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Connecting on a personal level is an important part of sharing our ideas.  On this page we will present some of the details about our organization and the animal welfare work that still needs to be done.

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Louisiana is "The Pelican State".

About Us

As a federally tax-exempt IRS 501 (c)(3) organization, COLAA must generate the lion's share of its funding from individual members.  Additionally, greater membership means greater strength to accomplish our common goals.

Roots


COLAA was founded in 1981 as the "Coalition of Louisiana Animal Activists" and incorporated in early 1982.  Ours is the oldest continuously active statewide humane activist group and still the most extensive network of animal activists in Louisiana.  COLAA was founded by Holly Frederick Reynolds, the grand dame of the modern humane movement in Louisiana and the founder of such other important Louisiana humane groups as:

     St. Tammany Humane Society 
http://www.sttammanyhumanesociety.org
     Capital Area Animal Welfare Society http://www.caaws.org

To the present time, Holly Reynolds continues to guide and inspire our work.

Pelican Rookery
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COLAA Regional Reps

Four COLAA board members are dedicated to the needs of the animal shelters and animal protection groups and individuals in Louisiania's 64 parishes.  Your Regional Representatives are knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to animal welfare issues.

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The 64 Parishes in Louisiana
The Four Regions of COLAA

NORTH -
Parishes of:
Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, De Soto, East Carroll, Jackson, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachia, Red River, Richland, Union, Webster, West Carroll


CENTRAL - Parishes of:
Avoyelles, Calwell, Catahoula, Franklin, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, Tensas, Vernon, Winn

SOUTHWEST - Parishes of:
Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, Vermilion

SOUTHEAST - Parishes of:
Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Point Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana

You can submit an Email to the attention of our Regional Representatives by using the Link below.

Regional Representative

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Typical Louisiana Swamp
The resident wildlife may be unseen in this photo but we know the animals are somewhere inside.

Our Programs and Accomplishments

COLAA has facilitated the formation of a number of humane organizations.  We work cooperatively with other humane organizations, animal control agencies, activist groups, and rescuers to achieve common goals.

We participate in the Adopt-A-Classroom program of the National Association for Humane & Environmental Education (see Link below).  Designed for students pre-K-6th grade level, this program promotes good citizenship, humane treatment of animals, and respect for the environment.  Teachers also report that this program helps raise students' reading levels because of the enthusiasm it generates in young people.  The cost of the program ($25 per year per classroom) is defrayed in part by local businesses working with COLAA.

Legislative Achievements

In achieving the passage of humane legislation in Louisiana, COLAA has an impressive track record.  Some of our most important legislative achievements (usually on concert with other LA animal advocacy groups) include:

  • felony penality for participating in dog fighting
  • the toughest law against aggravated cruelty to animals in the USA
  • a visionary law against pet theft (now being copied by legislatures in other states) valuing stolen pets based on the emotional value to the owner rather than his/her market value
  • increasing the penality for dog fighting to be comparable to those  for aggrevated cruelty to animals
  • law banning hog-dog rodeo where dogs attack penned hogs
  • a federal ban on interstate transportation of birds for fighting purposes
  • statewide cockfighting ban
Court Battles

In 2000, during the presidency of Pinckney Wood, COLAA filed a lawsuit to stop a plan supported by high-ranking officials within the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to round up and permanently remove hundreds of wild horses from the lands of the Kisatchie National Forest.
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Wild Horses Photographed @Kisatchie National Forest

Please join us at our next General Membership Meeting!

COLAA
P.O. Box 3636
Pineville, LA 71361-3636