For more than a half-century, The HSUS has stood as the nation's most important advocate for local humane societies. Additionally, The HSUS operates its own network of sanctuaries, providing care and homes to more animals than any other national animal protection organization in the United States.
Coast to coast, The HSUS serves local animal shelters by providing:
- National shelter standards, guidelines and recommendations for care and operations, as well as our Animal Services Consultation (ASC) program, which provides in-depth animal shelter evaluations.
- Training programs, including our training university, Humane Society University, and Animal Care Expo, the nation's largest trade and educational show for animal shelter professionals.
- A bi-monthly magazine and website, Animal Sheltering and www.animalsheltering.org, widely considered to be the most comprehensive resource for shelter professionals.
- Outreach through www.HumaneSociety.org to help citizens find, understand and support their local shelters, plus classroom support for humane education programs.
- A cooperative buying service to provide discounts to shelters on a wide variety of products and services.
- Inspiration and direction in the establishment of a new federation of humane societies.
- Disaster assistance, including on-the-scene leadership in the collection and care of animals during crises. Plus, The HSUS assists in the rebuilding of animal shelters damaged in disasters, and supplements local budgets for unexpected disaster expenses. In recent years, these support efforts have channeled millions of urgently-needed dollars to local animal shelters.
- Direct and indirect support for spay and neuter programs. Again, millions of dollars in fresh support have helped local shelters and veterinary schools launch new spay and neuter efforts for pets in regions recovering from disaster.
- Standby assistance for a variety of other needs including legislation, operational guidance and more.
- Fundraising events for local shelters and rescue groups, such as Walk for the Animals and Spay Day USA.
- Financial assistance in the form of scholarships, periodic grants and other opportunities.
- National and global advocacy for the core mission and values of America's animal shelters.
By long-standing tradition, local humane societies remain independent entities, each with its own policies, governance, and priorities. In the 1950s, founders of The HSUS recognized that animal welfare professionals at these societies were consumed with the day-to-day tasks of community animal care and control. No organization gave a national voice and coast-to-coast muscle in the fight against cruelty and the celebration of the human-animal bond. The founding mission of The HSUS was to support the work of local societies by speaking with just such a voice.
Today, recognizing that local animal shelters cannot handle all animal needs by themselves, The HSUS and its partner, The Fund for Animals, provide sanctuary and direct care to thousands of creatures, big and small—making the duo among the largest and most diverse sanctuary operators in the United States. The HSUS and The Fund operate the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in east Texas, which is permanent home to more than 1,300 rescued animals, and two Wildlife Centers in southern California and Cape Cod, Mass., which provide medical treatment to thousands of injured animals each year. These sanctuaries support local, state and national law enforcement officials as well as wildlife agencies and local shelters when they are confronted with wild and exotic animals in need, or in large-scale instances of animal cruelty. The HSUS/Fund partnership also supports a Rabbit Sanctuary in South Carolina.
Additionally, The HSUS and The Fund operate the Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program, which provides no-cost medical care for dogs and cats in low-income communities across the nation and around the globe which typically are not served by veterinarians. In 2006, the RAVS program worked with nearly 1,000 volunteer veterinarians and veterinary students to provide $1.3 million in free medical services. More than 40,000 animals are served by The HSUS' RAVS program each year and approximately 25 percent of U.S. veterinary students participate in it.
