Kill-Free Shelter
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 14 February 2015 09:22
- Written by editor
PAOV – There's a new animals' rights petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it.
Residents and Councillors of Northumberland County: The policies and procedures at the Shelter of Hope need to change by them: *Becoming a no-kill shelter; *Removing the gas chamber; *Being required to work with local rescues; *Being required to make public what donated funds are used for.
Laurel Merriam Grafton, Ontario
Sign Laurel's petition
It is coming to light through many testimonials by residents of Northumberland County that The Shelter of Hope has been destroying animals who are viable and adoptable, even when there is space available to house them. According to personal accounts, there is often no attempt made to find suitable homes for these animals, or even to find their owners when they are brought in as strays. Many animals are deemed to be "aggressive" and therefore need to be "euthanized".
According to official reports, 198 out of 367 animals were put down at the facility between January and September of 2014. This is a 54% kill rate. 106 of the animals put down were cats deemed to be aggressive. Only 56% of stray dogs were returned to their owners and less than 3% of stray cats were returned to their owners. (Numbers taken from "Joint Animal Control Monthly Statistics January 2014-September 2014"). It is possible for shelters or Animal Control facilities to function as no-kill shelters, with kill rates of less than 10%. These facilities only euthanize animals for life threatening illness or injury. They work in conjunction with a veterinarian to determine what is in the best interest of the animal.
We are petitioning the local Municipal Governments to change the policies and procedures of the Shelter of Hope to become a no-kill shelter. We would ask that they be required to work with local rescue groups to network the animals to find their owners or to place the animals in suitable homes. The volunteers who work with the rescue groups will be allowed to go into the facility on a regular basis to evaluate the animals. The rescue groups would work with the facility to place animals in safe, loving homes that have been screened to ensure that the animals will be well taken care of for the remainder of their natural lives.
There is reportedly a gas chamber at the facility. Although it is unknown whether it is used or not, a gas chamber is an incredibly inhumane way for animals to die. It takes between 12 and 20 minutes for an animal to die in a gas chamber, suffocating, vomiting and choking the entire time. If there is more than one animal in the chamber at a time, they will often panic and hurt one another as well. The gas chamber needs to be removed from the facility in order to ensure that it can NEVER be used to destroy animals. If it is necessary to euthanize an animal for medical reasons, the animal should be euthanized medically and humanely by a veterinarian.
Although the Shelter of Hope is a municipally funded facility, many people donate money. However, it appears that is not always clear to the public where this money goes or what it is used for. We are asking that this information be made public in regular reports (e.g. minutes from monthly Board meetings) so that donors are fully aware of what their money is being used for.
These changes will ensure that the animals brought to the Shelter of Hope will have every chance to live a full and healthy life. These changes will ensure that lost animals will have a better chance of being returned to their families. These changes will ensure that policies and procedures are followed by staff members and are transparent to taxpayers and supporters of the facility.
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