Animal Rights v. Animal Welfare (Part 3 of 3)

As suggested by Parts 1 and 2 of this post, the web of Rights vs. Welfare is a bit more tangled than the strict definitions might lead the donor to believe.

The discerning donor must carefully consider his or her ideals before deciding which movement, institution, and/or piece of legislation to support. Even if he or she merely wants to support the local shelter or humane society, a “No-kill” shelter ascribes to vastly different policies and practices than an “open admission” shelter. Depending on the philosophy of your chosen animal-protection non-profit, your dollars might in fact support polar opposites in activism. PETA, for example, might use its money to lobby for mandatory spay and neutering laws while the ADOA might use its money to fight the exact same legislation.

For a full list of current topics, issues, and causes related to animal philanthropy, I suggest visiting the animal grantmakers website: www.animalgrantmakers.org.

This is the third of a three part post written by PhilanthroMedia's Chad Callaghan.

Susan Herr