Essay Sample about Friends of Animals

Have you ever wondered about how animal advocacy groups started?  Back in the 50s one was formed by a woman called Friends of Animals.  Many pet owners and wild animals are helped today by her organization. The friends of Animals of Metro Detroit are a local non-profit organization that helps in animal cruelty cases and exploitation. Originally it was for low cost spray and neuters helping out pet owners. Friends of Animals started in 1957 in the state of New York as an animal advocacy organization.  Its founder is Alice Herrington, she was a woman in New Jersey. Although Friends of Animals started off local and small It has grown into an international project.  The organization's purpose was to protect cats and dogs from being strays, Now, the organization provides low-cost spaying and neutering services for strays across the world with its own clinic with over 2.8 million procedures. Over the years Friends of Animals has added on wildlife protection, habitats that are endangered, and veganism to its advocacy. FOA (Friends of Animals) is also a huge contributor to climate change, deforestation, fossil fuels, and animal agriculture. FOA assists in taking in and caring for exotic animals that have been brought here illegally, some brought to them by law and others by private owners that can no longer safely care for them. 

In San Antonio FOA has a sanctuary for primates, primates are high illegal trade due to their use in entertainment, trade, and research for medical purposes.  In Africa, they also have a chimpanzee rehabilitation for the last 30 years and another to aid in three endangered antelope species. FOA has drilled wells and built latrines to assist in keeping water supplied for humans, leaving the natural sources for the chimpanzees. They are in contact with their members regarding animal advocacy and updates of different programs that they are working on. After all this time, I am thankful such an organization exists, otherwise there would have been millions of babies born to those animals that had never been fixed. Once FOA took on exotic animals, it really started to grow, internationally and locally in the United States. Friends of America has constant contact with all its sponsors, workers and Media accounts to update on new issues or projects. FOA also has a magazine called Action Line on their website to share new information. 

Being supported completely by membership, grants, and fundraisers, they depend on those who are concerned with animal advocacy. FOA also encourages those to support their mission, volunteer as representatives to help in their spay/neuter project.  Every year FOA meets the needs and concerns of more animals on various fronts than any other advocacy group. The FoA website is full of photographs and updates on many of their US and worldwide projects to aid animals. Her legacy of helping animals has grown from a small idea to a worldwide project helping any animal that has needed it and FOA will continue to aid any animal or country to make the world a better place for all that are living. Without Alice Herringtons desire to help out the high cost of spay and neutering over 63 thousand dogs and cats, the entire world would be completely different today. Friends of Animals has made such an impact on so many species of animals over the last 63 years. 

We all should have such a desire to make a change for the better. If FoA had not been just an idea, many dogs and cats would have been born to be homeless or euthanized from the overfilling of shelters, not to forget the exotics she has made homes for regardless of the reason they needed assistance. It does not take a great person to have an idea, it takes only one average person with a great idea to make a huge change in our world, Friends of Animals is an organization that  has shown being empathetic and proactive can make a huge difference.