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I think the key is that despite doing better than we used to, more and more people need to spay and neuter their animals so there are not so many animals go into shelters to begin with.
If it were only that simple, what a wonderful world it would be!
(And yes I know there are places that could and should try a lot harder. It's still not quite that simple, though.)
Common sense tells us that the statistics are purposely misleading. People searching for animals usually search for more than a single day, and once they find the right animal they are generally done searching. It's not like 54,000 NEW people materialize everyday to find animals; however if there are 10,000 animals put to sleep each day that means the animal population is constantly growing. Also, if the statistics were accurate (not misleading) then 40,000 people would be stuck with no animals to adopt. I have yet to meet a person unable to find an adoptable animal. I have met plenty of people unwilling to adopt from a shelter because they want a specific breed, a puppy, or feel that shelter animals are damaged goods.
Your only dealing with the aftermath.
Why not be proactive and do something about why there are 10k animals in the shelters.
Then you wouldn't have to be worried about the shelter and the number of animals that are euthanized .
Ridiculously simplistic view on the issue of pet overpopulation and needlessly dismissive towards shelter workers who may not want to "kill" these animals but are faced with a tough task and no other choices. Unfortunately, not every animal in shelter is going to get adopted. There are shortages of the sort of pets many people want: healthy, young, purebred, small, trained/trainable, family friendly. Too many pets in the shelters are passed up due to health issues, behavioral issues, age, breed, size, and incompatibility with the family. To suggest that every single person looking for a pet will find a suitable pet at a shelter is incorrect.
I think the key is that despite doing better than we used to, more and more people need to spay and neuter their animals so there are not so many animals go into shelters to begin with.
How can people be forced to spay and neuter? Where do we start? How about getting laws WITH TEETH passed that all cats and dogs must be spayed/neutered within 24 months or the owner faces a serious fine or even jail time? Legitimate breeders can get exemptions. Expecting people to suddenly get their animals fixed, to fix the euthanasia problem, is a waste.
If it were only that simple, what a wonderful world it would be!
(And yes I know there are places that could and should try a lot harder. It's still not quite that simple, though.)
Are you aware there are plenty shelters like the one were I live that refuse to work with fosters and volunteers willing to take them to Adoption Events or allow the neonates to be bottle fed? How can these places call themselves "shelters" when so little effort is made to find the animals homes?
Ridiculously simplistic view on the issue of pet overpopulation and needlessly dismissive towards shelter workers who may not want to "kill" these animals but are faced with a tough task and no other choices.
No other choices? Then they can have the shelter change it policies toward fosters and volunteers and not taking the animals off property to be seen by prospective adopters.
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Unfortunately, not every animal in shelter is going to get adopted. There are shortages of the sort of pets many people want: healthy, young, purebred, small, trained/trainable, family friendly. Too many pets in the shelters are passed up due to health issues, behavioral issues, age, breed, size, and incompatibility with the family. To suggest that every single person looking for a pet will find a suitable pet at a shelter is incorrect.
I disagree. They may not find what the want in the first or second shelter, but if they keep searching, they will find that small young trainable dog or special kitty. And some people do want larger dogs. Not all larger dogs are un-adoptable. The day we adopted 2 kitties from our local shelter, there was a young couple there adopting a adult female mastiff.
Are you aware there are plenty shelters like the one were I live that refuse to work with fosters and volunteers willing to take them to Adoption Events or allow the neonates to be bottle fed? How can these places call themselves "shelters" when so little effort is made to find the animals homes?
Yes, I am aware. Those are the ones I was referring to that should try MUCH harder. There are also many open door shelters that actively recruit fosters and volunteers, operate low cost spay/neuter programs, have food giveaway days, place cats at Petco or Petsmart, and do many off-site adoption events to get the animals in front of the public, and still can not find homes for them all.
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