No-Kill Shelter Perspectives

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Thanks to the Henderson Animal Center and its partnership with Rusk County Pets Alive, every effort is made by staff and RCPA to find a home or safe living situation for every animal that is taken in.
 
This policy necessarily means there are limits on how many animals can be taken under care at any given time.
 
Unfortunately, there are no limits on cat and dog reproduction rates and no limits on irresponsible people spawning more overpopulation.
 
When you call a shelter seeking to get rid of an animal and the shelter is full, you need to know (whether you believe it or not) that an irresponsible public is the problem, not the shelter and NOT no-kill policies.
 
I am aware some readers have the perspective that a no-kill shelter causes more strays; however, the fact is that irresponsible people cause more strays per the Texas Department of Health and Safety.
 
 
For those who prefer a shelter that takes in every animal they are contacted about and when full begins killing animals in custody to make room to take in more animals to kill, I have some questions.
 
If a stray or homeless animal is roaming on your property causing damage or harm (especially outside the city limits) why should the shelter go to the trouble and cost at taxpayer expense to kill a dangerous or repeatedly nuisance animal that you could easily and legally do yourself?
 
If you support shelters killing animals to make room to take in more to kill, then why not do it yourself and save taxpayer dollars?
 
I am NOT, NOT, NOT advocating the killing of any animals, rather I am asking why blame a shelter for not doing something you can do yourself.
 
When no-kill shelters and rescues take in an animal, their plan is to find it a home or a safe living situation for that animal and repeat that process for each animal taken in for every case possible. In Henderson, Texas many are even transported out of state which is a herculean undertaking to save lives.
 
 
My limited experience in the rescue world is that finding homes for the HUGE overpopulation of cats and dogs in Henderson and Rusk County, Texas (much less the overpopulation in the entire state of Texas) is much more difficult and time-consuming than taking in homeless animals.
 
If an animal is taken under care by a shelter and the plan is to kill it just to make room to take in more to kill, then why even take them in? Let those who support that plan, do the killing themselves instead of expecting someone else to do the dirty work.
 
 
 
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One Comment

  • That is all well and good, and the point is taken. On the other end of the spectrum, while the shelter is full of warm, full bellies for months on end, there have been a hundred or more dogs and cats in this county who have fallen victim to torture, beatings, run down, eaten by coyotes, wild hogs, etc., and one of local popularity—the antifreeze. It just seems that a bullet would be merciful to an animal on the streets of this county, and to be able to go peacefully is even more beautiful. There is no happy medium here. Refusal to cull animals meeting certain criteria has caused more suffering these past years and fueled the epidemic of strays perpetrated by stupid, desperate people who may not be able to keep the animals while some local group member texts for days about food and never shows. The local group is noted state-wide as haughty simpletons, gossips, and doxxers, and they’re always stepping up when a camera is around, and if not—crickets!

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