The No-Kill Shelter Debate

I had lunch with a philanthropist-friend of mine yesterday who wants to get more involved with helping animals. Music to my ears! He was particularly enraged by Palm Beach County’s recent killing of over 500 dogs, some of whom had dog flu, and some of whom didn’t. I alerted him that the number of dogs was only 172 more than are usually killed in a month.

My friend likes the idea of the no-kill shelter, and wants to help one of those, and there is one in town. I was so happy with his desire to help animals, and his surprising anti-pure breed mentality (most people in his town have at least one and are happy to let you know of their lineage), that I didn’t have the heart to quash his enthusiasm with the following discussion.

Let’s deconstruct:

• We (the US) have an unsustainable number of dogs and cats. It’s unsustainable because we keep making more, by not spaying and neutering the existing ones, and by breeding more intentionally, 25% of whom will end up in shelters.
• Every shelter has a finite amount of space.
• Every shelter decides whether it will (humanely) kill animals after a pre-determined amount of time, or not.
  • If a shelter refuses to kill any animals, it will eventually (quickly, in many cases) reach capacity and will end up being a warehouse for unwanted animals.
  • If the shelter uses cages, the animals are then sentenced to years in a cage.
    • This results in depression, self-mutilation, anti-social behaviors, becoming "unhousebroken," and hopelessness.
  • If the shelter uses rooms, instead, the animals often fight, develop territories, and can easily spread disease.

• When a no-kill shelter reaches capacity, homeless, injured, and unwanted animals have to go somewhere (usually a shelter that does kill).

Do you see the Gray Matter? This is what happens when we analyze treatment of the symptom–the outward manifestation of a problem. There are always at least two options, and both seem rather bleak. But which would you choose–a life imprisoned, depressed, neglected, and maybe even abused? Or an end to life.

Go to Best Friends Animal Society for an example of a sanctuary well known for its successful policies and its programs.

And please, spay and neuter your dogs and cats, and adopt your next companion animal from a shelter.