Creating a humane nation, one community at a time.
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We know it can be done. On January 16, 2007, Richmond SPCA CEO Robin Starr announced that no healthy homeless pet was killed in Richmond in 2006. This coveted goal, shared by communities across the country, was achieved just four years after the Richmond SPCA made a public commitment to end euthanasia of healthy homeless animals throughout the city by 2008. Now the ASPCA has launched ASPCA® Mission: Orange™, a focused effort to create a country of humane communities like Richmond where animals receive the compassion and respect due to them as sentient beings, and where there is no more unnecessary euthanasia of adoptable animals simply because of a lack of resources or awareness. How ASPCA Mission: Orange Works ASPCA Mission: Orange Target Communities What ASPCA Mission: Orange Can Do for You Right Now How ASPCA Mission: Orange Works All animal welfare organizations agree that the animals most at risk for euthanasia today are homeless animals, many of whom are in shelters across the country. Beginning in 2007, the ASPCA is focusing the bulk of its resources on improving the save rate for shelter animals in targeted communities by providing mentoring services and financial support for animal-welfare efforts and education. Efforts in each targeted community are collaborations among all leading community agencies and organizations that share the common goal of improving save rates for shelter animals, regardless of their individual philosophies. Rescues are encouraged to join in the community-wide initiatives. Efforts must be measurable and sustainable. Overall, based on shelter statistics, the common goal is to increase each targeted community’s shelter adoption rate by at least 10 percent by the end of 2007, and to move toward a community-wide 75 percent save rate by 2010. The Richmond SPCA serves as the program’s learning laboratory where representatives from the target communities can visit and observe, first-hand, the programs and procedures that have enabled the City of Richmond to achieve one of the highest save-rates in the nation. In addition, Richmond SPCA and ASPCA staff travel to the target communities for on-site consultations. ASPCA Mission: Orange Target Communities The ASPCA invests up to $200,000 in each of the target communities to help them build capacity so they can not only reach, but maintain, humane community status. Since each target community has a different environment and needs, the ASPCA collaborates with partners in each community to develop programs and resources that will be most effective in helping that community reach its goals. These may include board development and strategic planning, Safety Net programs to keep animals out of shelters, Meet Your Match™ Adoption Program and SAFER™ program to increase adoptions, and a variety of other training opportunities. The ASPCA has made a three-year commitment to each of the 2007 target communities. As work in these communities progresses and they move toward a sustainable model, the ASPCA will begin assessing other communities for inclusion in the program. These assessments could begin in 2008, depending upon staffing and resources. In addition, the ASPCA continues to put the principles behind ASPCA Mission: Orange to work in New York City as a member of the Mayor’s Alliance for the Animals. What ASPCA Mission: Orange Can Do for You Right Now You do not have to be in a targeted community to begin moving toward humane community status. Many of the programs and strategies that worked for the City of Richmond are detailed on this web site, for you to adopt or adapt. Some of these strategies can be instituted with little or no expenditure of funds. Others may take more time or require more resources. In particular, we have documented the outstanding leadership of the Richmond SPCA in ending the euthanasia of homeless, healthy animals in the City of Richmond, VA, in just four years. We offer a series of articles that: Walk you step-by-step through the process Richmond SPCA went through to transform both their organization and their community Provide detailed information, resources, and samples for Richmond SPCA’s most successful programs, such as their Safety Net programs that keep animals out of shelters In addition, as ASPCA Mission: Orange proceeds, programs conducted in the target communities, as well as additional resources and measured results, will be available on this website. And, of course, the ASPCA will continue to offer such national programs as ASPCA Meet Your Match™ Adoption Program, spay/neuter initiatives, anti-cruelty trainings, and workshops and consults addressing shelter veterinary medicine. |