How many of you agree that we cannot call ourselves a civilized society if we are cruel to innocent creatures who are not able to protect themselves from human brutality? I can see that the majority agrees (disagrees) with this statement. Now I want to convince you all that it is essential to support movements, which want to fight this barbaric behavior and save animals from people’s cruelty. Specifically, I was hoping you could invest in the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). This organization is not only focused on animal welfare issues but is also concerned about social order and violence (Hoy-Gerlach et al., 2019). ASPCA’s anti-cruelty mission demands additional funding because it strives to protect pets that are at risk or have been the victims of violence across the United States.
First of all, I want to present the history and background of ASPCA. This organization was founded by the retired diplomat Henry Bergh in 1866 in New York (ASPCA, n.d.b). Nineteenth-century America was not a friendly place for animals and certainly not the right place for a humane society like ASPCA. However, Bergh did not surrender in front of the obstacles of that time and continued to advocate passing the first law against animal cruelty in the United States (ASPCA, n.d.b). The organization’s official seal was created by Frank Leslie in 1867 (ASPCA, n.d.b). It illustrates an angel of mercy protecting a fallen horse from her abusive master (ASPCA, n.d.b). The same year, ASPCA introduced the first ambulance for horses (ASPCA, n.d.b). Over its more than one and a half-century history, the society participated in various events to rescue suffering animals. For example, in 2005, ASPCA donated $13 million to shelters in the Gulf Coast region to help them save pets affected by the hurricanes Rita and Katrina (ASPCA, n.d.b). We also help homeless animals find their loving homes after they spend time in our veterinary facilities.
Now I want to discuss the impact that ASPCA made across the country. Our ultimate goal is to free the United States from the very concept of animal cruelty by protecting, rescuing, and relocating pets. For instance, only in 2020 were we able to assist 105,000 animals and place 27,700 of them to new homes (ASPCA, n.d.a). Indeed, our study showed that dog and cat adoption has increased by almost 19% since 2017, leading to a drop in the number of shelter intakes (ASPCA, n.d.b). Furthermore, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASPCA performed more than 47,000 surgeries on pets in need, and our Poison Control Center could help approximately 371,000 animals (ASPCA, n.d.a). Our work focuses on helping pets and people, investigations and rescue, animal care and recovery, improving legislation for pets, advancing horse welfare, and protecting farm animals.
As you can see, our society has a long history of protecting pets from brutal actions of people and saving them during environmental disasters. ASPCA’s mission is to eradicate animal cruelty in the United States and help as many pets as possible to find caring homes. However, we need more financial support to reach every region of our large country. Therefore, we ask the “Shark Tank” committee to choose ASPCA as their next investee. I want to conclude with the quote from our CEO, Matthew Bershadker: “When we work together, we are both saving lives and elevating our society to ensure cruelty victims receive the protection and care they deserve.”
References
ASPCA. (n.d.a). About us. Web.
ASPCA. (n.d.b). History of the ASPCA. Web.
Hoy-Gerlach, J., Delgado, M., Sloane, H., & Arkow, P. (2019). Rediscovering connections between animal welfare and human welfare: Creating social work internships at a humane society. Journal of Social Work, 19(2), 216-232. Web.