Jumping back into the river does not stop the flow of homeless animals

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2013:

Concerning “Ethicist addresses making euthanasia decisions in a no-kill context,”  in the October 2013 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE,  I find it bizarre that Jasper the Staffordshire’s fate boils down to a football score set of numbers.  I’m no ethicist,  but as someone intimately and actively familiar with animal shelter euthanasia for the past 43 years,  it is clear to me that our industry’s spay/neuter efforts have resulted not only in fewer surplus animals but also in an unexpected but positive consequence of making the lives of dogs and cats more valuable.   Read more

Bands bail on SeaWorld

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2013:

ORLANDO,  SAN FRANCISCO,  TAIJI––Shortlisted for Oscar consideration as “Best Documentary of 2013,”  the Gabriela Cowperthwaite exposé of SeaWorld Blackfish between November 28 and December 14,  2013 persuaded all six original headline bands and one of the replacements to withdraw from scheduled performances at the SeaWorld “Bands, Brew & BBQ Fest,”  due to begin on February 1,  2014. Read more

Carol Jodar, key figure in 1984 City of Hope case

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.) 

Carol Williams Jodar,  66,  of Bozeman,  Montana,  died on September 21,  2013 after fighting multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years while raising two children,  serving with her husband Bruce on the boards of the Williams Foundation and Jodar Family Foundation,  and supporting many animal,  environmental,  and performing arts charities.   Read more

Fix pets first, says founder of successful neuter/return projects in Turkey & Romania

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.)

I read the September 2013 ANIMAL PEOPLE editorial feature “Successful neuter/return must recognize reality” with interest and agree with much of what you say,  especially the bit about how difficult it is,  probably impossible,  to transfer a privately funded neuter/return project successfully to municipal funding and management,  as we tried to do here in Oradea,  Romania.  But one important point occurs to me. Read more

Stop dogfighting by addressing supply side economics

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.)

Police in Montgomery,  Alabama on October 1,  2013 took custody of the last 16 of at least 386 pit bulls who were impounded after raids in August 2013 on an alleged multistate dogfighting ring.  Thirteen defendants,  from Alabama,  Georgia,  Mississippi,   and Texas,  are facing related charges. Initiated by the Auburn,  Alabama police department,  the investigation and impoundments were assisted by at least 15 humane organizations,  both locally and nationwide.   Read more

Ethicist addresses making euthanasia decisions in a no-kill context

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.)

BARCELONA–– Among the more unusual and useful offerings at the 2013 International Companion Animal Welfare Conference was a session entitled “Ethical decision making,”  presented by Dorothy E.F. McKeegan,  British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow. Read more

Battling multiple sclerosis, volunteer rescue driver Nathalie Klinge became street dog population ecologist

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.) 

BARCELONA,  BUCHAREST–– “Stray Dog Ecology:  Back to the Basics” is for Dutch humane volunteer Nathalie Klinge not just the title of a talk,  but a summary of her way of life. Addressing the 2013 International Companion Animal Welfare Conference,  the ninth Klinge has attended but the first at which she has spoken,  Klinge brought to her presentation the experience of 13 years on the road in Romania,  Bulgaria,  and Turkey,  observing the lives and sometimes the deaths of street dogs from an actuarial perspective. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000,  at age 30,  Klinge resolved to spend the rest of whatever time she had left to live working for animals.  Klinge left her career in the life insurance industry to become a driver for eastern European animal charities,  helping to relay dogs to western Europe for adoption. At first Klinge just drove,  looked,  and listened.  But eventually Klinge realized she was recognizing realities that seemed to elude the credentialed experts,  government officials,  and directors of animal charities who kept failing to resolve street dog issues.   Read more

Street dog & feral cat population modeling: catch & kill vs. TNR

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.)

Nathalie Klinge offered the 2013 International Companion Animal Welfare Conference a model of street dog population management based on real-life experience in Romania that paralleled a model I have used for about 15 years to project the probable outcomes of neuter/return programs for either street dogs or feral cats in many different communities and parts of the world. Read more

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