HSUS, AVAR form veterinary organization
By Gina Spadafori
January 14, 2008
Now this’ll get the animal-bloggers typing, huh? A “corporate combination agreement”? Wow.
Today, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) announced that their respective boards of directors have approved a corporate combination agreement which will result in a powerful new veterinary advocacy organization, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA). HSVMA will give veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary technicians an opportunity to participate in animal welfare programs, including disaster response; expanded hands-on animal care; spaying and neutering; and advocacy for legislative, corporate and veterinary medical school reforms.
“Veterinarians bring a special credibility and authority on animal issues, and I am delighted to add this exciting new operation to The Humane Society of the United States’ family of organizations,” said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. “For 27 years, AVAR has been an important and principled veterinary voice in animal advocacy. Now we will be able to amplify that voice and expand our veterinary-related programs dramatically.”
“For many years, AVAR has worked with a sizable core group of dedicated veterinary advocates, but our ability to reach veterinarians throughout the nation was hampered by our limited resources,” said Dr. Paula Kislak, president of the board of AVAR. “As The Humane Society of the United States invests more resources in veterinary advocacy and we blend our assets with them, I anticipate that we will be able to organize many more thousands of veterinarians in the broader cause of animal protection.” Dr. Kislak will join the board of directors of The HSUS in the near future.
There are approximately 80,000 veterinarians in the United States, and 11,000 of them are already supporters of The HSUS. Since 2002, The HSUS has operated the highly successful Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program, delivering free services to animals and people in remote communities often underserved by veterinarians. In 2007, RAVS delivered more than 30,000 treatments to animals. More than 700 veterinary students a year participate in RAVS program, providing veterinary students with invaluable clinical experience with animals in need. The HSUS also has major collaborative programs with the veterinary schools at Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University.
Here’s the rest. I’d like to be a fly on the wall at the AVMA today. As for the 11,000 veterinarians who “support” the HSUS, I’d bet most are of the “cut ‘em a little check and not think much about it” variety.
Well, this should clarify it for anyone who has had trouble accepting the idea that HSUS has pretty much morphed into an AR organization.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — January 14, 2008 @ 10:51 am
Can someone clarify the difference between the HSUS and the American Humane Society??
Comment by 2CatMom — January 14, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
There is no “American Humane Society.” There’s the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is a mostly local (NYC) sheltering and rescue organization with some national outreach programs.
And there’s the American Humane Association, which is interesting because its original purpose for formation was better treatment of CHILDREN and ANIMALS. (Still part of the program, although probably animal-related efforts are better known, and surely the word “humane” these days means “animals” to most people.)
The ASPCA (or the “A” as it’s called) is the oldest. AHA next. HSUS is a relative newcomer, but arguably now along with PETA (and even more recently formed group) is the most influencial of the lot.
We recommend reading deeply into the Web sites and annual tax filings of any charity or advocacy group, to ensure your donations are being spent wisely (programs over excutive salaries) and in line with your beliefs. Advocacy groups (and not just animal-related ones) often try to show different faces to different audiences, to maximize the donations.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 14, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
American Humane: http://www.americanhumane.org
ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org
Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org/
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: http://www.peta.org/
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 14, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
I wonder where they get the 11K number [of supporters of the HSUS] from. Maybe the number of different DVM’s who contacted them in any way, shape, or form? Or, as Gina suggested, checks from vets.
In any case, I guess we can infer that if 11K veterinarians support them, then 69K don’t?
Sorry, while the intent might be good, I would have much preferred to have heard that this new organization was to be for the development of a collateral organization that would document DVM records, alerts, and create an “early warning system” so that DVM’s will never again be in the dark in the event of an epidemic.
Let’s not forget that PETA is not for animal welfare, but rather their mission is geared towards animal rights.
Comment by Lynn — January 14, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
Thanks for the info on the organizations. The reason I asked is that I received an email from the AHA promoting their version of No Kill. At first I thought it was from the HSUS - then I realized it wasn’t. I don’t know enough about AHA to know whether this is a sincere effort or just riding the No Kill bandwagon for donations.
Comment by 2CatMom — January 14, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
2cat … we got that, too. Not quite sure what to make of it, but in any case it’s good news to have more on board with no-kill, whatever they’re calling it.
As for the various groups, you BET it’s confusing. And that’s no accident. Advocacy groups want to be all things to all people, because the more you sway, the more will pay.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 14, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
RE Comment by 2CatMom — January 14, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
Beware, the AHA may well be pushing the “Asilomar Accords” which they’ve been promoting since 2004. This is different from Winograd’s solution. Check out the chapter beginning on page 145 of Winograd’s book to see what [as of mid 2007]the AHA was up to.
Comment by Lynn — January 14, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
I believe AHA also came out in favor of CA AB #1634.
Comment by deb — January 15, 2008 @ 5:16 am
I’ve never been able to bring myself to do a RAVS trip because they are an HSUS program, but I’ve always felt bad about it… that maybe RAVS is only tangentially related to HSUS, that maybe you can have a good cause supported by funds from a not-so-good organization…
This certainly is a nail in the coffin for me. No RAVS, I will get surgical experiences elsewhere.
Comment by Megan — January 15, 2008 @ 5:49 am
This is wonderful news! The AVMA has not been serving our pets and is too bogged down in bureaucracy. It’s time for a change.
Related blog post: http://vegtalk.blogspot.com/20.....orces.html.
Comment by Billy — February 8, 2008 @ 5:26 pm