Los Angeles appears to be striving for that ultimate goal in animal shelter management: no-kill. It takes imagination, commitment, and lots of effort to bring down the kill rate at animal shelters but it is feasible although many people will probably say it isn’t. The general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) Brenda Barnette says:
“We still have work to do, but we’re making progress.”
Before I continue, I was interested to read in the article in the Los Angeles Daily News that a save rate of 90% is considered no-kill. This figure is based on what I believe is an estimate that 10% of shelter animals are considered to be too sick or too violent to be placed in new homes. I don’t know if that figure is accurate and to be critical it should be accurate. The trouble with assessing whether an animal is too sick or to violent is: how accurate is the assessment and who makes the assessment? These are fair questions because lives are at stake.
LAAS has had their best year in respect of euthanising the smallest number of dogs and cats. In the year ending June 30, 2014, Los Angeles Animal Services euthanised 4,400 fewer unwanted cats and dogs compared to the previous year. Well done to Brenda Barnette and her team.
This represents a 70% save rate of dogs and cats at shelters in Los Angeles which although it is 20% below the 90% no-kill target, is still a 6% increase on the previous year.
It is obviously very important for a leading city such as Los Angeles to demonstrate to the rest of the state and indeed the nation that it is possible to operate a genuine no-kill shelter system. As far as I’m concerned, it invariably comes down to management. How committed and dedicated is management? I’m sure it is extremely difficult to achieve a true no-kill service but management has to believe it is possible and head towards the target.
There are still very many dogs and cats killed at shelters in Los Angeles. In the year ending June 30, 12,680 cats and dogs were killed. However, the city’s shelters received almost 4,600 less animals in the previous year. This is obviously one reason why less animals were killed at the shelters but it is only one aspect of the overall situation because Los Angeles Animal Services employs other methods to reduce the number of dogs and cats killed such as transporting 1,000 shelter dogs to the Pacific Northwest and the East Coast for adoption there.
Another reason for the lower kill rate was more homes were found for their animals through partnerships with other rescue organisations and increased adoptions. In addition there have been higher rates of neutering and spaying. It is a community effort as Marc Peralta of Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay Neuter Centre says.
“It’s not where we want to be, but we’re going in the right direction.” Marc says.
If over the coming year or years Los Angeles can euthanise of about 7,000 fewer shelter animals then, according to the 90% no-kill criteria, they will become a no-kill city.
I find this a very positive and uplifting story and very important because the most important aspect of cat welfare in USA and other countries is a reduction in the killing of unwanted companion animals. The euthanasia of cats and dogs at shelters is possibly the most common cause of death in the USA for these companion animals.
Photo: From the National Archives 111-SC box 692 329528 via army-arch on Flickr creative commons.
This psychotic and delusional “No-Kill” religion (conceived of, based on, and fueled by their own relentless fear of death) is the DIRECT CAUSE of the most heinous, widespread, and longest lasting animal abuse in the history of humanity.
There’s far worse things than death. Read it and weep if you think saving more animals’ lives is going to give them a life worth living: notesfromadogwalker.com/2012/07/21/how-i-failed-as-a-rescuer-lessons-from-a-sanctuary/
And the fun aspect to every community that goes “no kill”, is that everyone in every surrounding county and nearby state gleefully traps up all their unwanted animals and drives through the back-roads and neighborhoods of those “no kill communities”; day and night, dropping off all their unwanted animals — just so you can “no kill” them. 🙂 Then those no-kill shelters rapidly fill to capacity within the month. Then even MORE pets are dumped by criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible people like you, who taught everyone that it’s okay if they dump their pets outside on public lands. Because you’ll take care of it for them! You are causing your own problem and even more animals to be dumped that now *must* suffer to death. DELETED THIS SECTION (ADMIN).
See, the problem here is that just because you call a place “no kill” doesn’t mean that no killing is going on. Every last invasive species cat that you let roam free is destroying hundreds and thousands of valuable native animal lives per year — senselessly, not even using them for food. And all those billions of animals that are killed for pet-foods to feed your “no kill” pets, well, they are killed too — BY YOU. The more you try to keep your unwanted pets alive, hundreds of times more animals are killed just so one can live while your unwanted “pets” only end-up suffering to death. Look it up under “Hypocrisy 101”.
I guess if you didn’t have that immense bliss of self-inflicted ignorance to wallow in all your sad and sorry lives you’d probably think you weren’t accomplishing anything at all. Guess what? You’re not.
I barely published your comment Woody because it is too impolite. Please provide clear evidence that people from different states and counties bring unwanted cats to no-kill shelters until the shelter fills up.
We don’t teach people to dump cats on public lands. Where did you get that idea from?
More ramblings Woody. Sorry.
Why is it that Los Angeles County has stopped rescues from pulling dogs from the shelters? Many dogs are dying, who is forcing this and why are rescues not allowed to pull dogs? just because one rescue pulls such a high rate of dogs.?? FB pages show that the L.A. county shelters death rate has shot up and it is due to supr. or someone up the ladder taking away rescues to come in to pull dogs. What is going on with that? Allegedly ASPCA has given a grant of 25 M $$ To calif shelters for various programs, why no rescues allowed in L.A. county??
Hi everyone, that sounds encouraging. Hopefully one day that can happen everywhere. Its so hard to read on Facebook, and other places that a kitten or Cat being destroyed. It breaks my heart especially when you see wee Kittens not even starting out in life, that there life is cut short. If i had a way I’d save every cat and Kitten or Animal but, realistically speaking I know I cant do it all.
I’m very pleased.
No-kill nationwide is the goal.
I still believe that mandatory neutering will hasten the miracle.
I agree with Dee, the best solution is neutering of all pet cats. Our Cats Protection are trying to get that law passed here too, that day can’t come soon enough and we don’t have kill shelters!
I hate it that so many unwanted cats in America are being killed, as well as compulsory neutering there needs to be countrywide education about cats.
I become despondent by the lack of real progress and shelters can’t mop up the consequences of irresponsible cat ownership. It definitely a community problem and should be tackled from all sides.
For a start, NO ONE should be allowed to breed pedigree cats or half wild cats until every ordinary moggie has a home.
RIGHT ON!
Exactly. Get the shelters empt and, then, think about cats a hobbies.
YES!!! No one at all can justify breeding cats until those shelters are empty!
So many things come into play in order to empty kill shelters, ie. the need for mandatory neutering ofcourse but, also a halt to the massive relinquishment of cats. That starts with better screening of potential adopters. If they don’t pass an, “I know how to care for a cat” test, they don’t like claws, they have insane expectations, or are never home, they need to get on down the road.