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The goats at the Heifer International farm that I went to as a kid were particularly feisty; I remember the struggle that my mother had to get them into the milking pens, always wary of being kicked. Luckily, my mom's milking gig was only once a week, but now that I've learned more about animal-donation programs, I can only imagine how women in the drought-prone areas that Heifer shipped the goats to must have tussled daily with the animals, in addition to the headache of trying to provide them with enough food and water.

Animal-donation programs like those run by Heifer International and Oxfam do not provide a sustainable solution for global hunger. Grazing animals often cause topsoil runoff and land degradation, which can contribute to drought, leading the environmental group World Land Trust to call these programs "environmentally unsound and economically disastrous."

An exposé about a program in India that gave cows to impoverished farmers noted that the "beneficiaries" have a difficult time providing even the most basic care to the animals who have been forced upon them. Having another mouth to feed often adds to a family's burden, and the animals often suffer from horrible neglect, including malnutrition, dehydration, lack of veterinary care, and lack of shelter from the burning midday sun or freezing nighttime temperatures. On a recent trip to India, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk saw the distinctive black-and-white Holsteins and Holstein-crosses from America roaming the streets and eating plastic bags out of trash cans, which will clog their intestines and kill them. Many donated animals will end up in filthy, unregulated slaughterhouses and have their throats cut with a dull knife.

Tell your friends and family to avoid animal-donation programs and instead consider supporting sustainable, animal-friendly organizations that work to end hunger, such as The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, Food for Life Global, VEGFAM, and Feed My Starving Children. Another way to aid poor families is to donate to the PETA-supported program Animal Rahat, which provides free veterinary care to working animals in India who are lame, sick, or injured. 

animalrahat / CC

What if you could help a truly worthy cause, which helps animals who have some of the worst lives on the planet? Well, snap, you can!

Forget Heifer International (I'll tell you why in a minute)—here's the wonderful Animal Rahat, which means "animal relief." Animal Rahat is based in Indian villages that produce bricks and sugar cane and was created (with PETA's help) to provide relief to the working bulls, donkeys, ponies, and horses the impoverished villagers rely on. Animal Rahat has greatly improved the lives of these animals by giving rest to the lame—something the owners could never afford by themselves in their hand-to-mouth existence. Animal Rahat also provides free medical relief to lame, sick, and injured animals. The owners of these animals are often too poor to afford even the most basic nutrients that the animals require to stay strong and healthy—let alone pay for veterinary services.

Animal Rahat has even created a retirement program in which owners are offered a small subsidy to "retire" older animals and allow them to live out the rest of their lives with their human families—rather than send them to hideously cruel slaughterhouses.

With the holidays upon us, kind folks are opening their checkbooks in the spirit of helping others. Please, let's not forget about those hard-pressed working animals who need a day's rest, a poultice for a wound, a bridle that doesn't eat into their faces, and more.

And let's not be fooled by organizations like Heifer International, which send animals to families abroad. This only perpetuates the cruelty to which animals raised for food are subjected—and they always end up slaughtered. And in addition to preventing daily cruelty, it's far more efficient to feed the hungry on a vegetarian diet, as the resources stretch a lot further. After all, it takes 6–16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat—and that's a lot of wasted food …

So, why not save a life this holiday season and help these working animals? You know you want to …

Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky