketing and solicitation costs as separate fundraising expenses. Feld Entertainment litigation Feld Entertainment sued HSUS and other animal-rights advocates and advocacy groups under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Feld asserted HSUS wrongdoing in relation to litigation brought by animal rights activists against Feld alleging abuse of animals in the circus. This litigation was dismissed in