We all want what’s best for our animal friends, but each of us can only do so much to help, especially if we’ve already got pets.
There are so many animals in need out there, more than could ever realistically be given forever homes, but we all try to do our best.
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In some ways, blanket rules like “adopt, don’t shop” and to not support “kill” shelters seem to make sense. They disincentive puppy mills and other bad factors by limiting the amount of money they can realistically make.
But those blanket rules aren’t without nuance either, as one Twitter user pointed out recently.
In a thread , @Theonewhomustn4 starts by saying that the terms “kill” and “no-kill” in regards to animal shelters is misunderstood and a conscientious person should be supporting both kinds equally.
This may surprise many people, because many animal advocates will say that supporting a “kill shelter” makes you an awful person.
On the face of it, the logic seems sound. Kill equals bad; no-kill equals good. If you don’t support the facilities that supposedly murder animals whenever they please, you’re a better person. And that can be true if a shelter with high-euthanasia rates is privately owned.
However, many municipal shelters, kennels, and humane societies are also included under the “kill shelter” umbrella, and that’s where things get complicated.
Publicly-owned municipal facilities are required to take in any animal found in their jurisdiction.
As we all know, municipal services are often underfunded and so those shelters aren’t often equipped to handle the hundreds or thousands of stray and lost animals a municipality may have in a given year. So when the kennels reach their maximum capacity, for the health and safety of the animals — and staff! — they have to begin making tough choices.
Meanwhile, private shelters can simply say, “Sorry, but we’re full” and not take an animal in need, meaning no animals being put down for population concerns.
The binary “kill” or “no-kill” distinction is practically meaningless once you consider @Theonewhomustn4’s argument.
The word choice matters.
If you asked the same person the questions “Would you support a kill shelter?” and “Would you support your municipal shelter?” they would probably answer firmly with a no and a yes respectively, even though both questions are about the same facility.
And the truth is that *all* animal shelters have to euthanize some animals.
Whether a sick or injured dog is at a small rescue or the local pound, if it’s too far gone to live happily or cannot be saved, the best choice is to let it die peacefully in its sleep.
But only publicly-funded shelters are forced to take drastic measures. Staff and volunteers who love animals are forced to decide between the older dog who has been there for a month and the pregnant stray about to add half a dozen more animals to the kennel’s population, not because they want to, but because they legally have to.
So if no one adopts from the “kill” shelter out of the misguided belief that it’s staffed by monsters, more animals end up dying.
Which just causes the cycle to repeat and the shelter to get more bad press which means even less support.
Eventually, the volunteers will move on, perhaps burned out from making those terrible choices, meaning even fewer resources.
So like @Theonewhomustn4 says: support all the shelters in your community, regardless of binary descriptions.
The best way to know whether a shelter is worthy of your time, money, or even adoption of an animal, is to visit in person. It’s easy to tell when people just don’t care or if they are doing their best with the limited resources on hand.
More and more places are making “kill shelters” a thing of the past.
And that is great , but for a municipality to make that switch, they need ongoing support and resources to safely manage the health and needs of every animal in their care, regardless of how long that animal stays with them.
Only by showing that support is available, can a community prove to their local government that the change is actually possible.
So next time someone you know starts complaining about the local “kill shelter”, point them to @Theonewhomustn4’s thread or simply explain why that term is misleading.
The more people who understand this, the more animals can be saved.
Last Updated on December 22, 2019 by Amy Pilkington
