As this year is coming to an end, perhaps there is no better way to get a good tax deduction but to help organizations that provide sanctuary for abused, neglected and tortured wild animals.  Two such organizations are The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and Save the Chimps in Florida.  I have personally worked (volunteered my services) with one of these organizations.  These organizations, and others like them, rescue neglected, abused and tortured animals from horrible settings such as roadside zoos--where highly social animals such as chimpanzees are kept in total isolation for years and even decades--“breeders,” circuses and sometimes even roadside gas stations when large cats are held in small metal cages as an attraction, and provide them with wide open spaces and social interactions with other members of their species.  They provide these abused animals with some semblance of normalcy.  And we are not talking about pets (who should equally be protected from abuse).  These organizations rescuse large wildlife.  Imagine a Bengal Tiger living its entire life in a 5'x7' steel cage! Save the Chimps rescues chimps from medical labs as well, where these highly intelligent animals—and our closest evolutionary cousin—are kept in small, bare metal cages and are subjected to horrible—and often useless—medical experiments.

What these folks do is just wonderful.  Most people who work in these facilities are volunteers.  They donate their time and expertise.  The facilities are run on donations, and in case of The Wildlife Sanctuary, a fee is collected from visitors.  Both Save the Chimps and The Wildlife Sanctuary also sell souvenirs to raise money.  But there is nothing like a hard cash donation.  If you live in Florida and are close to Fort Pierce you can also make an in-kind donation to Save the Chimps also.  Load up your car with bananas, dried fruit and seeds and drop it off.  Anything helps.  Be a voice for the defenseless animals who have been abducted from their native habitats and have been subjected to cruelty by heartless humans.  Thanks.