The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has launched its 2012 Rachael Ray Challenge welcoming shelters from across the USA to up their adoptions programmes and compete for prize money...

Daytime TV show presenter and celebrity chef Rachael Ray is a longstanding champion of animal welfare.

The three-month ASPCA competition offers 50 animal shelters from across the country a chance to win a main prize of $100,000 and take a share of more than $500,000 in prize grants...

The ASPCA and Rachael Ray will award a $100,000 grand prize to the shelter contestant that achieves the greatest increase in lives saved during this three-month period...

The contestants are being encouraged to save at least 300 more cats and dogs during the months of August, September and October compared to the same period in 2011...

A second place prize of $25,000 will be awarded to the shelter with the second greatest increase in lives saved, and the contestant that does the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals will win $25,000. Other divisional awards of between $5,000 and $40,000 in additional grants are available.

Shelters competing in the 2012 ASPCA charity challenge include Animal Friends Rescue Project in Pacific Grove, California; Animal Friends of the Valleys in Wildomar, California; Canyon County Animal Shelter, Caldwell, Idaho; Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS); Animal Friends, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford, Florida and Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Also: Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson; City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in San Antonio, Texas; Kent County Animal Shelter in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Medina County SPCA in Medina, Ohio.

As part of the challenge many of the contestants are holding special events and promotions throughout the next few months to encourage adoptions...

Adopting a rescue animal has many benefits including not least giving a pet who may have previously been mistreated, a loving home...

ASPCA, founded in 1866, is the longest serving animal welfare org in North America and has more than two million supporters. The charity tackles cruelty and provides animal health and outreach services...