As 2024 comes to a close, we are increasingly alarmed by the growing crisis in animal shelters across the country. Abandonment rates for dogs and cats are skyrocketing, adoptions have slowed, and far too many people are turning to breeders instead of giving shelter animals a chance. Tragically, this has led to an expected increase in euthanasia rates, with more than 850,000 healthy, adoptable animals losing their lives last year due to lack of space.

We have been tackling this crisis head-on with our low-cost spay and neuter program, which prevents overpopulation and reduces shelter overcrowding. We recently gave away 70 spay and neuter certificates to pet owners in need in NYC. We’re also partnering with shelters in need and educating communities about the importance of adopting, not shopping, for pets. But we can’t do it alone.

At Friends of Animals, we refuse to go backwards and we need your help to continue our mission.

Here are just a few of the other ways your donations support our mission to save domestic animals as well as protect wildlife and critical habitat:

• Friends of Animals filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the slaughter of 450,000 barred owls to save northern spotted owls. The agency is scapegoating barred owls instead of addressing habitat loss caused by the logging industry, threatening both barred and northern spotted owls.

• We petitioned the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to list Atlantic horseshoe crabs under the Endangered Species Act. These ancient creatures face threats from overfishing, pharmaceutical exploitation, and habitat loss due to climate change, making federal protection critical.

• Primarily Primates, the sanctuary in Texas we’ve managed since 2007, continues to provide a better future for its residents. Not only did we rescue additional animals, including a kinkajou, two marmosets, and a capuchin, we completed another green space for chimpanzees—Ape Park One. We’re now undertaking a huge project to maintain and improve the enclosures of our 29 chimps. 

• We are working to ban second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in Connecticut by drafting and advocating legislation and leading the “THINK OUTSIDE THE BAIT BOX” education campaign. These toxic baits are killing native raptors and mammals, making action urgent.

• We launched a campaign to make vegan school lunches the norm, securing daily vegan entrée options in Norwalk Public Schools for nearly 12,000 students. We’ve also worked with districts in Middletown, Westport, and Fairfield, CT, as well as Portland, ME, and are pushing for more schools to join in 2025.

• Following a successful lawsuit with WildEarth Guardians, Friends of Animals secured the listing of the queen conch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. he long-overdue listing—which reverses a 2014 finding—means that federal agencies must ensure that activities they carry out, fund or authorize are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species.

Your year-end donation helps us expand these critical programs and save lives. Together, we can ensure that fewer animals face uncertain futures in 2025.

Please make your tax-deductible donation today. Every gift brings us closer to a world where all animals are respected and protected.