Founded on 2 December 1845 and recognized as a charitable organization in 1860, it takes in animals in distress, abandoned, lost or mistreated in its 63 shelters and 7 SPA homes throughout France.
The animals (dogs, cats and NACs (nouveaux animaux de compagnie): new pets) are identified, sterilized, vaccinated, housed, treated, trained and socialized before being put up for adoption.
It also helps destitute owners through its 12 free clinics, which enable people on low incomes (homeless, on minimum social benefits, etc.)
Its Anti-Trafficking Unit (cellular anti-trafic, CAT by its acronym in French) investigates professionals to uncover the various forms of animal trafficking that are sources of mistreatment.
[1] The association was founded on 2 December 1845 by Pierre Dumont de Monteux, Paris Police Prefect Gabriel Delessert, Viscount Valmer and Dr. Étienne Pariset, a physician at the Salpêtrière hospital.
[6] In 1987, a parliamentary study group on animal protection was set up at the French National Assembly, thanks to Roland Nungesser (association's president at the time).
[8] In 2016, the large refuge located in Pervenchères (61) dedicated to equines opens its doors and the SPA obtains the "Don en confiance" label.
[15] In April 2016, the association launched a large-scale poster campaign in some 15 major French cities to "put an end to cruelty inflicted on animals in France".
With the slogan "Torture is legal", the campaign consists of three posters: one with a lamb to denounce animal slaughter conditions, another with a rabbit for experimentation and a final one with a bull to stigmatize bullfighting.
In this way, the association hopes to encourage the public authorities to amend the legislation to meet society's high expectations in terms of respect for the sentience of animals.
This campaign highlights the paradox that exists between bullfighting, which is authorized in certain regions of France, on the one hand, and animal abuse, which is punishable by law, on the other.
A letter was also sent to deputies and senators asking them to take a stand against this cruel practice, and to propose a rewrite of the law to abolish bullfighting in France.
On the legal front, the association is proposing a change in the law, while at the same time launching a strong awareness campaign and a petition addressed to the government.
This business with living creatures encourages compulsive buying, which does not impose the conditions essential to the interests of animals and buyers, and which runs the risk of ending in abandonment.
[25] On 6 June 2016, the press, and in particular the daily Le Parisien, reported several complaints lodged in March for "usurpation of title, fraud and breach of trust, active and passive corruption, and illegal taking of interests", prompting the opening of a preliminary investigation.
[26][27] On 15 March 2017, the Cour des Comptes issues its third report on the association, "with two reservations: the inadequacy of internal control, which has made no progress since the previous audit, with the exception of improved management of legacies; the inadequacy and delay in renovating sites, already criticized by the Court in 2002, while hoarded financial reserves have accumulated, with equity reaching 68 M€ at the end of 2015".
The construction of a single document repository, formalized and shared with all employees, is another essential prerequisite for the implementation of effective internal control at the association's head office and sites.