The most widely accepted definition of a no-kill shelter is a place where all adoptable and treatable animals are saved and where only unadoptable or non-rehabilitatable animals are euthanized.
No Kill as defined by Hayden's Law (California)
"No adoptable animal should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable home. Adoptable animals include only those animals eight weeks of age or older that, at or subsequent to the time the animal is impounded or otherwise taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a behavioral or temperamental defect that could pose a health or safety risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet, and have manifested no sign of disease, injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal or that is likely to adversely affect the animal's health in the future
"No treatable animal should be euthanized. A treatable animal shall include any animal that is not adoptable but that could become adoptable with reasonable efforts."
Sick, traumatized, infant or unsocialized dogs need appropriate medical treatment, behavior modification and/or foster care to turn them into healthy animals ready for placement.
"Unadoptable" or "non-rehabilitatable" means animals that are neither adoptable or treatable. By way of exclusion, SB1785 defines "unadoptable":
1) Animals eight weeks of age or younger at or subsequent to the time the animal is impounded;
2) Animals that have manifested signs of a behavioral or temperamental defect;
3) Those that could pose a health or safety risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet and
4) Animals that have manifested signs of disease, injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal or that is likely to adversely affect the animal's health in the future.
Euthanasia vs. Killing
"Euthanasia" means painlessly ending the life of one suffering from a hopelessly terminal illness or incurable medical condition. Euthanasia does not by definition mean taking a life because of behavior, impractical medical costs or inability to adopt because of age, disfigurement, unpopular breed, lack of appeal or dearth of available homes.
Tails A' Waggin' Rescue will only resort to euthanasia when there is no remaining quality of life because of extreme pain and suffering that cannot be alleviated by medical treatment AND only after trying everything possible to try to save it, regardless of expense. But even 'pain and suffering' can be subjective. Perhaps the final determination is best left to a committee that includes at least one veterinarian and several volunteer rescue workers.
Maddies Funds believes, "One way to think about the meaning of no-kill is to apply the same standard to an animal shelter as you would to your own pet. Would you put your cat down if he had a broken bone? What if your dog had kennel cough or separation anxiety? I don't think most people would take their pet's lives for these conditions".
But applying the same standard most people would use for their own pet would not fare well for animals. If 150,000,000-250,000,000* animals were killed in pounds last decade, then the truth is most guardians just don't care. A huge number of impounded animals are there because guardians bring them there. Tufts University says 44% of shelter animals are owner-surrendered. Even more surprising is the number that instruct the pound to kill their healthy and adoptable pets! Last year 4,873 pets were killed in San Diego County alone because of 'owner requests'. And of the strays captured by animal controllers, many were dumped in fields by their caretakers or pushed out of cars or were never sought after they got out of the yard. Real estate agents nationwide can attest to how many animals are left behind in vacant homes and yards when properties are sold and homeowners move on. According to Animals Voice, what 'most people' would do is regrettable. It is conceivable that almost every animal that ends up in the pound is a direct result of a guardian who didn't make a life-time commitment of care and protection. Perhaps we need to start asking people to apply the same standard as they would to their own child instead of their pet.
Problems arise when killing is permitted for reasons other than to end extreme physical suffering. Definitions start adapting to the decision maker's whims, convenience, prejudices and no-kill targets. Suddenly the opening becomes a floodgate. For example, San Diego County Animal Control claimed that out of 17,421 animals killed in 2004, only 15 were healthy and 8,089 were 'non-rehabilitatable'. So 46.4% of the total animals killed were labeled 'non-adoptable.' The agency is currently a Maddies Fund recipient and stands to gain millions of dollars by meeting no-kill goals.
Francis Batista, co-founder of Best Friends Sanctuary, believes the way quotas are set is important to avoid schemes. "Communities and organizations that are truly committed to saving lives are moving away from the whole notion of rating their success on percentage of adoptable animals placed. Instead, we focus on the 'live release rate,' a calculation that includes all the animals that come into our care. [San Diego County Animal Control, supra, killed 33% of its total intake of dogs and cats].
"The no-kill movement is not a numbers game or an accounting scam that shifts column headings on the numbers of animals killed to alter the balance sheet. It is a repudiation of the whole idea of using mass killing as a means of pet population control. Instead, it calls for a commitment to the lives of those animals already born, a reduction in the pet birth rate through spay/neuter, and a dramatic change in the way we, as a nation of self-described animal lovers, regard our pets."
What Happens When The Pound is Full?
Vikki Shore, director of No-Kill NOW! said, "I hear it over and over again. 'Doesn't a no kill shelter have to kill when all the cages are full?' This is the question most often asked.
"The objective of no-kill is to prevent filling animal pounds to capacity. How this is accomplished encompasses everything that the no-kill movement is about.
"We can stop looking for that easy one-step solution to overpopulation. We've already had a quick-fix for the last 150 years. It has been killing. Today our society is ready for a more sophisticated and humane response.
"No-kill requires a collaboration between:
the public
rescues
pound administrators
veterinarians
charitable foundations
government officials
and the business community.
"No-kill is not one solution. It is many.
No-kill means cultivating foster networks. This relieves pound overcrowding while giving strays and abandoned animals an opportunity to be socialized in a home atmosphere instead of cold concrete floors and wire cages. Foster homes also give adoptive families a place to go besides the 'catch and kill' pound that many won't walk in to.
No-kill means implementing aggressive spay and neuter programs at the local level with specific goals and measurable results.
No-kill means increasing pound adoptions exponentially through regularly-scheduled media blitzes designed to motivate the public into taking adoption action.
No-kill means creating personal placement plans for every impounded animal commencing on the day of entry that addresses his or her specific needs, behavior, personality and health along with a target adoption strategy.
No-kill means employing marketing and promotion specialists to work at pounds to ensure every animal has a chance to be optimally showcased to the public for adoption.
No-kill means executing written contracts with shelter employees and administrators that clearly define the shelter’s standard of care for animals, that set specific adoption goals and offer rewards or non-renewal based on frequent performance reviews.
No-kill means seeking licensing fees and moratoriums that restrict breeders and puppy-mills because they contribute to overpopulation, health problems and pound deaths by taking away available homes. Rarely are buyers screened and selected because they would provide the best home for the animal. When pets are sold unspayed to unqualified homes it means more strays and shelter impounds in future years.
No-kill means requiring frequent house-to-house canvassing programs by municipalities to detect unlicensed breeders, animal abuse and to collect license fees that will be used to fund no-kill programs.
No-kill means prioritizing public education that teaches the benefits of spay and neuter, respect for animals and the importance of life-time commitments to adopted companions.
No-kill means recognizing that rescues are essential to making no-kill work and encourages cooperation between rescues and pounds.
No-kill means discouraging 'owners'* from relinquishing animals through programs, fees and fines and offering rewarding alternatives. 'Owner' turn-ins should be documented in a statewide database available to all pounds and rescues.
No-kill means calling for the abolition of 'no-pet' rental housing. Moving is the number one reason why families give up their companion animals and a landlord's refusal to take pets is number two.
No-kill means resolving perhaps the biggest problem of all, the attitude that pets are a disposable commodity. An NCPPSP study showed that 50% of pets that were in homes the previous year were not in those homes the following year. When the government kills an estimated 250,000,000 companion animals a decade because of 'oversupply', it sends a loud and clear message to its citizens that animals have no value and are expendable.
No-kill means establishing minimum adoption standards for shelters and rescues including a required home check and thorough history of what happened to previous animal companions.
No-kill means authorizing trap, neuter and release programs to reduce cat overpopulation and to slash the 90% kill-rate of kittens and cats at many pounds.
No-kill means building a 'living' shelter where students, teachers, classes, businesses, families and volunteers joyfully congregate and where animals reap the benefits of interaction and adoptions.
No-kill means addressing animal abuse, neglect, chaining (tethering), junk-yard and watch dogs and cruelty - all which lead to recycling of animals into pounds and which infect a community with a non-caring attitude towards animals.
No-kill means forming a Citizen Advisory Committee to oversee 'open-door' shelter operations and encourage public interest in its activities.
No-kill means easing restrictions on the number of neutered animals per household, especially for fosters, rescues and their 'deputies' working to end pound killing. Too many animals in the household is the number 3 reason for 'owner' relinquishment.
No-Kill means reuniting lost animals with their guardians through affordable micro chipping and a centralized ‘lost and found’ bulletin board accessible to everyone and sufficiently promoted so that it is widely used.
No-Kill means reducing lost pets by eliminating the use of fireworks and gun shooting into the air in residential neighborhoods and encouraging minimum fence and gate standards for animal guardians.
No-kill means requiring the publication of all pertinent pound statistics both on the internet and in a conspicuous place at the animal control facility so the results of the no-kill objectives are available for review by the entire community.
No-kill means obtaining funding from public, private and government sectors to support its goals.
"No-kill is possible. While it doesn't require every measure mentioned here, it does take an alliance of people who care enough to make it work.
"So, what is No-Kill? It is not an administrator, a building or a contract. It's a community, working together."
Source: No Kill Now (www.nokillnow.com)
8 Reasons to Buy from the Pound (also from No Kill Now)
1. Save a Life, Literally
5-10 million shelter animals die each year because there are not enough homes. Every animal that is born, intentionally or accidentally, takes a potential home from a wonderful animal that already exists.
If you want a pet, go to your local shelter and pick out a new friend that needs to be saved before it becomes a statistic.
2. Stopping Puppy Mills and Backyard Breeders
If you buy from a pet store supplied by puppy mills or backyard breeders, you are directly responsible for keeping them in business. Without demand, there is no need for supply.
Puppy mills and backyard breeders exist today and in your community.
Pet stores are not required to truthfully tell you where they get their animals.
3. What You See is What You Get
Shelters are full of adults, so you know what you are getting.
You know exactly how big the animal will get, how much they will shed, and what their personality will be like.
Many people adopt a cute puppy that turns out to be huge, hairy, and slobbery, and then have to give it away.
4. The Adult Advantage
Babies are appealing, but adults are usually more practical. Shelters are full of adults that are much calmer than babies and many are already housebroken and trained.
Babies require around the clock, constant care and need a great deal of attention and that can be exhausting.
Adults can usually stay at home while you work, babies cannot.
5. The Mixed Advantage
Shelters are full of mixed breed animals, which often have better health and temperament than many purebreds.
Genetic defects are much less likely to occur in a mixed breed animal (i.e.: hip dysplasia, aggression, breathing problems, etc).
6. Unconditional Love
Many shelter animals have been abandoned, abused, or neglected, yet they are still willing to love and do anything to please us. Imagine finding a shelter pet that had been left for dead, and taking it home only to find out that this is what your life was missing.
There is no stronger bond than that.
7. Variety
Animals in shelters come in all ages, sizes, colors, and personalities. Short hair or long hair, foo-foo or rugged dogs, playful pups or lap dogs, snuggly cats or mousers can all be found in shelters.
8. Price
Purebred animals can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You can adopt a pet from a shelter for a lot less, usually $25-$75.
Organizations:
http://www.nokillsolutions.com/
http://www.alleycat.org/
http://www.bestfriends.org/
http://www.petsavers.org/
http://www.firepaw.org/
Animal Shelter/Rescue (nationwide):
http://www.petfinder.com/
http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/
Over 6,000 groups and individuals have signed the Declaration to date. Add yourself to the growing list of signatories.
To sign the Declaration,
http://www.alleycat.org/nkd.cfm
For More Info Please Visit:
http://nokilldeclaration.org/pages/1/index.htm
http://www.nokillsolutions.com/
www.alleycat.org.
The Declaration of the No Kill Movement in the United States
September 2005
I. Preamble
One hundred and fifty years ago, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and other humane organizations were founded to establish standards for humane treatment of animals, to promote their rights, and to protect them from harm. This marked the formal beginning of the humane movement in the United States. The scope and influence of these early humane organizations were testament to the public’s concern for animals. It did not take long for them to set their sights on the abuse of homeless animals and cruel methods of killing by public pounds. It was common practice at the time for city and town dog-catchers to beat, drown, or shoot homeless animals. Many humane agencies responded by entering into animal control contracts with towns and cities to ensure that the killing was done more humanely. But in taking on municipal animal control duties, these agencies abandoned their lifesaving and life-enhancing platforms when those beliefs conflicted with their contractual responsibilities. In the current era, where laws require killing by even more “humane” methods, these contradictions have become starker. Increasingly, the practices of both humane societies and municipal animal control agencies are out of step with public sentiment. Today, most Americans hold the humane treatment of animals as a personal value, which is reflected in our laws, cultural practices, the proliferation of organizations founded for animal protection, increased per capita spending on animal care, and great advancements in veterinary medicine. But the agencies that the public expects to protect animals are instead killing more than five million animals annually. Lifesaving alternatives to the mass killing of animals in shelters have existed for decades. These lifesaving methods are based on innovative, humane, nonlethal programs and services that have proven that the killing can be brought to an end. Too many of these agencies, however, remain mired in the kill philosophies of the past, unwilling to or hampered from exploring and adopting methods that save lives. This is a breach of their public trust, a gross deviation from their responsibility to protect animals, and a point of view that we, as caring people and a humane community, can no longer accept or tolerate. We assert that a No Kill nation is within our reach—that the killing can and must be brought to an end. It is up to each of us working individually and together to implement sheltering models that have already saved tens of thousands of animals in progressive communities. If we work together—with certainty of purpose, assured of our own success, with the commitment that “what must be done, will be done”—the attainment of our goals will not be far off.
www.nokilldeclaration.org
II. No Kill Resolution
Whereas, the right to live is every animal’s most basic and fundamental right;
Whereas, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and other humane organizations were founded to establish standards for humane treatment of animals, to promote their rights, and to protect them from harm;
Whereas, traditional sheltering practices allow the mass killing of sheltered animals;
Whereas, every year shelters in the United States are killing millions of healthy and treatable animals who could be placed in homes, and are also killing millions of feral cats who do not belong in shelters;
Whereas, life always takes precedence over expediency;
Whereas, the No Kill movement in the United States has successfully implemented new and innovative programs that provide alternatives to mass killing;
Whereas, lifesaving change will come about only if No Kill programs are embraced and further developed;
Whereas, failure to implement No Kill programs constitutes a breach of the public’s trust in the sheltering community;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that No Kill policies and procedures are the only legitimate foundation for animal sheltering; and, It is incumbent upon all shelters and animal groups to embrace the philosophy of No Kill, to immediately begin implementing programs and services that will end the mass killing of sheltered animals, and to reject the failed kill-oriented practices of the past.
III. Statement of Rights
We acknowledge the following:
• Sheltered animals have a right to live;
• Feral cats have a right to their lives and their habitats;
• Animals, rescuers, and the public have a right to expect animal protection organizations and animal shelters to do everything in their power to promote, protect, and advocate for the lives of animals;
• Animal protection groups, rescue groups, and No Kill shelters have a right to take into their custody animals who would otherwise be killed by animal shelters;
• Taxpayers and community members have a right to have their government spend tax monies on programs and services whose purpose is to save and enhance the lives of all animals;
• Taxpayers and community members have a right to full and complete disclosure about how animal shelters operate.
www.nokilldeclaration.org
IV. Guiding Principles
No Kill is achieved only by guaranteeing the following:
• Life to all healthy animals, and to all sick, injured, or vicious animals where medical or behavioral intervention would alter a poor or grave prognosis;
• The right of feral cats to live in their habitats. These conditions can be achieved only through adherence to the following:
• Shelters and humane groups end the killing of healthy and treatable animals, including feral cats;
• Every animal in a shelter receives individual consideration, regardless of how many animals a shelter takes in, or whether such animals are healthy, underaged, elderly, sick, injured, traumatized, or feral;
• Shelters and humane organizations discontinue the use of language that misleads the public and glosses over the nature of their actions, such as “euthanasia,” “unadoptable,” “fractious,” “putting them to sleep,” and other euphemisms that downplay the gravity of ending life and make the task of killing easier;
• Shelters are open to the public during hours that permit working people to reclaim or adopt animals during nonworking hours;
• Shelters and other government agencies promote spay/neuter programs and mandate that animals be spayed or neutered before adoption;
• Public shelters work with humane animal adoption organizations to the fullest extent to promote the adoption of animals and to reduce the rate of killing;
• Shelters provide care and treatment for all animals in shelters to the extent necessary, including prompt veterinary care, adequate nutrition, shelter, exercise, and socialization;
• Shelters are held accountable for and make information publicly available about all the animals in their care.
V. No Kill Standards
The implementation of these lifesaving procedures, policies, and programs must be the immediate goal of every shelter, and animal control and animal welfare agency:
• Formal, active commitment by shelter directors, management, and staff to lifesaving programs and policies, and dedication to promptly ending mass killing of shelter animals;
• Immediate implementation of the following programs by all publicly funded or subsidized animal shelters:
www.nokilldeclaration.org
• High-volume, low- and no-cost spay/neuter services;
• A foster care network for underaged, traumatized, sick, injured, or other animals needing refuge before any sheltered animal is killed, unless the prognosis for rehabilitation of that individual animal is poor or grave;
• Comprehensive adoption programs that operate during weekend and evening hours and include offsite adoption venues;
• Medical and behavioral rehabilitation programs;
• Pet retention programs to solve medical, environmental, or behavioral problems and keep animals with their caring and responsible caregivers;
• Trap-Neuter-Return or Release (TNR) programs;
•Rescue group access to shelter animals;
• Volunteer programs to socialize animals, promote adoptions, and help in the operations of the shelter;
• Documentation before any animal is killed that all efforts to save the animal have been considered, including medical and behavioral rehabilitation, foster care, rescue groups, neuter and release, and adoption.
•An end to the policy of accepting trapped feral cats to be destroyed as unadoptable, and implementation of TNR as the accepted method of feral cat control by educating the public about TNR and offering TNR program services;
• An end to the use of temperament testing that results in killing animals who are not truly vicious (e.g., shy/timid cats and frightened dogs) but who can be placed in homes, or are feral cats who can be returned or released;
• Abolishment of trapping, lending traps to the public to capture animals, and support of trapping by shelters, governments, and pest control companies for the purposes of removing animals to be killed;
• An end to owner-requested killing of animals unless the shelter has made an independent determination that the animal is irremediably suffering or cannot be rehabilitated;
• The repeal of unenforceable and counter-productive animal control ordinances such as cat licensing and leash laws, pet limit laws, bans on feeding.
An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner:
Thank you for contacting us animal rescuers, shelter volunteers, and foster-homes about your inability to keep your pet. We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals (and none of us is getting paid, OK?). To help us expedite your problem as quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:
1. Do not say that you are "CONSIDERING finding a good home" for your pet, or that you, "feel you MIGHT be forced to," or that you "really THINK it would be better if" you unloaded the poor beast. Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you commonsense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you. For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.
2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your coworker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of" their animals.
"Get rid of" is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone "gets rid of" YOU someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't . . . ." You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.
3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who need help, and I have no room to foster-house your pet. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s his blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home. Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies. What you don't realize is that, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth: Your pet is a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can't fix that problem. All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they were indeed very, very special.
4. Finally, just, for God' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat is "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-dokey! No prob!" and take it into foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me that you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more of our time. And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine." Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life. How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask? Do not ever dare to judge us. At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end. At least we never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't you? In short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the point where she would prefer you pet owners to tell her stories like this: "We went to Wal-Mart and picked up a free pet in the parking lot a couple of years ago. Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we thought. We've got no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is really smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues. Clearly, we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting kind of funny. "We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastically, and immediately. We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is an (almost) pure-bred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get it at Wal-Mart too, and boy, it's a really good deal, price-wise. "We are very irritated that you haven't shown pity on us in our great need and picked the animal up already. We thought you people were supposed to be humane! Come and get it today. No, we couldn't possibly bring it to you; the final episode of "Survivor II" is on tonight."
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pet Owner, for your cooperation.
Author Unknown, but could be any shelter worker or rescuer.
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