I looked up the next organization on the Coalition for Consumer Information in Cosmetics member organization list, and it is the American Humane Association, which I’ve written about before in my post on Clover milk. Quick recap: the American Humane Association is not the American Humane Society or the Humane Society of the United States, which are two entirely different pro-animal-welfare societies. Instead, the AHA is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals (I find this interesting because I’ve seen numerous situations where child-welfare-activists and animal-welfare-activists end up opposing each other). It’s been around since 1877 and is headquartered in Denver. Its focus is to develop policies, legislation, curricula, and training programs to protect children and animals from cruelty, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Many community humane societies, animal control agencies, and SPCAs are member organizations of the AHA. The AHA also raises awareness about animal abuse, the link between animal abuse and other forms of violence, and the benefits of animal-human interactions.

According to its website, the American Humane Association is involved in numerous animal welfare projects. It has developed the “free farmed award” which is given to farms that are certified to have a commitment to the well-being of farm animals — their farm animals are raised humanely in cage-free environments, live and grow in a humane environment under conditions and care that limit stress, enjoy a healthy life, benefit from disease and injury prevention and rapid diagnoses and treatment, have ready access to fresh water and a diet that maintains full health and vigor, and are free to “express normal behaviors and live in an appropriate and comfortable environment that includes sufficient space, proper facilities, shelter, a resting area, and company of the animals’ own kind.” The free farmed certified farms are: American Grass Fed Beef (Doniphan, Missouri) (Beef), Morris Grassfed Beef (San Juan Bautista, CA) (Beef), Nature’s Premier Organic (Frankenmuth, MI) (Chicken), Springer Mountain Farms (Baldwin, GA) (Chicken), Clover Stornetta Farms (Petaluma, CA) (Dairy), Kleinpeter Dairy (Baton Rouge, LA) (Dairy), Humboldt Creamery (Fortuna, CA) (Dairy), Rumiano Cheese Company (Crescent City, CA) (Dairy), Loleta Cheese Company (Loleta, CA) (Dairy), Gemperle Farms (Turlock, CA) (Eggs), Leidy’s Nature’s Tradition (Souderton, PA) (Pork), and Plainville Farms (Plainville, NY) (Turkey).

The American Humane Association also runs Red Star Animal Emergency Services, which coordinates temporary shelter facilities and rescues stranded animals after disasters happen, the Second Chance Fund, which provides financial assistance to shelters to cover the costs of veterinary bills for their rescued animals, and a number of public awareness events — Pets and Pals Photo Contest, Adopt-a-Cat Month, Be Kind to Animals Week (only a week?), Every Day is Tag Day, and Adopt-a-Dog Month. It is also involved in some kind of television joint venture with Animal Planet called ROAR, and is the authority behind the “No Animals Were Harmed” End Credit Disclaimer in movies.

The American Humane Association also has a Public Policy Office with an interesting “take action” section — right now it has a list of federal animal-welfare acts you can write in to support such as the Dog Fighting Prohibition Act — 2007 (HR 3219) which will help eliminate the horrific practice of dogfighting, the Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Act of 2007 – which will establish a national public health campaign to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome, the Human and Pet Food Safety Act of 2007, which will reform safety measures to protect the nation’s food supply for humans and pets, the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which will ensure that all dogs and cats used in research facilities are obtained by legal means, and the Kinship Caregiver Support Act of 2007, which will support grandparents and other relative caregivers. It also has a bunch of state animal-welfare bills you can write in to support.

The American Humane Association has a free e-newsletter (if you sign up for it you get a free keychain). It also has a Visa card that you can buy which will benefit the American Humane Association and give you points, and a Cafepress store where you can buy t-shirts with the American Humane Association logo on them.

You can also join the American Humane Association — it has both animal welfare and child welfare membership programs ($59 per year for an individual, $119 for an agency). If you buy the membership for animal welfare for $59, you get a subscription to American Humane’s Protecting Animals and Humane Review, free access to research, best practices, benchmarking reports, and statistics, access to their email discussion group ShelterTalk, a 15% discount on registration fees for training workshops and the annual conference (which is taking place in Alexandria, VA September 27-29th this year), along with a bunch of other stuff.

Or you can donate to the American Humane Association. The AHA is part of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, has been awarded the Independent Charities “Best in America” Seal of Approval, and has received a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator.

Overall, I think the American Humane Association sounds great — I hope it creates more animal-friendly awards, that businesses try to win those awards, that its public policy objectives all go through, that the Animal Emergency Rescue Service and the Second Chance Fund keep providing their services, and that its Animal Planet and its “no animals were harmed during the making of this movie” projects continue to go well.

Categories : against animal testing, cruelty free