Established in 1988, the Humane Society of Louisiana leads the fight against cruelty to animals statewide. It's not widely known that most Louisiana parishes and towns lack even the most basic services for lost, injured, homeless and forsaken companion animals.

In fact, more than 50% of Louisiana's communities are without any viable animal shelters or pet rescue programs. While there are of course several humane public and private shelters in our state, far too many inhumane pounds are operated by local governments; their missions are too often rounding up and destroying unwanted or "nuisance" animals, with no real regard for the wellbeing of homeless pets. No state agency inspects, licenses or monitors such facilities or programs, so our agency has taken on the job for almost 20 years.

The Humane Society of Louisiana has given voice to forgotten animals at 100 substandard pounds, winning hard fought battles against cruelty, which continue to touch the lives of countless thousands of animals each year.

That's just one of the serious problems facing animals in Louisiana. Few humane education or wildlife protection programs exist in our state. Also, all too often, law enforcement agencies fail to respond to complaints of animal cruelty or neglect.

We're working to change all that. The Humane Society of Louisiana actively strives to create a better place for animals in our state, by operating a variety of important programs today and by tirelessly working to build a more humane tomorrow. Here are just a few of our ongoing programs:

Cruelty Investigation and Abuse Prevention
	investigating animal cruelty cases
	filing charges against animal abusers
	monitoring cruelty cases through the legal system
	providing professional courtroom testimony
	campaigning against specific forms of cruelty, such as illegal dog fighting, inhumane pet breeding and abuses at animal pounds
	training law enforcement and humane officers to fight cruelty
	educating the general public about animal abuse
	offering rewards for information leading to the conviction of animal abusers
	working with pro bono attorneys on precedent setting cases, to impact the lives of animals
Community Chapters and Outreach
	operating volunteer chapters in areas, where no other programs exist
	working with community leaders and concerned citizens to start or improve parish and local animal protection programs
	helping local groups get organized, to aid animals in need
Animal Care Services and Programs
	rescuing animals from abuse and neglect
	operating an emergency shelter facility in Tylertown, MS--just two hours north of New Orleans, where our agency evacuated its 157 animals before Katrina
	participating in community adoption events and activities
	fostering animals in need
	networking with other animal protection groups to further common goals
	PetLink Disaster Preparedness campaign to help residents prepare for future hurricane evacuations
Advocacy and Education
	advocating and lobbying for improved local and state animal protection laws
	empowering people to aid animals in need
	educating people about humane lifestyle choices and introducing compassionate alternatives to the harming and killing of animals, whenever possible
The Humane Society of Louisiana does not operate a public animal shelter, but through our chapters, foster care and other programs, we are able to rescue homeless animals directly from overburdened shelters and rescue groups, as funding and space are available. There is an overwhelming demand for our services, and a shortage of volunteers and foster homes, particularly after Katrina, but we do work hard to save as many animals as we possibly can. As a licensed private detective agency, we work with law enforcement and animal control officers to accept custody of animals seized in criminal cases of abuse. We also accept abused and neglected animals from public and private animal shelters, to the extent that we can. If you would like to sponsor or foster an animal in need, please contact us, we'd deeply appreciate your support. We are always happy to work with anyone, in whatever way we can, to help save the lives of animals in need.