animal advocates

What animal advocates does

Animal Advocates is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases ill, injured, and orphaned native small mammals — including coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels, moles, voles, gophers, wild mice, wild rats, and bats — across Southern California. The organization holds a multi-agency license stack (California Department of Fish & Game, USDA exhibitors, LA City Wildlife, CADFG trapping) with no recorded violations since 2003, and is legally zoned for wildlife rehabilitation. In addition to direct animal care, it provides humane wildlife control consultations and trapping, CADFG-accredited small mammal rehabilitation classes, free online training manuals for other rehabilitators, and live-animal educational presentations at schools and community events.

The organization is led by founder and President Mary Cummins, a licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator who personally underwrites operations in part through an unrelated real estate appraisal business. Animal Advocates operates with a small staff (11-50 range) out of a single Los Angeles headquarters and is funded entirely by donations and a handful of municipal service contracts, most notably a contract with the City of Santa Monica to implement a non-hormonal ground squirrel population control plan at Palisades Park. The organization has been instrumental in shaping wildlife policy at the LA City and LA County levels, including the 2004 LA Animal Services Commission wildlife policy and the 2005 LA County Planning and Zoning amendment permitting licensed rehabilitation, and it publicly supported California Senate Bill 1229. The business model is donation-dependent, with no software product, no paid service tier, and no technology platform; visibility is driven by earned media coverage in outlets such as the LA Times, Business Wire, PRWeb, and social media.

Name

animal advocates

Legal name

Animal Advocates

Website

https://animaladvocates.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Animal Advocates is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2002, that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases ill, injured, and orphaned native small mammals across Southern California, delivers humane wildlife control and public education, and operates solely on donations and limited municipal contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Rehabilitation Services

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release (BPAGAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ), Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Wildlife rehabilitation services
• Animal rescue and release
• Humane wildlife control
• Wildlife education programs
• Small mammal rehabilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Operates solely on donations from the public. Accepts PayPal donations. Donations directly determine the number of animals that can be saved.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Animal Advocates rescues, rehabilitates, and releases ill, injured, and orphaned native small mammals (including coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels, bats, moles, voles, gophers, and wild mice/rats) in Southern California. The organization also provides humane wildlife control consultations and licensed trapping, educational presentations using live USDA-permitted exhibit animals, and CADFG-accredited small mammal rehabilitation training for other wildlife rehabilitators.

Product overview

Animal Advocates is a non-profit animal rescue and education organization (501(c)(3) corporation) operated by a Board of Directors since 2002. The organization provides wildlife rehabilitation services for small mammals including coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels, moles, voles, gophers, wild mice, wild rats and bats. Services include wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, humane wildlife control consultations and trapping, animal education presentations with live exhibit animals, and California Department of Fish & Game small mammal rehabilitation classes. The organization also operates a store (under construction) selling animal-themed products. No technology product or software platform is offered—the organization is a service-based nonprofit focused on wildlife rehabilitation and education in the Los Angeles County area serving most of Southern California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Service Free rescue, rehabilitation, and release service for ill, injured, and orphaned native small mammals (coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels, bats, moles, voles, gophers, wild mice, wild rats) in Southern California, provided under California Department of Fish & Game and LA City permits. The service is intended for members of the public and local shelters that encounter distressed wildlife.
• Humane Wildlife Control Consultation and Trapping Licensed humane wildlife control consultation and trapping service for property owners and municipalities dealing with nuisance wildlife, carried out under a California Department of Fish & Game trapping permit and as a licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator, with the goal of avoiding killing healthy animals.
• Wildlife Education Presentations In-person educational presentations about native wildlife, conservation, and humane wildlife control using live USDA-permitted exhibit animals, delivered at schools, neighborhood meetings, and local animal events for students and community groups.
• Small Mammal Rehabilitation Training Classes and Manuals CADFG-accredited classes in small mammal rehabilitation along with free online rehabilitation manuals, made available to other wildlife rehabilitators to standardize small mammal rehabilitation practice.
• Humane Wildlife Population Control Program (Municipal Contract) Contracted municipal humane wildlife population control program, exemplified by the City of Santa Monica engagement at Palisades Park using non-hormonal birth control, flea control, and health monitoring for ground squirrels, designed for city and county government clients seeking non-lethal population management.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rescued over 1,300 animals in 2005, saving wildlife from euthanasia at shelters
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of Santa MonicacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2006Contracted by the City of Santa Monica to implement a humane ground squirrel population control plan in Palisades Park using non-hormonal birth control, flea control and health monitoring.
• Los Angeles County Department of Regional PlanningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Mary Cummins worked on an amendment to Planning and Zoning for over two years with Alyson Stewart and Leonard Erlanger of the Department of Regional Planning to allow licensed wildlife rehabilitation in LA County.
• Los Angeles Animal Services CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 August 2004Animal Advocates President Mary Cummins submitted a proposed wildlife policy that was unanimously approved by the LA Animal Services Commission. The new policy allows wildlife rehabilitators to respond to wildlife calls and take ill, injured and orphaned wildlife from city shelters.
• The Urban Wildlands GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 August 2004Collaborated with The Urban Wildlands Group to help devise the wildlife program approved by LA Animal Services Commission. Executive Officer Catherine Rich publicly supported the initiative.
• Local Animal ShelterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with local city and private animal shelters to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals. Animals that would otherwise be euthanized are transferred to Animal Advocates for rehabilitation and release.
• Other Rescue OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with other rescue organizations to share resources, knowledge and coordinate wildlife rescue efforts across Southern California.
• Animal Protection InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCamilla Fox, Director of Wildlife Programs for the Animal Protection Institute, publicly supported the Santa Monica humane squirrel control plan as a model for other communities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/cummins
• Facebookfacebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/animal-advocates

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about animal advocates