In May and June of 2012, records obtained via FOIA show the Memphis pound killed a total of 20 kittens and 22 puppies for the crime of being “too young”. Being born is not a medically hopeless condition requiring euthanasia. It is a gift, something to be cherished and protected.
Compassionate foster owners value the lives of newborn kittens and puppies and are willing to put in the work to make sure they are well cared for and given every chance at a good life. Shouldn’t a taxpayer funded “shelter” at least do as good a job as the so-called irresponsible public?
I will neverforget the time, some years ago, that the Pittsburgh Animal Rescue League sent newborn kittens out to foster, to be bottle-fed by devoted kitty-loving volunteers, then called them in when they were eight weeks old, then killed them for “space” and “too many kittens.”
They were shocked, shocked that they had trouble getting volunteers.
I looked at the MAS foster form once and it said something like “You understand that the animal may be euthanized [sic] after return to MAS”. I can’t imagine there are many foster owners willing to accept those terms. Or if they are, I’m not sure that’s a good situation either.
Why in the heck don’t these death camps enlist the help of the foster parents in finding new homes for the pets they have fostered? Who would be better to meet with adopters and answer questions than the ones who have given these little tykes the gift of life. OH, I know the answer, the trained kill— oh I mean staff at these places know better than the foster homes…(I would bet that is the answer) Let me tell you, as one who has foster probably a hundred or more, kittens, cats, puppies and small dogs in the last years, I am probably more careful! PLUS, foster parents are in the position to do many things – you know, like show the pet off to family and friends, take nice homey photos….stuff like that…i know I am very very weird in my ideas. but wouldn’t this make sense? It is the way the small rural shelters I have fostered for do it…why not big places like MAS> it would free the staff up to do “other things”
If they can an do this in a Texas community — why can’t you do in your community?
“Total live animal outcome rate for June was 92 percent.
June was a tremendous month for adoptions. 721 animals found new homes, which was an all-time adoption record for the month of June.
The Center’s animal rescue partners helped with finding placement for 800 animals, with most of them very young (neonatal) kittens.
We thank the entire Austin community for caring about our homeless pets.”
http://www.austintexas.gov/article/june-2012-animal-intake-and-outcome-report
Wow!! This really irritates me!! Its bad enough killing older dogs/cats that they think wont be adopted out, but newborn kittens/puppies?! Ugh!!
I actually believe they get some enjoyment out of killing. I can think of no other reason for it. Not even apathy would allow them to kill the way they do, if there wasn’t some amount of pleasure in it for them. This is horrendous and that place is a hell-hole. God help the sweet souls that end up at their mercy.
In my past studies in social work, one thing we talked about was how we humans are sort of hard wired to respond to the looks of infants – most “normal people” look at infant, whether they be human infants or small innocent animals with a sort of “ah factor” – so how in the heck could you kill a normal healthy infant puppy or kitten??? never mind….
There are those tiny minority of deviants in any species who have no maternal instincts. I will say no more.
The reason they MUST be returned to the death camps after fostering is that the death camps a) want to kill; or b) want the adoption fee. If (b) is the case, the fosters can help place, and the shelter can take the fee. If (a) is the case then the shelter needs to be privatized and all those who were involved in needless killing, from kennel scrubbers all the way to the Mayors’ offices should be made to walk the plank. Or perhaps bludgeoned with said plank. Either at the irresponsible public’s pleasure.
As I type this, two of our cats are next to me, sleeping smooshed in each other’s arms. They’re adults now, but were taken into rescues as infants only a few days old, and fostered until they were healthy and old enough to be adopted. I remember their kittenhoods so vividly. The thought that they would have been executed at a place like MAS, or New York AC&C, or any of the thousands of other kill shelters across the country, for being too young, is unfathomable to me. Who could do such a thing?
Mr. Rogers, stop the killing.
MAS will say they don’t have any qualified people to bottle feed babies
This is happening in almost EVERY COUNTY shelter in the USA. Shirley has done a great job of highlighting th problems of just ONE of the thousands of killing shelter across this country. In America, we really take this murder seriously! It is a $2 Billion + dollar business. A lot of politicians, state employees and shelter workers subsidize their income at the expense of the animals.
They sell the drugs they are supposed to use. They sell the animals for bait to fighters.This has been documented and publicized for years. As long as the different rescues fight each other like hummingbirds at a feeder , As long as the shelters and the rescues are enemies, there will be slow or no changes. Look at the progress in shelter reform. Do you think the animals care what color pastel you paint their cells? Do you think they care if their cage door is glass, or plexiglass, or the 13 million $$ building has huge beautiful a lobby?
Why is 2-3 in a cage the norm in S.C, N.C, Ga. etc. but when Best Friends does they call it “communal living” ?? HSUS gets over $100 in donations million a year – where does it go ??? Look for yourself and you will get sick. The only real answer is complete change, not “reform” It is just polishing a rotten apple. End this insane system. Stop the killing. Rehab and Adoption centers can get these homeless babies to good homes. Those in rescue know that it is being done every day across the world. I have heard from many countries since the Care2 Article about Shelter Revolution was published. This has to end but nothing will happen until the silent majority speak out. It is a very ugly topic. You have to tell others, not just the people reading this blog. We already know it.
There is a practical and less expensive solution. http://www.ShelterRevolution.Org is a big part of it. Ending puppy mills and owner responsibility is the rest. Make HSUS and the ASPCA do their jobs better with your donations. Speak out. DO something!! .
” No Kill ” is right – we should not and do not have to kill. Shelter Revolution is HOW we can get it done by marketing happy healthy animals.
PS: boycott the AKC until they take a stand against Puppy and Kitten mill. Stop sending them $ and tell them why.
Reblogged this on Freethinkers Notes and commented:
Indeed so, being born is not a crime, however, many children around the world are sentenced to a lifetime of poverty, exposure to violence, death – basically anything that is not regulated by the government as a right, but rather kept as a privilege.