In 2021 alone, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in the United Kingdom gave 1.8 million treatments to more than 370,000 pets in need — 10 pets a minute, one pet every six seconds. The lives of 134,00 pets were saved.
That same year, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) rescued an estimated 60,000 animals — over 160 each day — and investigated about six animal cruelty complaints every hour. They set up 4,000 pets every month in new homes and released 7,000 rehabbed animals back into the wild.
Now imagine what they can accomplish together. Jonathan Kent Police reports that in 2022, the organization announced a life-saving partnership, establishing the PDSA as the go-to source of critical care needed for the 60,000 animals rescued from neglect and cruelty every year by the RSPCA.
In the constant struggle to help some of the world’s most vulnerable animals, it’s tireless animal rescue organizations that continue to lead the way.
Rescue Fundamentals
The PDSA and the RSPCA are just two of the thousands of organizations big and small protecting and saving animals from abuse, abandonment, and pain.
It’s not an easy task. Organizations don’t stop working after a rescue or when they find an animal a new safe and loving home. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is dedicated to educating citizens about the importance of proper care to lower the current rate of 6.3 million pets sent to community shelters.
That includes offering such services as spaying and neutering, ending the trauma that usually results from animals born in puppy mills or forced into dog fighting, and teaching owners about the behavioral and financial commitments that come with animals, so they are not surrendered frequently.
Rescue coordinators also work at shelters and serve in similar roles to those working at rescue groups. The renowned rescue team at the Humane Society of the United States is trained to assist in emergencies such as natural disasters.
Working with local organizations and agencies, the team helps owners and towns prepare before a storm, gathering food to store, testing emergency precautions and outlining plans for evacuation in cases of flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Sometimes, the team is deployed in cases of severe neglect and cruelty and to break up animal fighting rings.
Shelters vs. Rescues
However, there is a difference between rescue and shelter organizations. While shelters provide housing for animals on-site, rescue organizations rarely do. While some shelter organizations may be rescue organizations, rescue organizations rarely double as shelters. In addition, several rescues work closely with other types of animal boarding facilities that share the fundamental goal of helping any animal that needs it.
Global Presence
Animal rescue organizations aren’t limited to protecting and safeguarding companion animals. Groups such as International Animal Rescue focus on the increasing number of animals that are vulnerable, endangered, or at strong risk of extinction.
They travel to Africa to halt the poaching of rhinos and elephants for ivory, fight to release bears kept in captivity illegally in India, and rehabilitate injured orangutans in Indonesia.
The ultimate goal: creating a more lasting, sustainable, and animal-friendly world.
