American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

There are many organizations and groups engaged in protecting animal rights. Some of these groups are against the slaughtering and use of animal products and some groups resort to desperate measures to air their cause to the extent that others even call them terrorists.

Nevertheless, there are also groups that can be considered to be realistic in cause, with actions and objectives that are realistic and doable. I have chosen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) for its missions, goals and achievements that it has achieved with regards to its respect to animal welfare.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is the oldest, non- profit organization which deals with animal welfare in the United States (ASPCA, 2006). Its primary concerns include issues on pet care, cruelty and neglect of animals. ASPCA is founded on April 10, 1866 by Henry Bergh. The mission of the group is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States” (Wikipedia, 2006).

Their services include a national poison control hotline for pet owners and animal health professionals; a corporate partner program which promotes animal-friendly products and services, and a special program called humane education which promotes learning to care for animals. ASPCA also provides services for the domestic animal victims of natural calamities where they provide relief such as by deploying volunteers and providing shelters for abandoned animals.

The ASPCA has a Humane Law Enforcement division based in New York. The Humane Law Enforcement division has the power to investigate on animal cruelty issues and may be able to exercise fully its enforcement powers against those who violate the laws governing animal rights and welfare.  The ASPCA also allows participation in caring for pets among other people. It  has a website that accepts donation from people who want to support the causes and programs

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of the organization; disseminates information about pet care tips; a portion where one may lobby for animals, and an animal adoption section. The site also features programs where people can learn things about disaster preparedness, shelter outreach, animal poison control, animal behavior trainings, and equine programs. ASPCA.org also has a blog post that enables its members and sympathizers to share their thoughts.

The organization also helped in rescuing and rehabilitating animals such as birds, dogs, cats and other animals in the areas affected by the hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In such tragic calamities, the situations of the victims may me aggravated by losing their pets. During calamities, the organization is also against leaving pets in shelters uncared of. The ASPCA believes that requiring the evacuees to leave their pets behind a calamity is cruel such that almost all people who have pets consider their animals as part of the family.

The organization does not only work by means of manual labor but also by lobbying bills and communicating with the legislators to consider legislations that promote animal welfare and protect the animals. According to a press release from the New York State (2001), Governor George E. Pataki was honored by ASPCA for his devotion to animal welfare and for making New York State “a much safer place for animals”. This shows that the organization also commends and gives credit to public personnel who are exemplary in their concern for animals.

I have chosen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals not only because it is the oldest organization in the United States that is concerned with animal rights and welfare but also for the things that it has achieved, its missions and its goals. The rescue operations that the volunteers of have done in the past two tragic calamities Hurricanes Katrina and Rita really show their compassion for the animals. It also shows that they understand the grief of those families who have been separated from their pets. The organization does not only

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provide help but also teaches people to help themselves in times of emergency through  their programs on pet care and disaster preparedness.

I also share their views on how important companion animals are in the lives of people in which animals are treated as part of our family and are cared for  like a brother or a sister. Animals indeed play an important role in people’s lives. Animals are making us happy when we’re feeling down, or just stressed. I have also heard in the news about pets performing for those sick children in hospitals making them happy and perhaps even cure them. True, animals may help in making our work easier for us and  they must never be exploited.

Other organizations promote to be vegetarians, while others would go to the extremes by raiding research labs and other science facilities which uses animal test subjects and frees them not thinking that almost all of these researches were for curing human illnesses. The ASPCA believes in the legal processes and does not give up hope in our government.