« The Lies Wild Animal Collectors Tell | Main | Hawk Rescue »
Animal Welfare or Human Welfare?
People outside of the animal welfare field frequently hold the view that animal rescue is of less importance than other nonprofit enterprises, because it does not benefit people. Many even go so far as to suggest that those of us who work in this field do so because we dislike human beings, or because of some deep, emotional pain we received at the hands of our own species. It seems a valid theory at its face value, until you find out what sanctuaries and other animal welfare organizations actually do. Animal welfare is not just for the benefit of animals; we serve people, too.
There are many examples; take natural disasters, for instance, when animal welfare organizations are called upon to reunite pets with their owners. In the past, when people were evacuated to emergency shelters, pets were not allowed, and as a result, many people refused to leave their homes. It became immediately clear how important their pets were to them. After the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina in 2005, the importance of companion animals in people's lives was finally recognized, and in 2006, the PETS Act was passed, requiring that emergency preparedness authorities include pets in their evacuation plans. To reinforce the legislation, a disaster plan for pets is now required in order to receive grant money from FEMA.
In the case of non-companion animals, animal welfare groups help people in a different way, by keeping the animals away from them. Sanctuaries are filled with dangerous animals; some are powerful predators, some have venoms they use for defense, and others carry potentially fatal diseases that can be transmitted to humans, pets, or livestock. While a sanctuary's primary purpose is the welfare of the animal, public health and safety are also very real motivations.
It is well established that murderers and other violent criminals usually get their start by abusing animals. Animal welfare organizations and law enforcement agencies work together to stop the cycle before it escalates from animal abuse to human abuse.
Education is also a part of any legitimate animal welfare program, and its purpose is not only to encourage people to treat animals better, but to prevent them from making poor decisions that could one day result in their serious injury or death. In addition, this service is provided simply to enrich the lives of children and adults, and if it leads them to seek careers or volunteer opportunities in animal welfare or conservation, so much the better.
We've established that animal welfare work is work for the benefit of the human community as well, but as animal welfare professionals, we also spend the majority of our time working with people, not animals. So much for escaping those horrible human beings: staff, volunteers, board members, students, government agencies, foundations, donors, vendors, press, not to mention the opposition: exotic animal dealers, backyard breeders, smugglers, fur farms, auction houses, hunting ranches... that's a long list of human beings.
The truth is that we work with animals because we like them and we care about their wellbeing, not because we dislike people. In fact, most of the animal welfare professionals and volunteers we know are also involved with various human rights and human services organizations. We certainly aren't trying to escape from anyone; there are much easier and less expensive ways to do that.
Posted on January 17, 2007
