Sunday, December 11, 2016

Illinois: Letter to the editor: The no-kill animal shelter fallacy

ILLINOIS -- So-called no-kill initiatives in animal shelters like the one proposed in Chicago may sound appealing, but they are often disastrous in reality.

No-kill shelters are always “full,” which means they must either hoard animals in overcrowded conditions or turn them away.

Animals that are refused admittance don’t miraculously vanish — they will likely be abandoned on the streets, cruelly killed, stuck on a chain in a backyard, or palmed off on irresponsible people.

They also push aggressive dogs onto adopters. These dogs either attack them or attack other people/pets because they never should have been adopted out in the first place.


California: Pit bull adopted from county shelter kills woman's 5-pound
Yorkie. Shelter gives the killer dog back to its previous owner
New Jersey: City of Bloomfield demands neighboring city of
Clifton return vicious pit bull, which mauled child, so
they can "send him to a sanctuary"
Florida: Pit bull, which had been adopted out from local shelter,
attacks little dog. Vet bill so far? $1,400
California: Beth Ward and Contra Costa Animal Services
continue to adopt out vicious dogs; THE SAME DAY this pit
bull was adopted
 it attacks and kills a 6-pound Maltese named Teddy
California: After man mauled by dog he'd just adopted,
veterinarian says shelter so desperate to reduce their
"kill" rate, they're adopting out vicious dogs
Connecticut: This is what happens when you have irrational
people running a shelter who refuse to accept that
some dogs need to be euthanized

Slashing euthanasia stats at the expense of ensuring animals’ safety is not a solution to the homeless animal crisis. It’s just a shell game that animals inevitably lose.

Spay/neuter legislation (supported by low-cost clinics) is the only humane and effective way to reduce the number of animals ending up in shelters in the first place.

If shelters really care about protecting animals — not just making their euthanasia numbers look good — they must continue to admit all animals.

— Jennifer Brown, Aurora, IL

(Chicago Tribune - Dec 11, 2016)

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