While this past year was one of SHARK’s greatest in the sheer scope and success of our campaigns to save lives, we took a crippling blow financially. This blow wasn’t just due to lack of donations generally, but for the loss of our Sprinter van, which was the base of operations for so many of our victories for animals.

SHARK is unique in the animal protection movement in that we are absolute in our focus on saving lives. We do not throw away your donations on marketing firms and slick advertisements or TV ads and parties. When not on the killing fields, we work out of our own homes so we have no expensive rent to pay. At the same time our investigators, all of whom have put their lives at risk on more than one occasion for the animals, will never get bloated six-figure salaries and golden parachute benefit packages. As for myself, not only have I never taken a penny from SHARK, but I have poured a great deal of my own money into the organization because, like the SHARK team, I believe in our mission.

I wish I didn’t have to come to you and ask for your help. In a perfect world, we would be judged solely based on our many victories for animals and we would never lack for funding. We all know, however, that is not how the world works. Far too often support is given for flash rather than effect. We may not be flashy, but when you look into the eyes of the tens-of-thousands of lives we saved this past year alone, we are damn effective.