Nearly 100 Victims of Animal Hoarding Rescued in Virginia
On a day when the so-called Center for Consumer Freedom and its funders in agribusiness blew more than $100,000 on a full-page ad attacking The HSUS for not helping pets, we were, well, helping pets. Our Emergency Services unit rescued 80 dogs and 13 cats from a single wide trailer in Spotsylvania, Va. (see video from the scene).
Michelle Riley/The HSUS
It is the third major hoarding case in recent weeks for our team, on top of the other deployments we make. It’s the sort of work we do every day, in all parts of the country. In this case, we partnered with our friends at the Richmond SPCA, Norfolk SPCA and Virginia Beach SPCA to remove these animals from a dangerous environment and to begin the process of getting them into safe homes.
While we give away millions in grants to other organizations each year—$20.7 million over a three-year period—we don’t need to give grants to do our work. We have the top animal rescue team in the nation and a larger staff of animal care technicians, animal handlers, rehabilitators, behaviorists, veterinarians, and others who help animals directly.
As always, we’ll respond to animals in crisis. But we’ll also always focus on the root causes of cruelty—whether it is the puppy mill industry, dogfighting, industrial agriculture, the fur trade, or other industries that spawn cruelty in pursuit of profit.
