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The Capital Research Center, a conservative-oriented group that tracks charity and philanthropic groups, recently issued a report documenting the |American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals|' gradual shift away from a strictly animal welfare position to what is now almost a traditional animal rights organization.
The ASPCA, of course, is the oldest humane association in the United States, and is famous for its support of animal shelters. But since Roger Caras became president of the group in the early 1990s the ASPCA move closer and closer to the animal rights community. Caras has, for example, come out in opposition to meat eating saying "nothing is worse than reducing a living creature to a steak or chop wrapped in cellophane." In its Animal Watch newsletter, the ASPCA has urged readers at Thanksgiving to "save" a turkey "instead of serving one."
More alarmingly, Animal Watch has encouraged its readers to visit the Rutgers University Animal Rights Law Center web site. The law center seeks to have animals legally recognized as persons. The ASPCA has also gotten firmly behind the "Pet Theft" issue and supporter various legislative proposals to make it more difficult for medical researchers to obtain lab animals from pounds (animal rights activists are convinced that large numbers of pet animals are stolen by pounds specifically to be sold to medical researchers.) The ASPCA has also endorsed various anti-Hunting and anti-Trapping legislation, including those that would make it more difficult and expensive to deal with predators that threaten endangered and protected species.
The Capital Research Center recommends people concerned about animal welfare donate their money to local shelters rather than national organizations such as the ASPCA.
Source:
The ASPCA: From Animal Welfare to Animal Rights. Daniel T. Oliver, August 1998.