Animal Welfare Assurance Organizations: ASPCA vs. Local Rescue

Introduction

Animal welfare assurance organizations operate at many levels, from small community-based rescues to large national nonprofits. This paper examines two such organizations — Manes and Tails Mission and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) — comparing their missions, policy approaches, and relative effectiveness in improving conditions for animals in the United States.

Manes and Tails Mission: Local Horse Rescue

Manes and Tails Mission, located in Hoboken, NJ, is a locally based organization that oversees a variety of efforts to reduce cruelty against horses. Given the faltering economy, many horses have been abandoned and/or abused, as fewer and fewer people have the ability to care for their animals properly. Horses from the racetrack or that have been used in vocations such as the Mounted Police often have difficulties finding good homes after they retire. This organization resolves to "rescue, rehabilitate, retrain, and re-home the most commonly slaughtered breeds of horses — Quarter horses, Thoroughbreds, and Standardbreds" (Mission statement, 2011, Manes and Tails). It does not sell horses, although it does lease them. It also provides retirement homes for Mounted Police horses, educates the public about equine slaughter, and offers community services including reduced-rate boarding, maintenance of rare breeds, and holistic horse care education.

The program is fairly balanced in terms of promoting both the physical and mental well-being of horses, and it attempts to keep horses in as natural a state as possible, regardless of where they are housed — including promoting keeping horses shoeless whenever possible. Providing educational and supportive resources to the community is emphasized over measurable outcomes. The organization is small and its goals are varied, so it does not maintain metrics for monitoring how much of a positive or negative effect it has had on the equine community. The organization disseminates information to all horse owners about improving the care of their animals and tries to help horses on a case-by-case basis. It acknowledges in its mission statement that it is a local organization with limited resources, and it strives to create liaisons with other community organizations and national organizations devoted to horse rescue and care.

ASPCA: National Animal Welfare Policies

In contrast to the small, localized horse rescue Manes and Tails, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a national organization. Like Manes and Tails, the ASPCA is devoted to preventing animal cruelty and educating the public about how to better care for their animals. The ASPCA is committed to helping livestock, pet and companion animals, and wild animals live lives free of cruelty. "The ASPCA's policies are grounded in the belief that animals inherently deserve our respect, compassion and consideration of their needs," and its mission is broad, not focused on one specific animal (ASPCA Position statement 1.3).

The ASPCA has specific policy guidelines on a variety of issues pertaining to many types of animal populations. Regarding pets, it strongly supports spay and neuter programs and specifically defines what is entailed by humane pet-keeping, as opposed to practices such as puppy farming and hoarding. The ASPCA views euthanasia as only a last resort. Regarding livestock, "the ASPCA firmly believes that animals who are bred, raised and killed or harvested for human consumption, like all animals, are entitled to protection from distress and suffering during their lives and at the time of their deaths" (ASPCA Position statement 3.1). Likewise, the ASPCA takes a moderate position on animal testing, arguing that it should only be used when alternatives do not exist (ASPCA Position statement 4.3).

The ASPCA's guidelines address both the physical health of animals — including humane treatment and conditions for all animals, including those used for food and in medical research — and the minimization of negative psychological effects of cruelty. Such effects can occur when animals are housed in cramped quarters with insufficient attention, or when they are subjected to stress and unnatural conditions, as in the case of puppy mills or animals used in work and entertainment. The ASPCA does not oppose the use of animals in entertainment, "provided that all of the animals' physiological and behavioral needs are fully met and that no cruel practices are used in raising, training and maintaining the animals, including when their period of useful service is over" (ASPCA Position statement 5.16).

The ASPCA also stresses the need for consideration of the environment and of nature, consistent with its concerns about the ethical treatment of wild animals. It does not oppose wildlife population control in all instances, but stresses that, like all forms of euthanasia, it should only be practiced as a last resort (ASPCA Position statement 6.1). The ASPCA is not a conservation group such as Greenpeace, but it sees its support of a healthy environment for all animals — wild as well as domestic — as keeping with its mission of cruelty prevention.

The ASPCA is an extremely large not-for-profit organization and releases an annual report detailing its successes. This is necessary, given the extensive corporate and individual sponsorship solicited by the organization, to demonstrate that its funds are being put to good use. Its annual report contains a wide variety of examples of how the ASPCA has exerted its influence to improve conditions for animals — as in the case of New York City's carriage horses — as well as the organization's financial statements. A complete copy of the audit can be obtained from the organization's Chief Financial Manager (Annual report, ASPCA, 2010: 56–57).