…for shelter pets in Delaware, and potentially for shelter pets of every state in the country which might aspire to follow the same path:
Across the state and the country, animal rights supporters are praising legislation passed by the General Assembly in June to codify rules for the treatment and care of animals in Delaware shelters.
[…]
Shelter administrators say the new standards will drive down euthanasia numbers and put Delaware on the road to becoming the first “no kill” state in the country.
Some key points in the legislation:
- Shelter pets must be vaccinated within 8 hours of intake
- 3 day mandatory hold for found pets
- Shelters must maintain online lost and found listings
And:
After five days, the shelter can euthanize an unclaimed animal, but only if there is no available space to house the animal and it can’t be handed over to a private rescue group or placed in foster care.
Basically, the law increases a shelter pet’s chances of staying healthy, being reunited with the owner if lost, and being kept alive to be adopted if homeless.
Nathan Winograd has lots more details in a positively giddy post on his blog.
Congratulations Delaware!
Great news.. now if we can just get the media to stop using the terms “animal rights supporters”.. as we know most AR’s don’t want anyone to have pets at all..and some of them KILL animals on a routine basis.. Ingrid can you hear me???
This is utterly fantastic!
That is wonderful. Hooray for Delaware (and all the pet animals there)!