2006 Year in Review

CLEVELAND AMORY BLACK BEAUTY RANCH Welders finish the roof of the new chimpanzee enclosure at Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

Here are some of the highlights of 2006 for The Fund for Animals' five direct care centers and litigation efforts. Click here to watch a short slideshow.

Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch (Murchison, TX)

• A new chimpanzee enclosure, poultry barn, tortoise yard and barn, elephant sandbox, and other animal facilities have improved the lives of numerous residents.
• Additions to ranch facilities such as new fencing and utilities upgrades also provide a safer and more comfortable overall environment for our residents.
• Making Burros Fly: In a new book published this year, author Julie Hoffman Marshall highlights The Fund for Animals' founder, Cleveland Amory, in his life's efforts to save animals, establish the Black Beauty Ranch, and play an historic role in the animal protection movement.

Fund for Animals Wildlife Center (Ramona, CA)

• In 2006, thanks to a generous grant from the County of San Diego and Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, we conduced a much-needed road repair at the north end of property, we added perimeter fencing around the entire 13 acres of the wildlife center, and we constructed two high security enclosures for the rescue and rehabilitation of larger species such as bobcat and mountain lion.
• In the fall, a charity golf tournament was held and participants contributed nearly $20,000 toward the purchase of a new pick up truck.
  Over 500 predatory birds and mammals were accepted for rehabilitation in 2006, helping achieve our goal to rescue and care for animals in need.

Cape Wildlife Center (West Barnstable, MA)

• We secured a property to relocate the Cape Wildlife Center to a new and expanded facility. At this higher profile facility, we will expand the numbers of animals served and numbers of students trained in wildlife medicine, advocacy, and humane education.  We will proactively assist community members in humane resolution of wildlife conflicts.
  In 2006 the Cape Wildlife Center admitted nearly 2,000 animals to our Wildlife Clinic and trained over 20 vet, vet tech, and undergraduate students as well as 45 wildlife rehabilitators.
• We participated in collaborative initiatives in monitoring animal and public health concerns with Tufts University and others on issues as diverse as Bird Flu monitoring and response protocols, Rabies monitoring and field vaccination, and disease related mortality in sea birds.

Rabbit Sanctuary (Simpsonvile, SC)

• We welcomed rabbits rescued from 2005?s Hurricane Katrina. Our annual Open House fundraiser, a "Picnic with the Rabbits," was a terrific event and featured Erin Williams, Marketing Outreach Coordinator for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). We also received assistance from The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust, which helped us develop a conservation easement to preserve the sanctuary's 30 acres.
• We also received architectural drawings for a  proposed  annex to the health care building. We hope to begin building this in the spring of 2007.
• At our first yard sale, volunteers donated items and their time, and we  raised $400. Also, in the summer, a family who wanted to start volunteering contacted us. Their 11 year-old son, an animal lover, asked for donations to the sanctuary for his birthday gifts. He donated $200 from his unselfish gesture.

Rural Area Veterinary Services (global)

• In 2006, the program's seven staff members and more than 900 volunteers provided veterinary care for animals in over 50 communities where no other animal services exist, including communities on Native American reservations throughout the United States, in rural Appalachian counties, remote villages in Guatemala, and island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Litigation on behalf of The Fund for Animals

Our team of Fund attorneys has an active docket of fifteen cases to help animals in the courts.  This year, we won a major federal court ruling that the government violated the law by opening or expanding sport hunting at more than three dozen national wildlife refuges over six years.
We have active cases to stop cruelty to circus elephants, to protect imperiled species such as the Florida black bear and Canada lynx, and to stop inhumane sport hunting practices like canned hunts and live pigeon shoots.

In 2005 The Fund for Animals joined forces with The Humane Society of the United States in an exciting new partnership.  Together we helped to launch the Humane Society Legislative Fund, which lobbies for strong animal protection laws at the federal and state levels.  And we were recently joined in 2006 by the Doris Day Animal League, another leading animal protection group. Our family of organizations is helping animals with greater strength by working together.