OPINION:
A stampede of special interests has descended on Washington as Congress debates a building block of American agriculture: the Farm Bill.
The advocates, predictably, include groups that are directly affected by the legislation’s provisions. Think of soybean and corn growers who are supported by federally backed crop insurance, or farmers who raise dairy cows.
Oddly, nonprofits popularly known for helping homeless pets also have been spotted on Capitol Hill.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which I previously led, is one such anomaly.
As the Farm Bill twists and turns through Congress, the group has weighed in at every opportunity, even urging Americans to contact their elected representatives to influence the proposed package through a flurry of grassroots activity.
Humane World for Animals — better known by its previous name, the Humane Society of the United States — is also sparring with lawmakers over its provisions.
Given the energy these animal nonprofits devote to the Farm Bill, readers may wonder how it affects America’s homeless pets. Does it make it easier for families to adopt animals? Does it establish a grant program to help support local pet shelters struggling to make ends meet? Decidedly not.
Instead, these groups are lobbying to push an anti-meat agenda focused on controlling consumer diets.
This is clearly a case of mission creep. Devoting resources to sway pork and egg policy contradicts what most Americans believe to be the core mission of these well-known charities: helping homeless cats and dogs.
The animal nonprofits have cultivated this reputation over the years. Both organizations have run high-profile television commercials featuring urgent pleas for help that tug on the heartstrings of America. The spots often feature distressed cats and dogs in need of forever homes.
The fundraising strategy has been a huge success. The ASPCA and Humane World now collect a combined $650 million annually from generous animal lovers.
Despite this fundraising bonanza capitalizing on the likeness of homeless cats and dogs, pets are getting shortchanged as the organizations burn through cash to influence laws and regulations around farming.
Less than 1% and 4%, respectively, of the budgets for Humane World and the ASPCA are shared with local pet shelters as financial grants. That leaves underfunded local facilities and volunteers to buckle under the weight of overcrowding and burnout.
Unlike what most assume, neither group operates a national network of pet shelters. Humane World runs zero pet shelters, and the ASPCA operates a single adoption center in New York City.
The consequences of shirking a public mandate to help homeless animals are severe. Last year, nearly 600,000 dogs and cats were killed at pet shelters across America, enough to fill every seat in Congress 1,100 times over.
Sheltering an animal costs an estimated $950 a year. Imagine how many of these animals could be saved with an overhaul of budget priorities. Humane World has more than $100 million sitting in offshore investment accounts. Simply reallocating that money could support sheltering 100,000 homeless pets.
Most Americans can sympathize with farm animals, but a vast majority would also agree that cats and dogs do not belong in the same category as livestock.
The ASPCA and Humane World need to reset priorities to align with expectations. Both groups are clearly barking up the wrong tree on Capitol Hill.
• Edwin Sayres was president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals from 2003 to 2013.
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