This non-profit is really one of the best large animal/ horse rescues in the nation. Their founder assisted in the passage of the Humane Care for Animals Act in 1971 and she continues to be a voice for the animals who cannot speak for themselves today. I have yet to meet a group of more hard working & dedicated individuals than the staff and volunteers at HARPS. This winter they rescued and adopted 75 horses from an abandoned farm in Hampshire, IL. They have even documented some of their rescue cases online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM8wGKwk1qw
Review from Guidestar
I would never donate to these people! They have put horses down without even giving them medical attention. You have to ask yourself what happens behind the scene when no one is looking. The horses that are not so pretty or that no one knows they get brought in. When you are being told the horse has been place but without a story about the wonderful home they have gone to... They put them down! These people have trucks and trailers (plural) if you really have no food in your house sell a truck or two!
The Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society, (HARPS) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2001 by Donna Ewing, one of the nation's best-known and respected rescuers of abused and neglected horses and other hooved animals. As the founder and former director the the Hooved Animal Humane Society (HAHS), Donna has over thirty five years of experience in rescuing hundreds of horses and contributing to the rehabilitation of thousands more. In Illinois, Donna played a key role in the passage of the 1973 "Humane Care For Animals Act" legislation (which was over 150 years old) along with State veterinarian Dr. David Bromwell. They worked diligently with attorneys and state legislators in getting the laws changed so that Illinois then represented the first state in the country to have the best laws governing the protection of hooved animals. Donna also worked with legislators on the recent changes that are part of Senate Bill 629, signed into law in August of 2001. As in the past, Donna Ewing and her staff work in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, as well as a multitude of volunteer investigators, in rescue and protection efforts across the nation.