'Fixing' Animal Homelessness the Right Way

After reading the last few posts about animal homelessness, euthanasia, and hoarding, some people might be wondering what they can do to help. Perhaps a few of you have even considered starting your own animal rescue group. If so, thank you for caring so deeply, but please—help us focus attention on stemming the flow.

Think of it this way: The animal overpopulation crisis is like water flooding into a sinking ship. We don't need more people bailing; we need to fix the gaping hole in the bottom of the boat! When it comes to ending animal homelessness, the most humane and sustainable solution is to pour our time, money, and effort into having animals spayed and neutered. Preventing more animals from being born stops the problem at its source. Here are some creative ways that we can work toward a no-birth nation: 

• Consider starting a program like the one run by Michigan's Heaven Can Wait Animal Haven, which transports animals to and from local low-cost spay-and-neuter clinics.
• Start a group to raise money for free spay-and-neuter surgeries for animals in your community.
• Hold fundraisers for local spay-and-neuter clinics so that they can waive the costs for low-income individuals and at-risk animals.
• Raise funds for PETA's "Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please" (SNIP) mobile clinic. 
• Take a hands-on approach in your community by volunteering for PETA's Animal Birth Control (ABC) program.   

Another crucial component of ending animal homelessness is educating the public about why it's so important to adopt animals instead of buying them from pet shops or breeders. If you are considering adding a cat or dog to your family, your decision will literally mean life or death for an animal waiting in an animal shelter. If you choose to buy from a breeder or a pet store, an animal at the local shelter must be euthanized. Please, always choose to save a life by adopting your animal companions from animal shelters or reputable adoption groups.

PETA has teamed up with dozens of celebrities—including Justin Bieber, Yvonne Strahovski, Lance Bass, Kellan Lutz, Joanna Krupa, Audrina Patridge, Patricia Arquette, and others—for pro-adoption public service announcements (PSAs). You can help encourage people to adopt animals, never buy, by sponsoring or obtaining free placement for one of these PSAs in a newspaper or magazine.

Thank you for caring. Animals like these are counting on compassionate people like you:

Like so many other rabbits, Bobbi was acquired on a whim and surrendered after her owners discovered how much time and effort are required to care for a rabbit. PETA found Bobbi a loving home, and she now enjoys playing with three other rabbits and sleeping in a bed with her new family.

One freezing day, PETA's straw-delivery volunteers found Sunday living in filth and mud, tethered by a chain that was only a few feet long. Sunday perked up immediately after PETA's volunteers gave him a doghouse and replaced the short chain with a new, lightweight tie-out.

Julie was once trapped at the end of a chain—one of the worst punishments possible for a dog, especially a collie—but PETA's fieldworkers convinced her owners to surrender her and helped place her in a wonderful home with a family who adores her.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post