http://www.veganoutreach.org/

Friends of Animals work to free animals from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation around the world.  They want animals and humans to live together in harmony and respect.  All their services and projects are supported financially through membership contributions and grants.  FOA relies solely are donations from donors and members.  They have been successful in their endeavors since established in 1957.  According to their official website they have continued to support more animal’s years each then any other animal advocacy group of their kind.  They want pet owners and lovers to understand the harmful ways in which animals are being used in society.  They advocate spay/neutering animals and offer locations on their websites that they have partnered with to give such procedures at lower costs.  They advocate for all animals in the world because they do not have a voice of their own to protect themselves from the injustices that many people put them through.  FOA has worked with legislation to look for alternatives to animal testing to preserve and protect wild animals.  I believe that they have been effective seeing as how since 1957 they have facilitated over two million spay/neuter procedures.  They have expanded their advocacy from originally concerning themselves on spay/neuter procedures to animal’s welfare in general.  They continue to educate the public through their work and are involved in a multitude of programs all over the globe.   

http://www.aspca.org 

          I have chosen to write about the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The ASPCA  provides educational resources on pet care and rescues animals that are at risk or have been victimized by animal cruelty.  This organization also provides  medical care and other rehabilitation services to its rescues. I believe the ASPCA's audience are people that have pets and people that have a soft spot for animals. The ASPCA makes most of its money from donations, charitable walks, and their involovement in cable television programs like "Animal Precinct" shown on Animal Planet. This organization uses non-violent methods to reach its audience. The ASPCA uses commericals that are broadcasted on television and the internet to share their messages. These commercials are often graphic and emotional to the viewer. I personally have to change the channel when I see these commericials. They make me want to cry. I  can't believe what some people do their animals.  

          I could not find exact information on the ASPCA's yearly budget. The estimates that I have read place the ASPCA's budget to about 60 million per year. I believe this organization is both effective and sucessful. One indicator is their large budget. I think the ASPCA has made people more aware of what animal cruelty is, how to spot it, and the legal effects of such horrific actions. I just wish the ASPCA would expand their focus by including more on farm and labatory animals.

For my non-governmental organization, I chose to research IDA or "In Defense of Animals"  This NGO was founded by Dr Elliot Katz in 1983 in San Rafael, California.  The IDA organization has an annual budget of $650,000 taking in donations from its 60,000 members.  Their mission statement reads; "Our mission is to end animal exploitation, cruelty, and abuse by protecting and advocating for the rights, welfare, and habitats of animals, as well as to raise their status beyond mere property, commodities, or things." (www.idausa.org) The group has become widely known for its efforts to stop scientists and labs from experimenting on animals.  Some of their most recent victories have been saving two very sick and abused elephants from a circus in Asia.  The IDA has also managed to bring public sctrutiny to the mistreatment of chimpanzees in Cameroon as well as the killing of dolphins in Japan.  Moreover this group fights internationally to protect all animals from experiments, mistreatment, abuse, being skinned for fur, puppy mills, factory farming, and meat industries.  The IDA has proven to be a very effective organization.  They have accomplished many victories concerning the protection of animals and continue to work valiantly to get there message across.  Though the group has only been around for 30 years they have gained a massive amount of support through their members.  They have many volunteers and receive donations from different places all over the world.  The IDA will only grow larger and be more effective in the protection of animal rights as years go on.

I’m writing about the WWF or world wildlife, and their goal is help preserve nature and all of the animals that reside on this planet. The WWF’s goal is to help inform people so that they preserve natural areas, and allow animals to flourish. Another major goal of the WWF is to help endangered species, because they are on the brink of extinction, and need to be preserved so that they can flourish in the future. The areas that the animals live in is a necessity to their well being and the WWF tries to ensure that their natural habitats will not be destroyed now or in the future. The wildlife must be preserved and the WWF uses many methods to inform the people that any volunteers or money can help the animals that we know and love.

The NGO that I chose was the African Wildlife Foundation, they only focus on the welfare of areas in mostly southern Africa, including countries such as Zambia Botswana and Nambia. The organization works with about six other countries as well. The AWF aims there attention towards Africa's wildlife and its native people. One of the big ideas that AWF's website talks about is empowering its local people, the believe that people who can be protect the wildlife in Africa is the people who are constantly surrounded by it. This organizations provides education and training to conservation professionals, who have aided in the protection of animals such as the elephant and lion. To make money the collect donations as well as sell hand made african objects on their website. It seems that this organization is very successful because they have been around since 1961 when it went by the name of the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation.

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife.aspx

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is an NGO that’s goal is to help and inspire Americans to care about and protect our forests and wildlife.  It’s the nations largest conservation organization and they take on issues ranging from the environment and global warming to invasive or endangered species.  They take donations, and accept volunteers very readily.  

 The Farm Sanctuary is an animal protection organization. It is located in Watkins Glen, New York and has a second farm in California. They are responsible for passing legislation for humane farm conditions in California, Arizona, and Florida. They have also worked to ban force feeding geese to make foie gras. They have 2 rehabilitation shelters for farm animals, one located in Watkins Glen, New York and one in Orland, California. They also sponsor an “adopt a farm animal program” where you can sponsor an animal in the sanctuary.

Most of their funds come from donations and volunteers giving time working on the farms. The farm does not condone theft of animals but will take animals out of bad situations in necessary. I think they’re targeted at people who are compassionate toward animals and probably don’t eat meat. They are working toward a better future for farm animals. I think they’re a very effective organization. Legislation is hard to pass but they are working as hard as they can to give animals fair living conditions. And their farms are outstanding.

AFA, Alliance for animals, is a nonprofit organization that believes all animals, human and non human should not be property of one another. They promote veganism which is not just a diet to them, it is a commitment. Support the moral and ethical treatment of animals and bring attention to the public situations of animal abuse. Strong advocates for nonviolence AFA makes sure all information they present is accurate. Volunteers, donors, and members are what run this company efficiently besides the one part time employee they have. They have many events set up on their website proving that they are effective and progressing in their motives. The events are mostly promoting veganism. I believe that promoting veganism is an important and effective way of promoting the moral treatment and equal view of animals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11113887

The NGO that I choose to look at in particular is the Southern Animal Rights Coalition (SARC) which is an organization that works mostly out of southern England in counties such as Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, West Sussex and Wiltshire. SARC's audience is mostly to those living in the United Kingdom, however it is clear that their message covers the entire globe and not just where they are located. Their core ideals are based on giving animals of all shapes and sizes a life based on their common needs and giving them consideration as to what is in their best interests. Some tactics they use are basically considered against the law, as most of the time if they cannot persuade groups to relinquish the animals they believe are being mistreated, they will trespass on private property and actually “save” the animal. They are concerned mostly with those animals that are being exploited for food, laboratory experiments, and entertainment. This group is clearly sponsored by private donations as well as from the public, as on their site they have a tab which allows anyone to donate money to them. Clearly they are an effective organization, for example in 2007 SARC “saved” several goats in which the Ministry of Defense of England were testing in different diving missions. Then the next year, the English government had stopped this practice although they stated those experiments were “necessary”, which in itself is a bit alarming.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/  

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/16/napolitano-apologizes-offending-veterans-dhs-eyes-rightwing-extremism/

I chose to do Animal Liberation Front.  They are an NGO active mostly in the U.S, Canada and I think have reached into Mexico as well. I chose this link because there was a lot of news about them in the recent years. Before reading the rest of this, check out their page. I'm interested to know what people thought about it. Much like the link to Steve Best's interview on the front page, these guys take a very radical approach. Like most movements, there is always a direct action segment, and that's these guys. They will use the direct action approach to saving and freeing abused and endangered animals.

After checking out their site, look at the second link I posted. This is what the radical right says about their organization. On a technical level, it's just a bastardization of the term "terrorism." Paradoxically, their tactics aren't legal, but are they violent? Does property destruction connote violence and therefor is the word "Terrorist" appropriate? When I say property destruction, don't get me wrong: we are talking about millions of dollars in damage. However, we are also talking about the lives of hundreds of animals. Further, Rolling Stone wrote a great article about their sister organization ELF burning down a ski resort that was built quasi-legally over preservation land. So, again, is this indeed terrorism?

Particularly, I think some media conglomerates can be considered culpable in as a Political Action Committee and therefor, as a marketing agent for right wing NGO's. I say this because in the second article, they are lambasting a report saying that soldiers returning from Iraq are targets for right wing "extremist" recruiting. It's not that what bothers me about the article. What bothers me is the difference in language they use for the right and left. It seems like they are more upset for suggesting the extremist right wing could engage in terrorism, while gracefully glossing over the fact that McVeigh was a right wing terrorist who killed over a hundred people. Further, only mentioning that the anti-abortion activists protest and never mentioning that they have shot and killed doctors. That said, the article finishes by re-affirming where the word terrorist belongs in a domestic setting: attached to the left wing "eco-terrorists," like ELF and ALF (who have never killed or physically harmed a person).