Project wildlife

Dates: Tuesday, December 9th OR Thursday, Dec 11th 

Location: Online - see your e-mail for details

Website: https://sdhumane.org/programs/project-wildlife/

This week we are getting to virtually tour San Diego’s Project Wildlife, the rehabilitation arm of the San Diego Human Society. They have very thoughtfully provided us with an excellent encyclopedia of animals that can be found in our San Diego area. It’s pretty long, but easy to scroll through and learn more about the animals you’ve seen about. Before you get to that, here’s a quick reminder about the background of humane societies and the origin of the Humane Society in San Diego! Enjoy!

Humane societies, caring for the humane treatment of animals, have been emerging throughout the world for the last few hundred years. In America, the American Humane Society was established in 1877. Though smaller groups existed across the country, American Humane sought to gather and pool resources to affect change on a more national scale. Delegates from state groups were sent to Cleveland, Ohio to form the national society. They sought to secure humane treatment for working animals and those being transported. The next year, in 1878, child safety and protections were added to the charter. Over the next several decades, the American Humane Society would work to leave a lasting impact on American society. Their influence can be found in many areas:

• Advocated against corporal punishment in 

schools and brought

national attention to infanticide.

• Pressured Congress to pass a bill prohibit the 

live dissection of animals in schools. 

• Campaigned for national child labor laws.

• Identified the Link® as a correlation between

animal abuse and human abuse.

• Sought protections for animals and children

working in the motion picture industry

Much of the advancement of the rights of both animals and children can be attributed to the hard work and advocacy of American Humane.

In the mid-1950s, members of American Humane began to disagree about their direction with the protection of animals. The most prominent debate arose over the issue of shelter animals – some wanted to turn those with no hope of adoption over to labs for research, while others vehemently disagreed.  In 1954, a number of members broke away and formed the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). On a national level, HSUS has had a plethora of successes, including significant progress in animal rights legislation. The organization has also worked to provide education, most notably in their campaigns for responsible pet ownership and the important of spaying and neutering pets.

Shortly after forming the Society, they levied their first fine of $2 on “Mr. Collins’ boy for overriding a colt”. 

By 1934, The San Diego Humane Society contracted with the City of San Diego to operate a shelter, then called ‘the pound’. The Society continued to work close with the city of San Diego, coordinating facility openings and working to promote the health of all animals in San Diego County. While the larger humane organizations lobbied for better laws for the treatment of animals, the San Diego Humane Society continued to improve its shelters and coordination across the county to make San Diego a good place for pets, as well as wildlife.

In the 2000s, The San Diego Humane Society began to merge with other animal care organizations to centralize care and management. In 2007, the San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition was formed so that the SD Humane Society and other local animal care organizations could more easily work together to reduce euthanasia. In 2009, the SD Humane Society opened its Kitten Nursery to deliver round the clock care to infant kittens before they can be adopted. 

The Kitten Nursery, as well as the 2013 Behavior Center, dedicated to behavior modification to give animals a fresh start, have served as models for other shelters and organizations across the country. In 2013, The City of San Diego passed the Companion Animal Protection Ordinance, banning the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores in the city. By 2014, the SD Humane Society (SDHS) merged with the Escondido Humane Society, making the SDHS one of the largest animal sheltering organizations in the country. Later the same year, it also merged with PAWS San Diego to expand all its programs and provide more essential pet services, especially to low income and disabled individuals. At the end of 2014 (clearly a busy year for the organization), it merged with Project Wildlife, a resource for animal rehabilitation, conservation, and wildlife education. 

In 2015, San Diego County reached zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable animals! By 2017, it had admitted its 10,000th kitten into the Kitten Nursery and that same year performed its 25,000th spay/neuter. As of 2018, SDHS began providing services to six more cities, which means it serves more than 2.2 million people across 620 square miles. That’s a lot of animals and a lot of care!

Check out the animals that can be found at the Project Wildlife center and learn a little bit more about them. Have you spotted any of them around your community?

American Humane History. https://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/history/

Ryan Johnson. “All About the Humane Society Fund”. How Stuff Works. https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/humane-society1.htm

San Diego Human Society. “About Us: History”. https://www.sdhumane.org/about-us/our-story/

Kathy Benjamin. “10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Dog Owner”. Mental Floss. http://mentalfloss.com/article/51153/10-benefits-being-dog-owner