thumb|200px|FOA - Stop the Seal Hunt

Friends of Animals (FoA) is a non-profit international animal advocacy organization, established in New York City in 1957, working to free animals around the world from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation. The organization states that it has assisted in more than 2.5 million spay/neuter procedures. The bill was ultimately defeated. Animal law professor Gary Francione expressed the view that the bill was opposed by almost all institutional users of animals, because they believed it would require a diversion of funds from animal experiments.

Primarily Primates

In 2006, the organization came to the defense of operators of Primarily Primates, a sanctuary near San Antonio, Texas, that housed "hundreds of chimpanzees, monkeys and other animals that had outlived their usefulness as research subjects, movie props or pets."

Wildlife Law Program

In 2013, the organization established a Wildlife Law Program, focusing on the defense of wildlife and their habitats throughout the world. FoA's Wildlife Law Program works at putting an end to animals' being treated as property within the legal system, and along with winning 12 legal challenges to protect wild horses from government roundups, has secured Endangered Species Act protections for birds and other animals.

In August 2014, the Wildlife Law Program challenged federal agencies at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for killing protected Snowy Owls and other migratory birds. The lawsuit argues that the agencies did not disclose the scope and impacts of the bird-reduction program or “discuss all reasonable alternatives to lethal” options, as they were required to do.

Even before the program was established, the organization worked through the legal system to protect the rights of animals. In 2005, many species of endangered African antelopes living on US ranches were listed as endangered as a result of a lawsuit by the organization. However, an exemption for captive breeding programs thwarted the move. In 2009, a further lawsuit resulted in a finding that the exemption was unlawful, restoring the protection against hunting the antelopes.

See also

  • List of animal rights groups

References

  • Official website