CALIFORNIA- When you see those sad commercials on television featuring Sarah McLachlan talking about abused animals many of you want to help. But the State Humane Association of California is taking issue with where the money is not going.
The commercials are a fundraising effort for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the ASPCA, but a complaint filed with the Attorney General claims that when people donate to the ASPCA they think that they are donating to their local SPCA.
In the claim, it states that, according to the ASPCA, it received $116.5 million in revenue in 2009. However, in 2010, California received a total of only $352,100 from the ASPCA, or 0.3% of its revenue.
"Ever since the ASPCA began to aggressively fundraiser several years ago, humane societies and SPCAs throughout the country have suffered," explained Erica Gaudet Hughes, Executive Director of the State Humane Association of California.
The commercials do not reveal that the ASPCA is not directly affiliated with any of the thousands of humane societies and SPCAs across the country. "Our member humane societies and SPCAs frequently report hearing from people who gave to the ASPCA believing they were giving to their local shelter," said Hughes.
The State Humane Association of California does not take issue with the work that the ASPCA does. However, they simply want the ASPCA to stop capitalizing on and reinforcing public confusion regarding its relationship to local SPCAs and humane societies.
Founded in 1909, the State Humane Association of California represents the interests of California's humane societies and SPCAs, all of which are individually incorporated and not affiliated with any national animal-welfare groups.
The following is a statement from the ASPCA:
"While the ASPCA® has not seen the actual complaint, based solely on the press release, we believe their claims are incorrect and completely without merit.
The ASPCA is a national organization founded in 1866 as the first animal welfare organization in the Americas dedicated to helping animals throughout the country wherever there is a need. Our activities include funding programs connected to local shelters nationwide, but also encompass a wide range of other activities that are vital to the care and safety of animals.
The ASPCA is among the top three providers of grant funds to local animal welfare organizations in the U.S. In California alone, the ASPCA's average grant total per year for the past four years will be nearly $1 million by the end of 2011. The ASPCA has already pledged a total of $4.2 million through 230 grants nationwide so far in 2011, including $250,000 in grants to animal shelters and rescue groups in the Los Angeles-area with funding aimed at saving the lives of animals in the Los Angeles community.
While we do not have a formal affiliation with local SPCAs throughout the country, we assist SPCAs, humane societies and local shelters around the country financially, as well as provide human and other non-monetary resources toward animal sheltering programs and innovations, legislative issues, anti-cruelty and disaster response efforts on a national scale.
There are many shelters and rescue groups at the local, regional, and national level across the country working to improve the welfare of animals and we work closely with many of them to fulfill our shared mission of saving more lives. We look forward to continuing our critical work with SPCAs and humane societies in California and other states around the country for years to come."
