Re: the KC alerts – the animal-themed photos appearing in the first two alerts from 1/14 and 1/15, i.e.,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4275678090/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4277585293/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4277585305/

are credited to the appropriate websites at the bottom of the alerts. Perhaps KC could have more clearly identified them as pre-quake, but they certainly didn’t try to pass them off as post-quake, either. I think they just wanted to get the alert out and needed some photos for decoration (whereas no post-quake animal photos were yet available in the news media).

Also in the earliest two alerts, KC includes one “doctored” photo, which is clearly labeled as such:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4274933075/

And two recent news photos of the rubble and a search and rescue (?) dog:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4274933109/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4274933137/

It’s only the photos in the 1/19 alert which were taken post-quake. These are dated and credited to the appropriate news agencies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289164919/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289907688/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289165069/

Hope this helps! Perhaps I’ll add my own captions to the photos in the KC alerts to more clearly identify them.

For the time being, I think your plan (donate to SODOPRECA or FFL) makes the most sense. I, too, have been looking for additional local/Haitian animal rescue groups, with little luck. Let me know if you come across anything!

I assume the other photos (such as those from Washington Post and LA Times) are from 2010, post-earthquake, but passing old photos off as new ones strains the credibility of the groups who are raising money to supposedly help nonhuman animals in Haiti.

Marji: I agree, the article is probably due, in part, to the politics of the movement. I think a local Haitian organization would be best suited to rescuing nonhuman animals, I just don’t know which groups are available. Maybe the larger groups will direct funds to them, they should say so if this is the case.

If I had money to donate, I would give it to Food for Life Global (http://www.ffl.org/). Here’s why:

The animals enslaved for food can’t really be rescued, as it would just be serving them up to be slaughtered and eaten. The animals kept as “pets” that survived will probably be slaughtered and eaten if humans continue to starve without food. Any free-living nonhuman animals will probably be hunted down, slaughtered, and eaten as well. It seems vegan food donations, such as those from Food For Life Global would do the most good for humans and other animals.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289164919/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289907688/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4289165069/

Just looking through flickr, though, of recent Haitian photos leads me to believe there was a thriving dog and livestock population…perhaps partially devastated by the 2008 floods but apparently rebounding fine. Where there are people, there will be livestock and dogs, generally speaking.

Yes, it is good to do research. But it is also unfortunate that Friends of Animals seems to blatantly dismiss the reality that animals are there in Haiti, that they were there before the earthquake, and that they will be there after. My gut response to FoA’s release is that it has more to do with the politics of the animal rights movement (and some of the divisiveness) and less to do with the reality that there are animals in need of aid in Haiti. The other truth is that there are folks from these organizations heading out to Haiti to offer assistance and aid to the animals. CVM and Sodepraco (sp) are already on the ground helping animals. SO we know there’s a need.

The big question is how well the funds are managed. That’s always a concern. And yes, another valid concern is how likely rescuers are to find animals in need w/i a population of very hungry, desperate people. I do not doubt that many farmed animals have already been slaughtered to feed the people there.

That said, it also seems like the author of the piece is suggesting that rescue efforts need to focus on humans first and foremost (see, e.g., the last 4 paragraphs). She does say that “Being an animal and human rights advocate for the last 17 years, I can tell you that supporting orgs which only focus on one or the either in times like this, should not be supported.” – and yet (in the comments) she encourages readers to donate to Doctors Without Borders, which is most definitely an either/or org (i.e., I doubt they’d stop to help an injured dog or goat when there are “more important” tasks to attend to).

So while I think these are legitimate points of discussion, I’m not 100% sure what the author’s point is?

Also, re: there being no goats in Haiti, the Christian Veterinary Mission runs a livestock breeding program called “Give a Kid a Kid”. The SPCAI featured the CVM as a “Shelter of the Week,” and in the accompanying photos, children are seen with a flock of goats. I don’t know whether this was pre- or post-2008 hurricanes mentioned in the article, though. (see: https://www.spcai.org/programs/shelter-of-the-week/item/329-give-a-kid-a-kid-haiti.html)

Anyway, I guess the bottom line is research, question, research – and only donate to those groups with which you feel most comfortable.

“HSUS IFAW ASPCA Mislead Members”
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/news/2010/january/hsus-ifaw-aspca-misl.html