A humane society is a group that aims to stop animal and human suffering due to cruelty or other reasons. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up cruelty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Examples

Examples of humane societies include: American Humane which was founded in 1877 as a network of local organizations to prevent cruelty to children and animals, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The American Humane Association is an organization founded in 1877 dedicated to the welfare of animals and children. ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (usually referred to as the ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the abuse of animals. ...

Many local humane societies were founded earlier, and are independent of these similarly named organizations. Therefore local humane groups called SPCA or Humane Society are not related to the national groups such as the Humane Society of the United States or the ASPCA.

Purpose

National organizations primarily work on big picture approach including research, public education and assisting local shelters and rescue groups. Local groups primarily handle the actual care (housing, adoption, and euthanasia) of animals, but their programs may also include education and outreach to the public. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

There are municipal and private run shelters. Not all local groups euthanize. Municipal shelters "must" accept all animals given up by the public, but private shelters are not required to do so, unless they are contracted with their municipality.

No Kill Policy

Some shelters refer to themselves as "no kill." However this does not necessarily mean that the problem of unwanted animals has been resolved in their community. Unless the "whole" community can claim that enough new good homes can be found for all the animals that are taken to shelters, "no kill" is a business choice of that particular shelter, as other shelters will likely pick up the rest of the unwanted animals in that community.

See also

• animal cruelty

Cruelty to animals refers to treatment which causes unacceptable suffering to animals. ...

External links

• Humane Society of the United States
• American Humane
• American Partnership for Pets
• Prevent a Litter Coalition (PaLC) Inc.
• Pets 911 national directory searchable by zip code
• Animal Welfare Institute