The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States ( HSUS ) is an organization in the United States whose goal is the protection of animals and the use of their well-being. With 10.6 million members and a budget of around 120 million U.S. dollars, the HSUS, which describes itself as an organization of the mainstream, the largest animal rights organization in the world. Headquarters of the organization founded in 1954 is the U.S. capital of Washington DC.
Objectives
The specific objectives of the Humane Society in the field of animal protection are manifold. Thus, the organization has, for example, a for responsible keeping of pet animals and against their extensive breeding. The breeding of animals for their fur in use as well as cock fighting, dog fighting, bullfighting and similar forms of exploitation of animals for entertainment purposes.
In the area of agricultural breeding of farm animals and the use of laboratory animals in biomedical research, the Humane Society is committed to the broadest possible reduction of the associated pain and suffering of animals, rejects these forms of animal use but not on principle. A similarly pragmatic approach pursues the organization in the field of hunting and fishing. In these activities is the goal, especially avoiding unnecessary suffering and particularly cruel methods. Especially in its objectives in these areas, the HSUS from different organizations with a more radical understanding of animal welfare such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA ).
Other objectives include the protection of endangered wildlife, the use against improper trading in captive wild animals as well as on the trade in products made from wild animals, and the improvement of the situation of animals in zoos, dolphins and similar institutions.
Activities
Basis for the practical operation of the Humane Society is a pragmatic approach that focuses primarily on small and gradual improvements. One of the most outstanding and öffentlichkeitswirksamsten activities include the nationwide operation of animal shelters in the United States, in cases where pet animals exposed to medical care and malnutrition. Other important actions are campaigns for the adoption of new animal protection laws, public relations to inform the public about methods of containment and treatment of animals, and working with teachers and schools in the field of education of children in favor of a human handling of animals.
The Humane Society is a nonprofit organization and is financed solely by membership dues, donations, bequests and public support. It is headed by an existing 27-member board and divided into seven regional offices and local structures on site. The organization publishes the members' magazine "All Animals" and the magazine "Animal Sheltering " for all people engaged in private practice in animal welfare. It also presents the Genesis Awards ceremonies.
Violence against people or the threat thereof, and other forms of illegal activities to achieve their goals rejects the organization strictly.
History
The Humane Society of the United States was founded in 1954 by a small group led by journalist Fred Myers. The philosophical foundations were, inter alia, the claim of " respect for life " of the physician and theologian Albert Schweitzer and the ideas of the American writer Joseph Wood Krutch, who propagated above all a profound respect for the wilderness and in non-human life. Among the first success was the adoption of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, a law which required new standards in the field of slaughter of farm animals, only four years after the founding of the organization.
Among the most famous actions recently counted among other things, in September 2005, the use of the organization to the rescue of pets that were left behind during Hurricane Katrina in the southern United States by their owners. As a direct consequence, it came about a year later to adopt a law, are required by all relevant authorities and organizations to include the appropriate rescue and care of pets in their planning for disaster protection.