HSUS Comes to Aid of Gulf Coast Pets
Louisiana and Mississippi Target Of Funding Efforts
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been busy. Since September 2005, it has committed or spent more than $34 million on helping animals in the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana and Missisippi, enhancing disaster response capacities and changing public policy regarding animals in disasters. The programs HSUS has helped build in the past three years mean hope for animals in these states whether there is another hurricane or not.
Prevention and Aid
HSUS is providing financing and expertise in the following programs: spaying and neutering, grants to local societies, partnerships with veterinary schools, continuing education for shelter workers, assistance and consultation on shelter management, construction of emergency facilities, and efforts to strengthen animal protection legislation.
One such program is After Katrina, focusing on spaying and neutering animals in Louisiana and Mississippi. A $2 million awareness campaign will begin this fall, in hopes of getting people to spay/neuter their pets.
The research for this project was underwritten by a grant from Maddie's Fund and the Pet Rescue Foundation. Fifty-seven shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi participating in a six-year project were awarded $907,000 worth of unrestricted grants. HSUS conducted studies of how people acquire their pets, whether they spay/neuter them, how many pets they have and how many pets are homeless.
Shelter Help
In addition, HSUS has funded programs in shelter medicine at the veterinary schools of Louisiana State University (LSU) and Mississippi State University (MSU). Educating veterinary students about humane issues such as animal wellness, population dynamics, disaster medicine, animal behavior and animal welfare is the goal.
In the past 18 months, LSU has brought about 872 sterilizations, for an average of 25 surgeries per week. Veterninary students have conducted over 1,000 basic wellness exams on animals in Louisiana shelters.
There is a similar shelter-medicine program at MSU. Sixty-two students have spent time working in local shelters under veterinary supervision. Animals at seven different shelters and two animal sanctuaries have been spayed/neutered.
MSU has partnered with a statewide network to provide vouchers for over 150 local veterinarians. As of this date, there have been nearly 7,000 surgeries peformed, for an average of 378 spay/neuters per month.
In addition to these efforts, HSUS is funding a disaster overflow shelter at Dixon Correctional Institute (DCI) in Jackson, LA. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is going to assist in building a small veterinary clinic and animal shelter for East Feliciana Parish.
According to a story HSUS' website, "animal welfare in Louisiana and Mississippi has been an urgent priority for The HSUS. and its program investments are helping to bring about a new dawn in animal care. It started with Katrina, but our work carries on."
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