Category: Stray & Feral Animals

BOOKS: How Shelter Pets Are Brokered for Experimentation: Understanding Pound Seizure

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2010:
(published October 5, 2010)

How Shelter Pets Are Brokered for Experimentation:
Understanding Pound Seizure
by Allie Phillips
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
(4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706), 2010. 220
pages, hardcover. $34.95.

American Humane Association director of public policy Allie
Phillips has in How Shelter Pets Are Brokered for Experimentation
written by far the best researched report on pound seizure to appear
between book covers since the late Animal Welfare Institute founder
Christine Stevens contributed a long chapter about it to Animals &
Their Legal Rights (1990).

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Shelter killing falls to lowest rate in six decades despite two years of weak economy

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July/August 2010:



          Animals killed  YEAR  1,000s   Animals
         per 1,000 people       of people  killed
---------------------------------------------------------
Toronto               2.1  2008  2,632     5,526
Calgary               3.1  2008  1,043     2,803
Montreal              7.4  2007  1,621    12,000
Edmonton              6.5  2008    782     5,107
---------------------------------------------------------
CANADA (7.5%)         4.2       33,213   139,495

New York City         2.1  2009  8,300    17,080
NEW HAMPSHIRE         2.3  2008  1,316     2,374
Brookhaven (NY)       1.0  2009    500       475
---------------------------------------------------------
NORTHEAST (30%)       2.0       33,971    66,430

New Castle/Sussex, DE 1.2  2009    727       880
NEW JERSEY            4.4  2008  8,866    37,673
Pr. George Cty, MD    7.1  2007    841     6,000
Philadelphia         10.5  2008  1,611    15,286
---------------------------------------------------------
MID-ATLANTIC (49%)    5.0       24,497   122,120


Broward County        7.3  2008  1,751    12,782
Dekalb County, GA     7.4  2009    737     5,462
Cobb County, GA       8.5  2009    698     5,958
Miami/Dade County     9.1  2009  2,297    21,000
Gwinnette Cty, GA     9.8  2009    776     7,608
VIRGINIA             11.3  2009  7,883    88,730
Palm Beach County    12.8  2009  1,294    16,600
St. Johns Cnty, FL   13.0  2007    169     2,201
Manatee County, FL   13.6  2008    316     4,294
Alachua Cty, FL      14.4  2009    240     3,459
Pinellas Cty, FL     15.9  2008    910    14,500
Tampa region         16.5  2008  1,205    19,837
Lee County, FL       19.1  2007    571    10,907
NORTH CAROLINA       21.7  2008  9,381   203,490
Duval County, FL     23.5  2007    838    19,662
Columbia, SC         23.5  2007    468    11,000
Clayton County, GA   23.4  2009    272     6,257
Charleston, SC       24.1  2007    332     8,000
Clay County, FL      27.3  2007    179     6,542
Robeson Count, NC    34.6  2009    130     4,500
Volusia County, FL   42.3  2007    497    21,000
Clay County, FL      44.7  2007    179     8,000
Macon, GA            46.0  2009     93     4,278
---------------------------------------------------------
SO. ATLANTIC (62%)   16.2       50,192   813,110

Montrose, CO          2.5  2009     16       383
Reno/Washoe           3.5  2009    414     1,453
Weld County, CO       6.2  2009    244     1,500
Denver metro area     6.5  2008  2,397    15,570
UTAH                 11.9  2009  2,784    35,528
NEVADA               14.4  2009  2,643    38,163
Las Vegas/Clark Cty  14.4  2009  2,000    28,937
Phoenix/Maricopa     14.8  2008  3,955    57,287
Albuquerque          23.8  2007    505    12,029
Tucson               25.3  2008  1,014    25,600
NEW MEXICO           33.7  2007  1,978    66,709
Clovis, NM           48.9  2009     37     1,821
--------------------------------------------------------
WEST (68%)           16.0       22,123   353,963             Animals 
killed  YEAR  1,000s   Animals
         per 1,000 people       of people  killed
---------------------------------------------------------
Louisville           13.0  2008    722     9,368
Nashville            16.0  2009    626    10,000
Memphis              20.0  2008    671    13,416
Kanawha/Charleston   34.1  2007    192     6,553
---------------------------------------------------------
APPALACHIA (46%)     17.8       15,319   272,678


Plano, TX             5.3  2009    268     1,430
Richardson, TX        9.4  2009    102       957
Dallas               11.7  2008  2,346    27,355
Austin/Travis Cty.   11.9  2008    921    10,916
Jefferson Parish     16.9  2008    456     7,720
Shelby County, AL    16.9  2007    178     3,000
Houston              18.4  2007  3,886    71,395
San Antonio          19.6  2008  1,329    26,000
Fort Worth           21.3  2007    682    14,546
Mobile               22.1  2009    406     8,971
El Paso              24.0  2009    751    18,000
MISSISSIPPI          24.8  2007  2,939    73,000
Garland, TX          25.0  2009    226     5,651
ALABAMA              25.7  2007  4,662   120,000
Caddo Parish         26.1  2009    253     6,600
Waco/McLennan Cty.   27.0  2008    230     6,204
Brownsville          28.4  2009    176     5,000
Tuskaloosa, AL       31.1  2009    178     6,019
Baldwin County, AL   34.5  2009    174     5,063
Mesquite, TX         41.6  2009    132     5,488
Amarillo             58.8  2009    187    11,000
Odessa/Ector Cty.    71.4  2008    132     9,423
---------------------------------------------------------
GULF COAST (56%)     21.5       37,025   796,038


Parke-Vermillion, IN  1.5  2009     17        25
St. Charles Cty., MO  2.4  2009    349       820
Oakland County, MI    2.6  2009  1,202     3,125
Dane County, WI       3.8  2009    477     1,797
Mason County, MI      3.9  2007     30       116
Duluth                4.0  2009     86       344
Livingston Cty, MI    5.9  2009    183     1,084
St. Louis             5.9  2009    356     2,105
Chicago               6.7  2008  2,851    19,228
Macomb County, MI     7.2  2007    833     6,000
Jefferson Cty., MO    8.5  2009    224     1,900
Porter County,  IN    8.7  2007    160     1,384
Dayton/Montgomery    10.1  2009    538     5,431
Kansas City, MO      10.9  2008    452     4,912
Quad Cities, IL-IA   12.7  2009    312     3,944
Sangamon Cty, IL     14.7  2008    195     2,857
St. Clair Cty, MI    15.3  2007    170     2,600
Indianapolis         16.7  2007    866    14,470
Genesee County, MI   18.9  2009    424     8,000
Tulsa                18.9  2009    386     7,303
Oklahoma City        28.0  2007    691    19,365
Shelby County, IN    29.4  2008     44     1,293
River Rouge, MI     129.4  2007      9     1,165
--------------------------------------------------------
MIDWEST (18%)        10.1       60,124   607,252
          Animals killed  YEAR  1,000s   Animals
         per 1,000 people       of people  killed
---------------------------------------------------------
San Juan Capistrano   1.3  2007     37        48
San Francisco         1.3  2009    815     1,031
Whidbey Islsnd, WA    2.2  2009     60       132
San Diego             4.0  2007  2,942    11,700
Orange County, CA     4.3  2007  3,002    13,000
Los Angeles city      5.1  2009  3,834    19,561
Santa Barbara Cty.    5.3  2008    405     2,136
Portland/Multnomah    6.1  2009  2,049    12,500
Los Angeles total     6.8  2007  9,503    64,457
Los Angeles County    8.5  2007  5,082    43,373
Anchorage             9.1  2007    275     2,490
Clallam County, WA   10.0  2009     71       708
CALIFORNIA           10.9  2008 36,757   400,000
San Bernardino Cty   15.5  2009  2,061    32,000
Long Beach           13.0  2007    469     6,075
Spokane              16.8  2008    463     7,824
Kern/Bakersfield     22.8  2009    824    18,811
Fresno               35.0  2009    942    33,000
---------------------------------------------------------
PACIFIC (80%)        10.7       49,445   529,062

U.S. TOTAL           11.6      307,007 3,560,658

	(The regional and national totals appearing in bold are not 
tallies of the data used to produce them,  but are rather estimates 
proportionately weighted to reflect demography.  The percentage 
figure in parenthesis is the percentage of the human population 
encompassed within the shelter service areas from which the totals 
were derived.)




U.S. progress against shelter killing

1950     2.0    13.5

1970    23.4   115.0

1985    17.8    74.8

1997     4.9    21.1
1998     4.9    19.4
1999     4.5    16.6
2000     4.5    16.8
2001     4.4    15.7
2002     4.2    15.3
2003     4.5    14.8
2004     4.9    17.4
2005     4.4    14.8
2006     4.0    13.6
2007     4.2    13.8
2008     3.6    11.6



More progress for dogs than for cats

(The numbers of dogs and cats killed in U.S. and Canadian
shelters were approximately equal in the mid-1990s.)

Region                Cats killed       Dogs killed        Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------
CANADA           114,386       25,109     82/18
Northeast         47,165       19,265     71/29
Mid-Atlantic      86,705       35,415     71/29
So. Atlantic     457,256      357,768     56/44
Appalachia       147,246      125,432     54/46
Gulf Coast       429,861      366,178     54/46
Midwest          376,496      230,756     62/38
West             184,034      169,905     52/48
Pacific          333,309      169,300     63/37
---------------------------------------------------------
U.S. TOTAL     2,062,072    1,474,019     57/43

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Testing the finding of record low shelter killing–and looking for even better

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:
U.S. shelter killing of dogs and cats appears to have fallen
by 17% during the past three years, according to the 17th annual
ANIMAL PEOPLE analysis of shelter exit data, and for the first time
since 1950 has dropped below 13.5 per 1,000 Americans.
Canadian data, last included in the analysis in 2000, shows
comparable progress during the past decade in four of the five
largest cities, but lack of recent statistics from British Columbia,
the Atlantic provinces, and rural areas allows question as to
whether these numbers are representative of the nation.
The current rate of shelter killing of dogs and cats in the
U.S. appears to have dipped to 11.6, the lowest on record. The 3.6
million dogs and cats killed in U.S. animal shelters is the lowest
total since circa 1955.

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Baghdad deploys gunmen to kill dogs

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2010:
BAGHDAD–More than 42,000 of the estimated 1.25 million
stray dogs roaming Baghdad were shot in the 60 days preceding June
11, 2010 according to the London Daily Mail foreign service.
The pace of dog-shooting had apparently increased sixfold
since Sam Dagher of the The New York Times reported in March 2010
that about 10,000 dogs had been shot since December. The shooting,
Dagher said, augmented “a program begun late last year in which the
national Ministry of Agriculture’s veterinary services teamed up with
the municipality, the police, and even the army in some of the
tougher neighborhoods. Mostly the dogs are killed with rotten raw
meat laced with strychnine.” Dagher described a poisoning crew
“being harassed a bit over whether dogs are really Iraq’s biggest
worry.”

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“Tong wars” in Ahmedabad make dogcatching methods an Indian national issue

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2010:
AHMEDABAD–“Tong wars” in Ahmedabad, India, in mid-June
2010 made dog-catching methods a national issue, hotly debated in
multiple articles in the Times of India, Daily News & Analysis,
The Mirror, The Express–in short, most of the leading newspapers
covering northwestern India.
The issue exploded out of the ongoing efforts of Ahmedabad
resident Lisa Warden, a Canadian citizen, to bring the city into
compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure Manual for
Sterilization of Stray Dogs, published in 2009 by the Animal Welfare
Board of India.

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Ringworm, rabies, parvo, feline calicivirus, & FIP challenge animal shelters

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:

 

Reminders of the importance of disease control in animal
shelters came in April 2010 from five shelters whose staff
cumulatively euthanized more than 400 exposed animals due to disease
outbreaks.
Most controversially, the Ontario SPCA announced on May 11,
2010 that it would kill about 350 animals due to ringworm, after
containment and treatment efforts begun on February 22 repeatedly
failed. Six workers were also infected. Tests showed that every
room at the Ontario SPCA branch shelter in Newmarket, Ontario had
become contaminated. Said Canadian Press, “The branch will undergo
a thorough cleansing and an inspection to ensure the ringworm is
eradicated.”

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Kinship Circle & Chilean coalition help in earthquake aftermath

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:
ST. LOUIS–While U.S. animal rescuers watched and waited for
the Deepwater Horizon oil slicks to drift ashore and wreak havoc,
Kinship Circle founder Brenda Shoss tried to alert the world to a
little noticed humane crisis in Chile–including a growing risk that
dogs might be massacred in the tent cities housing much of the
displaced population of Talquahano.
Aftershocks from the February 27, 2010 Chilean earthquake
and tsunami continued into May. The initial earthquake measured 8.8
on the Richter scale, among the strongest ever recorded. The entire
captial city of Santiago was moved 11 inches to the west.

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Royal SPCA of Great Britain “prioritizes” by declining to accept surrendered pets

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:

 

LONDON–Non-Royal SPCA British animal
shelters and some RSPCA affiliates are still
assessing the impact of an RSPCA policy decision
to “prioritize” shelter admissions to
“RSPCA-generated” animals.
“The only change,” insisted RSPCA chief
superintendent Tim Wass to the Times of London,
“is that spaces in our own animal centres are
being prioritised for animals rescued by RSPCA
inspectors from cruelty and neglect. This means
that the abandoned, abused, sick or injured
animals who are most in need receive our care
before animals whom people simply don’t want any
longer. We will never turn away an animal in
need,” Wass said.

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AWBI chair Kharb makes an example of Ahmedabad

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:
AHMEDABAD–Animal Welfare Board of India chair Rammehar Kharb
on April 20, 2010 warned the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation against
“persisting with the completely outdated, barred practice of dumping,
and even destroying dogs” by capturing them violently with iron tongs
and abandoning them at desert dump sites.
“Not only are the Animal Birth Control rules being flagrantly
violated,” Kharb wrote, “but the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Act is also being violated. Your actions, and the actions of your
employees, constitute an offence under the Penal Code.”
Kharb released his warning to Ahmedabad media less than 60
days after asking the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation “to cancel
your ABC contract awarded to Animal Shelter & Hospital at Ahmedabad
Foundation, which is not recognized or registered with AWBI,
failing which AWBI will be constrained to initiate action in the
matter.”
Kharb notified ABC providers after the 2009 publication of
the AWBI Standard Operating Procedure Manual for Sterilization of
Stray Dogs that they must comply with the SOP to continue to receive
AWBI funding.

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