One of the long-standing myths in animal rescue today, and one that is still perpetuated in the general public has to do with nomenclature. Everywhere you go you’ll see the term local Humane Societies or Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and many people do not give the term a second thought as they choose a reputable animal rescue organization to work with. But the truth is that there is no magic or governance around the terms humane society or SPCA. Any organization can refer to themselves as a humane society since the term is not trademarked […] Read more »
We should first start with explaining that the term “humane society” is one that is used by many different types of organizations that are not necessarily associated with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). If you do a trademark search on the term, you’ll see that no one organization controls the use of those two words. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the term with a British origin and one that doesn’t exclusively point to helping animals. Yet there is a perception in the U.S. that any organization that calls itself a “Humane Society” is a no-kill facility, and […] Read more »
