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No-Kill Shelters vs. "Kill" Shelters
Many people have written over the years asking where to find "no-kill" animal shelters. Animal lovers naturally want to support organizations that do not euthanize.
Of course, every shelter or pet rescue hopes that euthanizing animals won't be necessary. Shelters that DO euthanize, though, sometimes bear the brunt of animal lovers who don't like the fact that pets are routinely put down.
But no-kill shelters usually claim their "no-kill" status because a) they only accept animals that have a good chance of getting a new home ("adoptable" animals), and b) they only accept the number of animals they can care for.
Many devoted "pet people" who have worked at animal shelters that euthanize pets (or who have inside knowledge of such shelters) sometimes take exception to being termed a "kill shelter". Shelters that accept all animals (regardless of 'adoptability', health, age, etc) are often well over capacity and have to euthanize because there simply aren't enough homes.
What do you think? How can animal shelters -- "no-kill" shelters and shelters that euthanize -- work together to reduce the need for euthanasia? Would you support a shelter that euthanizes?
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Im trying to wright a paper on how kill shelters are bad but i need to know what is the percent of kill shelters in the U.S.A please tell me.
I have been looking at puppies for sale for the last few weeks now. But after reading this it has made me think twice and now I'm sure I will go down to my local shelter and hopefully bring home an animal in need of a home.
We are all trying to save animals and find them decent and caring homes. There is a need for regular shelters and for no-kill shelters. I don't want to animals to be put down any more than the next person but until we can find them all homes and people SPAY AND NEUTER THEIR PETS then it is going to keep happening.
I guess I am confused about why no-kill shelters are considered most humane----
Fact: there are more pets than there are people to adopt them until the over-population is controlled. So in no-kill shelters, there will be animals that spend their whole lives in a CAGE, which to an animal is PRISON. Do those against "kill" shelters ever consider the psyche, the emotional lives, of these animals with a life sentence?? Do you think they are sitting there in their own personal hell each day reasoning--hey, well at least I'm still alive! No, they are likely very depressed about being in there and they likely dread being awake because then they are aware of how miserable they are.
No, really, how is their condition much different than an animal in a mill, a factory farm, an animal with a family kept in a tiny kennel 24/7. Just because they are in a building called a "shelter", being fed, and their cage kept clean (we hope) this is not considered inhumane treatment to be indefinitely caged???
I understand both sides! Unfortunately many of the "Kill" animal shelters do so because of the volume of animals they house. The Humane Society in my city has close to 450 animals, and kitten season has only started, so you can imagine that number is going to soar in the next few months!!!
No one likes to euthanize, not even the vets! However, due to increase in disease, the more animals are sheltered together, and the lack of room and money to house these animals and support the staff, which by the way is always lacking due to the emotionally draining environment, it's a unfortunate necessity.
However, thank goodness there are many caring animal lovers that continue to support shelters, adopt, foster, etc.
The "Kill" shelters are and do keep tabs with the "No Kill" shelters to transfer animals to them when they have room for an even better chance.
Please do not turn your back on the "Kill" shelters, because the more people adopt, the less animals will be facing possible euthanasia! :)
MOST IMPORTANT: Please Spay and Neuter, it would make a huge difference!!!
This is absolutely insane. Have you ever worked at one of these places? I doubt it. I've seen these places and it makes me sick that you people recommend killing animals. You know, if this was about humans in an orphanage, there wouldn't even be a debate. Animals are people too. They live, breathe, eat, and sleep among other things, just like us. Read up on your information before you go spouting off like you know everything. Read some Nathan Winograd, that'll blow your mind. I'm so tired of hearing this crap about how bad No Kill shelters are. I've worked at a No Kill shelter and this information you're giving is inaccurate and just plain despicable. The shelter I worked at, did not just take in whatever animals they wanted. They took in all kinds of animals and took wonderful care of them. They even provided food and other items for free to people who couln't afford them and they were a non-profit animal shelter. Get your facts straight!
"You know, if this was about humans in an orphanage, there wouldn't even be a debate."
Thank You!!!! I've been saying this for so long, I dont understand how people can even consider killing an animal just because it is unwanted or considered "unadoptable". They can think, they can feel, and if it was a human child they wouldn't be allowed to euthanize them just because no one wanted to adopt them. I dont understand why people feel the need to play God and kill innocent creatures just because a human being doesnt want them! That is a very narcissistic and ignorant thing to do!
i have worked at one of "these places". so let me assure you that the above comments were just and true. perhaps when you can convince the nation to open up their homes to all the unwanteds and steralize pets, then u may speak.its a hard job, but a neccecity. besides not all animals are adoptable. im sure you'd be willing to adopt out a dog with three human attacks on his record or a cat that feline aids to a family unwilling to treat.think about it.
"its a hard job, but a neccecity. besides not all animals are adoptable."
I don't understand why you think it is a "neccecity" to kill animals just because they are unadoptable. At the very least wouldn't it be better to let them out into the wild where they could at least have a chance to survive rather than killing them off and giving them no chance to? Where do we get off playing God? Deciding who or what lives and dies? Just because we don't want them or are unwilling to take care of them does not mean that there are no other options. And I personally find it disgusting that anyone would think killing an animal just because it is unwanted by the human race is a neccesity. We are taking away the only life they will ever be able to live, and all because we find them "unadoptable"...let nature take it's course if necessary but dont play God by taking matters into your own hands.
*I want to note that in all cases there are exceptions, and if a animal is suffering from an unbearable amount of pain and there is no way to ease it then I do understand putting them to sleep...that is not so different from drugging the hell out of someone who is suffering and waiting for them to die. In fact it's nicer. When my Aunt was in the hospital she was in so much pain she would ask me everyday I visited her "please just let me die". It broke my heart, but I do understand it in those cases, but no others.
... to release unwanted animals into the wild. Have you ever seen a stray dog or cat who has struggled to survive and is slowly starving to death & sick? It is slow and tortuous way to die. Animals have to learn how to survive in the wild and DOMESTICATED animals do not have the necessary skills. It is a very harsh existence in the wild. Nature is not kind.
It is a necessity to humanely euthanize animals when there aren't enough homes for them. There are only a limited amount of money & time & resources to care for homeless animals. That is a fact. No one likes to do it but it has to be done until people start spaying and neutering their pets and the pet overpopulation problem is under control. "Unadoptable" animals, like aggressive dogs, are euthanized because of the risk & liability. Would you like to take responsibility for sending an aggressive dog home with a family, only to have that dog attack a child?
Think before you write.
I currently work at a shelter that practices humane euthanasia and it is absolutely clear that "anonymous" does not know what he or she is talking about.
Our shelter does not "recommend" euthanizing animals. No one does. It is an incredibly hard thing to deal with, and we of course appreciate what no-kill shelters do to help animals as well. (No one said anything about them being bad.)
Even if no-kill shelters do not discriminate and take in all animals, they still eventually reach a limit. What then happens to animals that have no where else to go? They end up at open-admission shelters that are able to take them in and make a decision as to whether they can be successfully put up for adoption or if they should be humanely put to sleep. North America is suffering from a major pet over-population issue, and although euthanasia is NOT the answer, it helps alleviate suffering and controls populations where there are simply not enough homes for pets.
The key to solving this problem is spaying and neutering as many animals as possible. The shelter I work at, has several great programs that aid in the cost and education of this important part of controlling animal over-population.
So start working together and stop always being at each others throats. The number one concern here is the animals, not how shelters are individually dealing with the situation at hand.
Anonymous: no one is recommending euthanising animals. "Bow Wow" merely stated a fact that euthanasia is a fact in an overcrowded shelter with insufficient resources. No one said no-kill shelters are bad either. It is different. If anything it is not the no-kill shelters that are getting the bad rap, it is the "kill" shelters. No one wants to euthanise and that includes shelters that have to do it. In the end both types of shelters are there to help the animals. Any way that they can do so is OK with me. If they can work together to help save even more animals then that's even better.
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