Press Release

ASPCA^® Invites Buncombe County, N.C. to Join National ASPCA^® Mission: Orange™ Campaign

April 29, 2009

ASPCA Media Contact

NEW YORK--The ASPCA^® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals^®) today announced that the Asheville Humane Society (AHS) and the Humane Alliance (HA) Spay/Neuter Clinic in Buncombe County, N.C. have been invited into a full partnership with the ASPCA in the organization's national ASPCA^® Mission: Orange™ campaign. 

Following a year of intensive preparation, The ASPCA Mission: Orange partnership in Buncombe County will kick off in July 2009 with strategic planning and construction of a four-year plan to achieve the highest possible Live Release Rate* for the community's at-risk pets. 

Originally, seven communities vied for the chance to become part of the ASPCA's national campaign, and were pared down to three: Buncombe County, Oklahoma City and Cleveland, Ohio.  Ongoing efforts to increase both adoptions and targeted spay/neuter are underway in all three communities.

"Our specific strategy for saving more lives will build on the impressive spay/neuter capacity of the Humane Alliance as well as the commitment and determination that Humane Society staff and volunteers have demonstrated over the past year," says Bert Troughton, Senior Director of Community Outreach for the ASPCA. "Clearly, this community has proven its intention to raise the standards for better outcomes for unwanted animals, and working together we can save many more lives."

"Asheville Humane Society is so excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with the ASPCA and our community to save more animal lives in Buncombe County," says Shelly Moore, President & CEO of AHS. "The past year has been a great learning experience for our organization and with the guidance and expertise of the ASPCA staff and our partnership with the Humane Alliance, we know we can have a huge impact and make a difference for animals." Asheville Humane Society serves a region of 222,000 residents, providing stray animal holding for both Buncombe County and the city of Asheville. It also serves as the community's largest non-profit animal shelter, caring for 7,000-plus dogs and cats annually. 

"We are thrilled to be chosen for another year of partnership with the ASPCA. Over the last year, we have really seen the benefits of working with this wonderful organization - benefits that have helped save more lives in Buncombe County," says Quita Mazzina, Executive Director of the Humane Alliance. Humane Alliance has performed more than 45,000 targeted spay/neuters in the region since 2001.  Additionally, it has a national training team that has helped open more than 50 high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter clinics throughout the country.

Since they began working with the ASPCA, Asheville Humane and the Humane Alliance have focused spay/neuter efforts in the geographic areas where the majority of stray shelter animals come from.  While the successes of this collaboration will take time to measure, Humane Alliance did see a 6 percent increase in the number of targeted spay/neuters performed from July to December 2008, as compared to the same period in 2007.  Asheville Humane Society saw an increase in its live release rate of 6 percent over the same time period (July to December 2008 vs. 2007), as well as a 19 percent increase in pet adoptions.  Asheville Humane is also implementing the ASPCA's Meet Your Match^® family of adoption programs, which includes research-based animal behavior assessments—all aimed at increasing adoption and reducing return rates at shelters, thus combating the problem of pet overpopulation. ASPCA's Meet Your Match is the only method in existence that scientifically evaluates an animal's behavior and interests and then matches them to an adopter's preferences.

"Companion animals are an integral part of community life," says Ms. Troughton.  "Both of these agencies are doing a great service to the animals and people of Buncombe County by bringing attention to the issue of pet overpopulation and doing something about it."

The ASPCA Mission: Orange campaign aims to provide positive outcomes for shelter animals by increasing live release rates through increased adoptions, reuniting lost pets with their families, and reducing shelter intake through targeted spay/neuter.  The distinction as an ASPCA Mission: Orange partner community means a long-term partnership so that Buncombe County can achieve a dramatic increase in happy endings for shelter dogs and cats and the people who care about them.

The ASPCA has invested funding and resources in all of its ASPCA Mission: Orange partner communities, which to date include Oklahoma City, Okla.; Austin, Tex., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., Philadelphia, Pa., Spokane, Wash.; Tampa, Fla.; and Charleston, S.C.

"The ASPCA's goal is to help these agencies reach a sustainable live release rate, so they can continue their life-saving work, and we can assist in more communities," says Ms. Troughton.

For more information about ASPCA Mission: Orange, please visit: www.aspca.org/adoption/aspca-mission-orange.

*Live Release Rate (LRR) refers to the percentage of animals that leave the sheltering system alive through adoption, return to owner, or transfer outside of the partner organizations. The formula for calculating LRR is total number of live releases divided by intake. By contrast, the term "save rate" often includes any animal that has not been euthanized, such as those whose outcome is not yet known or those still in the sheltering system. For this reason, the calculation for live release rate will usually show a different percentage than save rate.

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