Written by Jeff Mackey
Lawmakers who are considering legislation based on the philosophy of the bogus "no-kill" movement should look closely at the disastrous results of California's Hayden Law, as Phyllis M. Daugherty details in the first of a series of articles for Opposing Views about limited-admission ("no-kill") shelters.
Dangerous overcrowding is a common problem at no-kill shelters.
As Daugherty makes clear, the Hayden Law was put together by lawyers and aides with no experience running animal shelters. And it shows: The bill did nothing to curb breeding (the real cause of the animal overpopulation crisis); instead, it took away shelters' ability to make the critical decisions needed to keep the animals healthy by controlling the spread of contagious diseases and to give the most adoptable animals the best chance of finding a home through necessary means, including euthanasia of less adoptable animals.
Under the Hayden Law, shelters couldn't euthanize the animals they took in unless the animals were already to the point of death—even if that meant enduring prolonged suffering from diseases or injuries that made them unlikely prospects for adoption. Fortunately, this constraint was recently suspended but not before wreaking havoc on animals, shelters (along with their staffers and volunteers), and state budgets.
California's animal shelters continue to be required to surrender any animal scheduled for euthanasia—no matter how aggressive or otherwise unadoptable—to any group claiming to be a "rescue" organization upon request, which forces them to continue to house the animals until they are claimed (up to two weeks later) and puts adoptive guardians at risk from animals with a known tendency toward aggressive behavior. Daugherty describes how 20 percent of one animal shelter was occupied by pit bulls awaiting pickup by one such organization, leaving less room for animals who might have had a good chance of adoption but instead were euthanized because of a lack of space.
It is tragic and ironic that the law cheered on by misguided "no-kill" advocates like Nathan Winograd ended up costing animals their lives; Daugherty reports that the North County Times, in an article titled, "Too Close for Comfort: New State Law Is Killing Animals," explained how the law was "increasing the number of animals destroyed and reducing adoptions …"
While this is sad, it isn't really surprising. As Daugherty notes, "no-kill" is a misnomer, since the refusal of limited-admission shelters to accept the responsibility of euthanasia means that they fill up quickly, leaving the turned-away animals to be taken to open-admission shelters (merely shifting the burden of euthanasia) or, worse, to be simply abandoned to face disease, traffic, starvation, predators, and other dangers.
Limited-admission shelters also tend to attract animal hoarders who take in far more animals than they can possibly care for. PETA’s undercover investigation of South Carolina's now-defunct Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary—which was really just a front for a hoarder—produced evidence that finally prompted authorities to rescue hundreds of caged cats who had been suffering through a living nightmare of constant filth, disease, and injuries.
We all want to see the number of euthanized animals decreased, but the Hayden Law debacle shows that this goal can't be accomplished just by making it nearly impossible for shelters to use euthanasia to address the current crisis. As one former shelter volunteer explained after visiting a shelter overburdened because of the restrictions imposed by the Hayden Law, "As I passed the kennels, each crammed with too many dogs and puppies, many of them sick or diseased, I was reminded again that euthanasia is not the worst thing that can happen."
To become a truly no-kill nation, we must first become a no-birth nation by mandating spaying and neutering of dogs and cats to stop the flow of unwanted litters into our shelters. If you are concerned about euthanasia, you'll do far more good by adopting a dog from an open-admission shelter or sponsoring a spay/neuter procedure for a cat than by supporting a limited-admission shelter.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has announced plans to completely repeal the ill-advised Hayden Law, and let's hope he succeeds—for the animals' sake.
After discovering that a family of stray dogs had taken refuge at a vacant property in Texas, a kind-hearted soul contacted the landlord to get permission to go in and remove the seriously ill and injured animals. But when local law-enforcement officials and rescue groups were unable to help—no animal shelter serves the county—the dogs' defender called PETA.
PETA's cruelty caseworker persuaded an animal shelter in a neighboring county to take in the dogs and found someone willing to drive more than an hour to transport the two dogs and five puppies to the animal shelter.
Within minutes of their arrival, however, four of the desperately ill puppies died. And one of the adult dogs—suffering from a severe head injury as a result of having been kicked by a horse—was euthanized. But the fifth puppy pulled through and is being fostered by a shelter staffer, and the other adult dog, who had been suffering from severe mange, has been treated and adopted into a loving home.
Life for homeless dogs and cats is dangerous and often deadly. Please, if you see stray animals, never look the other way—do whatever you can to get them off the streets and into a safe place.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
With our new campaign on Facebook's "Causes" platform, we're aiming to raise $15,000 in January to fund anti-fur protests, distribute literature, buy ad space, and erect billboards to send the message that fur looks best on its original owners.
Despite the decreasing popularity of fur and the plethora of faux looks in stores this year, some backward designers are still trying to stage a resurgence of real fur. But as designers try to push the cruelest of fashions, we're pushing back.
PETA/Manfred Karreman
It's baffling how any clothier with a conscience could ignore the fact that this year alone, more than 2 million animals—including cats and dogs exactly like those we share our homes with—will be shoved into wire cages so tightly that they can't move and be trucked across China to be slaughtered. Some of them will be dead by the time they arrive. They are the lucky ones.
Those who survive will feel their bones break when workers throw the crates around like rag dolls. They may be beaten and stomped on. Or they may have the skin ripped off their bodies while they scream and thrash in pain.
You can help stop this cruelty by joining our "Causes" campaign and sharing it on your social-networking sites. And please consider making a lifesaving donation today to help end the fur trade.
A new PETA ad campaign is rolling out in St. Louis to make sure that Washington University's faculty, staff, students, and supporters don't forget about the school's use of live cats for painful and terrifying medical training conducted in conjunction with St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Washington University folks will be confronted by images of cats like those who have tubes forced down their throats in the university's Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course (most other PALS courses have upgraded to modern, sophisticated simulators) pretty much everywhere they look:
© iStockphoto.com/Dan Brandenburg
© iStockphoto.com/Grigoriy Lukyanov
Please join us in telling Washington University and St. Louis Children's Hospital that it's time to get with the program and scratch cruelty to cats out of their curriculum.
Update: Good news! Officer J.N. Snoddy has been charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly beating the cat and has been placed on administrative leave. We'll keep you posted as the case unfolds.
The original post ran on December 15, 2011:
When Harrisonburg, Virginia, police officer J.N. Snoddy was dispatched to render emergency aid to a cat who had been hit by a car and was partially paralyzed, he apparently decided that, instead of promptly and speedily driving the injured animal to the nearest emergency veterinary hospital (just 30 minutes away), he would instead beat the animal to death with his police-issued baton.
Good Samaritan and eyewitness Wayne Meadows, who originally called to get help for the injured cat, was so horrified by the officer's alleged conduct that he vowed to publicize what had happened and make sure that no animal would ever be beaten and killed like that again.
Meadows called news outlets and contacted PETA to share what he witnessed. Thanks to his actions, which prompted a letter from PETA to officials and enormous public outcry, the Virginia State Police have launched a criminal investigation into Snoddy's alleged conduct.
This case shows the power of one individual to bring about justice for animals. With an investigation now underway, PETA is hopeful that the Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) will take us up on our offer to provide free training to all field staff in the humane and legal handling of animal emergencies. HPD is also being pressured to establish standard operating procedures for officers who evidently can't always be trusted to use good judgment in animal-related cases.
If you ever witness cruelty to animals, and authorities don’t do their job, don't hesitate to contact PETA for help.
Megan Park, the star of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, has great fashion sense both on- and off-screen. So, of course, she never wears fur, as she makes crystal clear in a new anti-fur ad for PETA.
Before she was an American teenager, Megan was growing up in Canada and was appalled by the Canadian seal slaughter. With her beau, musician Tyler Hilton, by her side, she chose to reveal her stunning new ad in her native country so that she could encourage fans on both sides of the border to keep fur where it belongs—on animals.
"These animals are skinned alive and kept in small little cages. It's just awful, awful treatment, and there's no reason for it," she says.
Megan and an adorable rescued pup named Tyson remind people that Chinese fur farms often sell dog and cat fur labeled as something else, so if you buy fur, there's no way to know whose skin you're really wearing.
Click here to see the behind-the-scenes video from Megan's photo shoot and join her in getting the secret out: If you wouldn't wear your dog, you shouldn't wear any fur.
A cat's survival of two harrowing ordeals in a gas chamber has prompted concerned citizens to demand that the West Valley City, Utah, animal shelter scrap its cruel carbon-monoxide gas chamber and replace it with euthanasia by injection. After the second attempt to gas her, the cat was put into a plastic bag and placed in a cooler before being discovered still alive sometime later.
Although the cat, now named Andrea, has since been adopted, animals in West Valley City—and in other municipalities in which animal shelters continue to use gas chambers—still suffer nightmarish deaths. There is no excuse for using these antiquated contraptions, which can take as long as 25 terrifying minutes to end animals' lives—assuming they work at all.
Gassing is especially cruel to animals who are very young, old, pregnant, or sick—qualities common to many, if not most, animals who arrive at animal shelters daily—because of their compromised health and/or physical state. Carbon-monoxide exposure is also dangerous to workers, placing them at risk for short- and long-term health problems or even death. When properly performed, euthanasia by injection is painless and quick. It's less expensive, too—an important consideration at a time when so many animal shelters are struggling financially.
If your local animal shelter is still using cruel and archaic methods to put animals to death, please work with your elected officials to institute a policy requiring euthanasia by injection. To get more people involved, you can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining why it's time to ensure that when euthanasia is necessary, the community's least-fortunate animals have their lives ended humanely, with peace and dignity.
Written by PETA
I volunteered at a "no kill" cat shelter before coming to PETA. There, I saw firsthand why "no kill" policies do not work. The cats at the shelter were confined to small cages, and many had been there for years, including one poor 11-year-old girl who had been caged since kittenhood.
PETA's Community Animal Project freed this feral cat from her suffering, who had been dragging herself along the street with a broken leg.
This shelter even caged feral cats—which is as cruel as keeping a squirrel or a raccoon in a cage. One cat, Ginger, haunts me to this day. Terrified of humans, she cowered in her litterbox 24/7, never playing or showing any sign of happiness. The only time that she ever left her litterbox was to hiss and spit at people who came near her cage. Is this a worthwhile life for any animal?
During my time there, the shelter received dozens of calls each day from people who wanted to surrender their cats, but shelter workers never said "Yes" to a single person. It was always full. I can't count the number of calls that ended with some variation of, "Well, if you can't help me, I'm just going to turn him loose." An outdoor life is no life for a cat. Cats outside are at risk for disease, abuse, being hit by cars, and worse. And other people simply dumped cats on the shelter's doorstep. One person stuffed 13 cats into two carriers and took off.
This is why, instead of "no kill," I refer to these shelters as "limited admission." It's much more accurate, and it doesn't demonize open-admission shelters, which have the Herculean task of taking in all animals, no matter how old, sick, aggressive, injured, or otherwise unadoptable they may be, even when it would be easier to simply turn them away.
Written by Sarah Preston, intake manager for PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department
The year 2011 was a great one for animals, and 2012 is bound to be even better. Tell us what you plan to do for animals in the coming year, and you could win a gift basket to help you start the year off right! The basket contains a selection of fabulous health, beauty, and whole-food products—including Bija certified organic teas, Green Beaver hair-care products, olive oils, and nutritional supplements—from PETA Business Friend Flora, Inc.
Not sure how to get active for animals in 2012? Here are some ideas:
Let us know in the comments section what you have up your sleeve for the new year, and you'll be entered in the drawing for a chance to win the Flora gift basket.
A winner will be chosen at random from the animal-friendly comments that are submitted. The contest will end on January 13, 2012, and we'll contact the winner by January 31, 2012. Make sure that you read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited by law. Good luck!
Some folks made Christmas merry, while others are in need of making some serious New Year's resolutions to shape up:
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.