Two years ago, a major animal welfare group could put out a piece in the media stating “we have massive irresponsibility in our community and we need X law” (insert mandatory desexing, pet owner licencing, cat curfews etc) and pet lovers, who believed everything they’d been told by these animal welfare leaders without question, would jump in and fully support whatever was being proposed. I mean, why wouldn’t they? These people were ‘on the coalface’ of welfare and they would know.
Two years ago, a major animal welfare group could put out a piece in the media stating “we have massive overpopulation in our community and so we have no choice but to kill thousands of pets” and pet lovers, who believed everything they’d been told by these animal welfare leaders without question, would jump in and offer condolences to the poor animal welfare workers. These people are professionals who must be exhausting every avenue to save animals… mustn’t they?
Two years ago, a major animal welfare group could put out a piece in the media stating “our community is worse than any other; the pets aren’t rehomable and the community doesn’t care enough to help us save them” and pet lovers, who believed everything they’d been told by these animal welfare leaders without question, would agree wholeheartedly that their situation was unique and their pets were unsavable and their problems were insurmountable and that the only solution was in fact, to continue to kill animals.
But today, things are different.
Those same pet lovers who believed everything they’d been told by the animal welfare leaders without question… are connecting with each other. They are able to see that they have not only been shut out of the decision making of these community funded organisations, but that these groups have been hiding facts and figures and performance behind the mantras of ‘public irresponsibility’, ‘overpopulation’ and ‘unique and insurmountable problems’, which when critically examined, prove to be false.
Whats more, by believing killing was the only way, the shelters themselves have created systems and procedures which ensure the killing continues. Cat ‘welfare’ groups who accept paid council tenders to trap and remove cats, despite killing 9 out of 10 intakes. Mega pounds which pull in stray pets from dozens of councils, cherry pick the best and kill the rest. Pounds which block access to community rescue groups, preferring the simplicity of killing unclaimed pets. Shelters who refuse to implement basic programs like foster care, off-site adoption and extended trading hours. Shelters who choose to kill, rather than offer free and discount desexing to at-risk pets. Shelters who kill unweaned kittens and untame cats. Shelters which lobby for laws that kill bull breeds. Shelters who kill rather than offer behavioural and veterinary rehabilitation. Shelters who continue to choose killing over implementing the programs that could stop it.
But now, thanks to the ease of which pet lovers can communicate, the community are getting wise. They can compare the performance of their own local pound or shelter, with those in other communities – both here and around the globe. They can see the results of the implementation of new legislation on other communty’s kill rates with a few clicks on the web, rather than relying on just what the shelters tell them. They expect that their local shelter will speak to them directly about which life-saving programs and services they are implementing and how the community can be involved. They expect council funded pounds will be more than just another ‘garbage disposal service’. And they expect transparency in performance and outcomes like never before.
No longer can a pound or shelter complain about their ‘high kill rates’ without a community backlash – of both frustration and assistance. The community don’t want pets to die in shelters. The community will support programs which reduce intakes and rehabilitate pets. The community will foster and be involved with their local community rescue groups. The community, when offered convenience and a friendly welcome, will adopt in droves. The community will volunteer and fundraise when they can see the resources are being spent on caring for animals, not killing them. The community want shelters to be a place of safety for pets.
A community who no longer believes the myths, mantras and excuses of shelters who defend killing in the face of alternatives, have the power to bring about the change needed to save the lives of pets. So while the shelters defend killing and continue to lobby for laws to punish the ‘irresponsible’ and ‘reduce overpopulation’, the community’s pet lovers are realising that because the problems exist inside the shelters – the solution lay there also.
The No Kill Primer – a beginners guide to making any community No Kill
