Saving Pets - No Kill news from Australia and beyond #3

Saving Pets brings you the latest No Kill news from Australia and beyond!

No Kill – can’t we just call it something else?

The community is realising that there are many skills needed in driving change for animals. The contribution of a marketer, or a researcher, or a foster carer or political advocate, can be just as vital as that made by someone who works directly with animals in the shelter, or a shelter CEO. We all have a role to play in creating a better future for the community’s displaced companion animals.

However, while the No Kill philosophy and No Kill equation makes perfect sense to the community who want to see the lives of pets saved – and new No Kill advocates quickly move towards a single, important goal ‘how can we get these life-saving programs up and running tomorrow‘ – what is noticed pretty quickly by these same advocates, is that the shelters themselves often don’t like the programs being called ‘No Kill’.

AWL Queensland chief executive Denise Bradley with Buster and Councillor Andrew Antoniolli (Image: The Queensland Times)

No more pets killed at the pound

In good news for the city’s pets, the Animal Welfare League Queensland is set to take over the Ipswich pound, bringing in a zero kill policy. Ipswich City Council is finalising negotiations to form a partnership with the AWL to manage its Hooper Street animal management centre.

“This is probably the best result we could have achieved to attract the expertise of the AWL, with whom we have worked very closely for several years,” Councillor Andrew Antoniolli said.

“This signifies a change of era for our pound and a chance to get rid of the image of the dog catcher going around with a net and dogs and cats being put down."

Richard Avanzino predicts a U.S. No Kill nation by 2015

Richard Avanzino, one of the most respected leaders in the U.S. animal welfare movement, predicts that the U.S. will be living in no kill nation within the next five years.

Avanzino was the Executive Director of the San Francisco SPCA when that city virtually ended the killing of all healthy and savable dogs and cats and is now President of Maddie’s Fund, the world’s largest animal welfare foundation. The American public, he believes, is widely populated with animal lovers who are anxious for positive changes in traditional animal sheltering practices.

Citizen activists, many of whom work at the grass roots level, are often more progressive in their thinking than public and private animal welfare institutions. With the power of the internet and the skillful use of technologies like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook these grass-roots animal welfare advocates are gaining a louder voice.

This educated, energized and passionate public is the primary reason Avanzino gives for the wave of shelter reform sweeping the nation. It is also one of the reasons Avanzino states that a no kill nation is not only inevitable, it is imminent. Data from multiple sources indicate that the U.S. will achieve no kill status by 2015.

During the next five years, leadership at organizations and institutions that fail to fully embrace the new paradigm of life-saving will be replaced by a new generation of leadership.

Details courtesty of the No Kill Revolution Facebook page.

For more details information on Richard Avanzino please read this article from the Examiner.com by Nathan Winograd.

4th National G2Z Summit to End Companion Animal Overpopulation

7-9 September 2011
Gold Coast International Hotel
Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast QLD

Please mark your calendar. The 4th National G2Z Summit to End Companion Animal Overpopulation will take place September 7-9 on the Gold Coast.

Join the nation's leaders in their journey to ending the killing of healthy and treatable cats and dogs. Learn from national and international speakers on how you can make this happen in your community.

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Community cats worthy of compassion, alongside their owned counterparts

I’ve just received my copy of the 2011 Kittens and Cats Annual, which includes ’show cats’, health articles and, disappointingly, both the RSPCA and the AVA calling for people to surrender unowned and semi-owned cats to councils and championing the ‘Who’s for Cats’ program – despite knowing council pounds and some cat welfare agencies run to a 90% kill rate for stray, 100% semi or untame animals, almost guaranteeing free-roaming cats who are impounded will be killed.

But the good bit? They also have included an article on the Secret Cat Society, Community Cats and international TNR and humane cat management programs submitted by myself. So while the ‘leaders’ of cat welfare in Australia are still championing death for unowned cats, this publication has kindly given us a couple of pages to advocate for new programs which are both successful in managing cat numbers, and have that moved beyond the now redundant thinking that you can ‘kill healthy animals, to be kind to them’.

Do shelters need to show a commitment to animals?

At what point does a shelter need to live up to the same commitments we place on pet owners to treat, rehabilitate, care for and rehome those animals it has taken responsibility for? At what point is a ‘lack of resources and space’ a reflection of bad shelter management, rather than a genuine pet ‘overpopulation’ issue? Are the animals still considered ‘rescued’ if the overwhelming majority of them are simply killed?

Cat laws are unenforceable

Which group of cat owners do cat laws really target effectively? So which one of these groups do our cat laws really target effectively? The answer is none of them. If anything, it targets the cats. More cats entering the shelter, not less. More cats remaining unclaimed, not less. More cats being killed, not less. Our ‘free’ cat laws, the ones we were using as the ’solution’ to our cat management issues have backfired and caused even more cats to lose their lives.

Follow Saving Pets on Twitter

@vhayes1 Valerie Hayes
It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of executioners. ~Albert Camus

@SavingPets SavingPets Australia
... Because death is what’s “best for animals they love”. RT @YesBiscuit (wp.me/pR4Lh-SA)

@NoKillNation No Kill Nation
Incredibly powerful piece: When does "rescue" begin and end? Thanks for sharing Ryan Clinton, No Kill Advocate http://fb.me/WvnSR1th

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Betty White Helps Spread the Word on Pet Adoption: http://bit.ly/dXsSoU

@SavingPets SavingPets Australia
Almost 2 in 5 Aussies buy their animals from shops, while only 10% are from shelters; RT @puppy_tales http://bit.ly/dRpVG5

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@TimLesterAU Tim Lester
Challenging thinking about animal shelter mgt RT @SavingPets: No Kill – can’t we just call it something else? http://bit.ly/fZbhht

@alleycatallies Alley Cat Allies
Anti-cruelty laws apply to all cats--whether pet, stray or feral: http://bit.ly/aCMs28

@vhayes1 Valerie Hayes
Think "lost", not "dumped" or "abused", because the wrong default will keep you from reuniting lost pets and their... http://bit.ly/hLWhlQ

Videos

Mike Arms Interview
Mike Arms, President and Executive Director of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, speaking with Steven from Hound TV on increasing adoptions and save rates...

Michael Linke
Michael Linke, Chief Executive of The RSPCA ACT, speaking with Steven from Hound TV on being an 'outsider' to the animal welfare industry and how allowed him to think outside the box when it came to saving lives...

International animal sheltering news

Community uses TNR to solve their cat issues: An estimated 80,000 feral cats occupy colonies and roam through Volusia County, a furry problem which the county's Animal Control Advisory Board says cost county residents $2.8 million from 2008 to 2010. The board recently finished a study of how to reduce Volusia's free-roaming cat populace, and decided to follow in the pawprints of its peers in Jacksonville and Orange County. The board will pick a nonprofit organization, or form one, to coordinate a countywide effort to trap, neuter and return feral cats back into the wild.

Volusia County Animal Control Director Becky Wilson agreed there is no perfect solution, but she believes TNR is the best approach, along with educating cat owners of the importance of neutering their pets.

An army of No Kill advocates: Hit the wall? That moment when it just seems like no one else cares? You are not alone; you are among an ever-growing army of compassion. And together, we will prevail.

The vacuum effect - why catch and kill doesn’t work: Removing cats from an area by killing or relocating them is not only cruel - it’s pointless. Animal control agencies and city governments have blindly perpetuated this futile approach for decades. But scientific research, years of failed attempts, and evidence from animal control personnel prove that catch and kill doesn’t permanently clear an area of cats.

Local animal sheltering news

VIC - 1300 objections to proposed puppy farm: A three-day hearing to decide the future of a dog breeding centre proposed by Robert Attard, started this week. The Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal will decide whether to allow the 100 strong dog farm to be built near Ballan at a site on Geelong-Ballan Rd. Mr Attard claims the farm would be compliant with the DPI code of conduct for breeding centres and would be run in a 'humane' manner. Moorabool Council previously refused the application at a council meeting in July after it received 1300 objections from the community.

SA - Charles Sturt cat clampdown: Following in the footsteps of Salisbury Council, Charles Sturt Council are considering cat laws forcing owners to register, desex and confine pets to their properties. Public health and safety manager Donna Dunbar said "more than 90 complaints had been lodged by residents about cats during the past two years", making it nearly, gosh nearly one a week! How do they manage? An Animal Welfare League spokeswoman weighed in saying confined cats "could not kill native animals or birds". Neither can dead cats, which has been the overwhelming result of these laws in other places.

VIC - Put the leash on dog owners instead: While we already have too many laws regarding dog ownership, we should angle for another; is the message from Dogs NSW. Spokesman and veterinarian Dr Peter Higgins said mandatory obedience training should be considered, and Australia's 'dog whisperer' and Dog Tech founder John Richardson agreed with him. Unfortunately, this approach is simply 'pet owner licencing' dressed up in a different jacket.

QLD - Puppy farm law all bark, no bite: What started with a lack of enforcement of existing animal cruelty laws, lead to public frustration and the support of even more regressive laws... now they have *those* new laws, they're not being enforced either. Queensland's breeder permit scheme is in the toilet. Sooo.... now what? Shall we work on some more new laws?

VIC - Dogged devotion: The Melbourne Weekly's article could go down as the worst rescue industry article in history. While it does raise the issue of the number of animals dying in Victoria's animal management system, it condemned independent rescue groups, proactive initiatives like internet marketing and interstate rehoming, foster caring and foster carers and No Kill programs in the process. Worse, it rans down the animals themselves, promoting the myth that all dogs in pounds have behavioural issues and that all those that are killed, are killed because they are 'dangerous'.

If anything, this is a lesson to groups to be wary of reporters looking to get the 'inside scoop' - while it can seem like they're looking to further your mission, without a chance to clarify the detail, it's not unusual to end up with a hodgepodge like this that helps no one.

VIC - Animal shelters- better value for lives saved: A clever adoption angle from the Victorian group Animal Aid, as they urged Victorians to be financially savvy and adopt from an animal shelter when considering a new pet.

"Adopting a new family member from a shelter gives pet owners more value for money, by avoiding the hefty price tags associated with pet shops. Companion animals offered at Animal Aid already have all the expensive veterinary work done."

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