By: Amy Worden, Philadelphia Inquirer
www.philly.com/…/20101130_Emergency_meeting_in_Pa__over_animal- shelter_crisis.html
An emergency meeting was held yesterday by the Department of Agriculture to address the increasing and ongoing problem of stray animals in the state of PA.
The problem- many shelters are refusing to take in stray animals because they feel they aren’t getting paid enough by municipalities and townships to do this. An additional problem is that a number of shelters are becoming no-kill shelters. Once these no-kill shelters are full, other animals are turned away.
“We are at a tipping point,” said Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. “The law says we must pick them up, but there isn’t anyone on the other side whose duty it is to shelter the dogs.””We’re in a crisis in Delaware County,” Springfield Township Police Chief Joe Daly told the group. “There are 7,500 animals a year that go there, and there’s no other shelter in the county. I will have no place to put them.””The Delaware County SPCA, which did not have a representative at the meeting, said it would no longer accept strays because it wanted to become a “no-kill” shelter.””Driving the problem here, Cosby said, is that Pennsylvania, unlike New Jersey and other states, has no state law mandating that counties provide for animal control as a government service.”
What exactly is an animal shelter?
Throughout the world, facilities exist to care and provide for animals when they are lost, abused or neglected. These facilities also provide a haven for undomesticated animals that may pose a threat to the community. By keeping stray animals off the street, animals can lead healthier lives and the pet population can be kept under control. These pet shelters provide a temporary or permanent home for the animals they receive.
Read more: Definition of a Pet Shelter | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5038356_definition-pet-shelter.html#ixzz16s7YmdWgWhat is the solution to this dilemna?
Tom Hickey of the Dog Law Advisory Board offered this solution:
Build a state-of-the-art regional facility to provide animal control, adoptions, and behavior training.”Without a place to go, we’re going to have sick and wounded dogs wandering the streets, and more animal abuse. That’s not acceptable,” Hickey said. “It’s not just dog owners’ responsibility; it’s everyone in the county’s responsibility.”
What I feel Hickey is saying, in essence, is that your dog or my neighbor’s dog is now MY responsbility. I disagree. I take care of my dogs. Why am I responsible for another’s pet? What, is he suggesting all of us are to be taxed to take care of this never-ending problem?
While I disagree with Mr. Hickey’s assessment, here lies a very serious issue with stray animals. Where do they go if many shelters will no longer house them, let alone, try to find a new home for them?
We are in a no-kill movement spreading across the United States. The Humane Society of Berks County is becoming a no-kill animal shelter as well as others in the state of PA. This has presented a precarious situation for the Animal Rescue League of Berks County.
The ARL is now a high-kill shelter. Granted, both shelters offered contracts to all municapalities in Berks County years ago only for all of the municipalities to contract with the ARL’s services.
The Humane Society did, in fact, placed pressure on the city of Reading to give them more money for their animal control services. The city decided to give the contract to the ARL.
The Humane Society can turn away any animal or stray they don’t want. From what I hear, most animals are sent to the ARL to meet their final demise because of their overcrowding.
While I applaud the no-kill movement, the reality of the situation is the high number of animals being relinquished to shelters in this economy. For a no-kill environment to work, everyone must work together for the sake of the animals.
I thought an animal shelter’s purpose was to house unwanted, homeless and abandoned animals- to feed them, to give them a warm place to sleep and food to eat.
With the economy in the tank right now, how can ANY shelter turn away any animal unless they are completely full? I’m not talking about grass-roots organizations that are no-kill. These groups rely on foster homes until they find permanent homes for the animals.
I’m talking about your local animal shelter. By turning away dogs, they will be found wandering the streets like so many feral cats that were once house cats.
I feel all shelters absolutely NEED to work together to strive for a solution. It isn’t fair to place this huge burden on a few shelters. I urge these no-kill shelters to help in this time of crisis. Can you honestly say you can live with yourself,