Some animal organizations focus on rescuing stray animals, while others provide free medical care. But one of the bravest ways to help animals live better lives is to fight for animal rights, in court.
This is what Friends of Animals do. They are a non-profit advocacy organization that aims to free animals from cruelty and exploitation.
Find out who Friends of Animals are, how they started, and what you can do to help the charity with their mission.
Who are Friends of Animals?
Friends of Animals are a non-profit, international animal organization based in New York. This wonderful charity advocates for the rights of all animals, free-living and domestic.
They have been a major voice against hunting and animal-killing competitions as well as the exploitation of fur-bearing animals.
In court, the nonprofit group fights to stop the roundup of wild horses on federal public lands as well as the US government’s wildlife-killing program that targets wolves, coyotes, cougars, birds and other wild animals.
Besides legal victories, education is also essential to the Friends of Animals mission. They conduct outreach efforts and give out educational brochures to inform Americans about wild horses and human overpopulation.
How Did Friends of Animals Start?
Friends of Animals was established in 1957 by Alice Herrington. Their first advocacy was the protection of cats and dogs.
The organization also started a low-cost spaying and neutering project. Their goal is to cut down the number of strays across the nation.
Expanding from New York, Friends of Animals decided to build a clinic in Neptune, New Jersey. It started assisting in more than 2.5 million spay/neuter procedures.
They have since evolved their mission into placing the preservation of critical habitat, the protection of wildlife, and veganism at the center of animal advocacy.
They also address the main human-caused climate change drivers: deforestation, animal husbandry, and fossil fuels.
What Do Friends of Animals Do?
Friends of Animals’ primary goal is to free animals from exploitation and cruelty worldwide.
Their current work includes numerous initiatives by their Wildlife Law Program and policy and legislative outreach on significant issues such as outlawing the selling of fur and the importation of African Big 5 animals as trophies.
A recent victory is their spay/neuter program. This is the most effective way to prevent pet homelessness in America. They have given out nearly 14,000 certificates during the pandemic, which is a 30% increase on the previous year.
The charity is also in court fighting on a number of important issues, including:
- Fighting for the lives of wild horses being taken from federal public lands via cruel roundups.
- The Flip Off Fur campaign to ban the sale of fur in NYC.
- A successful effort to overturn a rule that forced artists who entered the Federal Duck Stamp Contest to promote hunting.
- Introduction of the Big 5 African Trophies Act in 2021 preventing Connecticut trophy hunters from selling the body parts of the Big 5.
- Fighting for the lives of horses exploited by the NYC carriage horse industry.
- Supporting a bill introduced that would shut down commercial wildlife markets and end the import, export and sale of live wildlife for human consumption.
- Working on a local, state and national level to ban the use of harmful pesticides on public lands.
- Proposing legislation to ban the harvest of horseshoe crabs from along Connecticut’s shoreline.
- Helping form the Connecticut Coalition to Protect Black Bears from hunting.
- Protecting threatened and endangered species with sanctuaries and projects around the world.
Check out Friends of Animals’ Facebook page for updates about their upcoming events. Be sure to spread the word about the foundation too.
How Can You Help Friends of Animals?
Friends of Animals offers a few ways for anyone to get involved and help them with their crusades.
Donations
You can donate online to the organization via credit card or PayPal.
By donating $25 to the charity, you can receive a subscription to their quarterly magazine, Action Line. You also become a member of Friends of Animals.
The donation page also lets you choose between one-time and recurring donations.
The financial support goes to their many projects, such as the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project, Anti-Hunting Advocacy, and Wildlife Law Program.
Bequest
Another way to support Friends of Animals is by making a bequest. The organization can actively meet the needs of more animals with an enduring gift to the organization.
You can structure your will as follows:
- A specific dollar amount or property.
- A percentage of your estate.
- A percentage of your residuary estate.
Beneficiary
You may also name Friends of Animals as a beneficiary on your life insurance and retirement accounts.
No matter how large or small, any gift is valuable to the animals that Friends of Animals works to protect.
Contact an estate attorney for professional advice to finalize your will.
Learn more about making a bequest here.
Education
Giving donations is not the only way to help Friends of Animals. By simply educating yourself and your friends about the organization’s campaigns, you’ll help gain more supporters.
You can find plenty of educational resources here to get you started.
Sign up to their email list for regular updates.
Or you can show your support with merchandise from their shop.
Spread the Word
The easiest and most affordable (in fact, it’s free) way to help out Friends of Animals is by helping them raise awareness for their causes.
You can follow their social media pages here:
If you want to support Friends of Animals, share their events and advocacies with your friends and followers.