I recently worked with PsPrint, who did some work with an Oakland based charity. I happened to discuss this with a fellow freelance writer and they made a sweeping statement to the tune of, “Isn’t it weird that people give more to animals than humans?”
Now, as anyone who knows me will attest, I’m not really a people person, but put me in front of an animal and I turn into a baby-talking, soppy idiot. As a Brit, I also live in a nation where dogs and cats are considered to be an equal part of the family, as I’m sure is the case in the US. So, I understand the affection that we have for animals on the whole, but this still didn’t ring true.
So, I decided to do some research into the matter, and as it turns out, my friend was clearly talking out of his rear. (That’s humans for you.)
Animal Charities vs Human Charities
One of the main animal charities in the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, gets around £75 million in donations. That’s huge, but not when you compare it to Cancer Research UK, which gets close to £160 million and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which gets close to £95 million.
In fact, in total, only 7% of the money that the UK public donate every year goes to animal charities, while the five main human charities received a total of 62% between them. In fact, each of these five charities received more than the total amount given to all animal charities.
This is not just true of the UK; it’s the same across the world. Yet when you search for “Animal Charities vs Human Charities” in Google, the majority of the results you see are from people asking why animal charities get more than human charities.
The Reasons Why
So why is this? Well, as much as we all love animals, we still have that affinity for fellow humans. We still donate to assist with research of diseases that our loved ones died from; we still give to children’s charities; hospitals; and third-world countries. That applies as much to animal lovers like myself as it does to everyone else.
In fact, despite my preference for animals, I still give more money to human charities than I give to animal ones. In my case it’s because I am active in helping animals. I adopt, I volunteer, I even offer my services as a writer and promoter. I don’t really have the opportunity to do any of that for human charities, so instead I give money. It seems that there are many others out there like this, and even the ones who feel more for animals than their own kind still give more to the former than the latter.
A Note
In finishing, I just want to give a mention to a local charity that has a very close place in my heart. Parrt rescue cats and dogs in my local area and if not for them, I wouldn’t have the two beautiful cats who make my and my partner’s life a joy every day. It’s a local charity, but I invite you to take a look at some of the work they do and offer any help you can.
