NAIA policy statement: Pets and the community
Pet 'overpopulation'
During much of the last half century, shelters struggled with a severe surplus
animal problem. Supply outstripped demand as unwanted litters and untrained,
unsocialized pets were surrendered by owners who failed to prevent pregnancies
or were unsuccessful in bonding with their pets. That problem, widely called
pet overpopulation, is rapidly becoming a thing of the past in most parts of
the US.
The number of dogs entering shelters has declined dramatically in the past
15 years. However, the number of cats, specifically feral cats entering shelters,
is on the rise. Anti-breeding campaigners obscure the progress made in reducing
the number of dogs killed in shelters by combining dog and cat numbers and by
implying that they are all former pets that are now dumped and dying because
no one wants them. They neglect to note that a large number of these animals
are either surrendered by their owners for euthanasia because they are old and
sick, seriously injured, or dangerously aggressive; that many of the dogs euthanized
are unidentified, unclaimed strays that are too old, sick, injured or aggressive
to be placed in new homes; and many of the cats euthanized are feral animals
that were never owned but were trapped and impounded because they have become
nuisances.
NAIA believes that dog and cat shelter intakes and euthanasias should be considered
separately and that plans to reduce the number of shelter deaths of each species
should be formulated to address these individual differences.
For example, while shelters in some parts of the country may have a surplus
of puppies, those puppies are generally adopted, not euthanized. Studies have
shown that the vast majority of dogs entering shelters are unwanted by their
current owners or are unidentified strays that are not reclaimed by their owners.
Therefore, NAIA believes that intervention before owners become frustrated and
dogs become community nuisances is the key to reducing shelter surrenders and
death. A combination of educational programs provided by shelters, dog clubs,
veterinarians, and other dog professionals and strict enforcement of animal
control and nuisance laws will go a long way towards the goal.
Many cats entering shelters have been trapped as feral animals. Although feral
kittens can adjust to life as house pets if caught young enough, adult feral
cats do not adjust to living indoors as pets, so it is misleading to include
these cats in any estimate of the numbers of pets dying in shelters. Instead
of incarceration and death, a number of communities have instituted programs
in which the cats are trapped, vaccinated, and sterilized, then released back
into the environment where they often aid in rodent control on farms and urban
areas.
NAIA opposes laws that target these problems by attempting to restrict or ban
breeding or penalize responsible owners of intact dogs and cats. Instead NAIA
recommends that those who would like to further reduce the number of shelter
deaths urge community leaders to study local pet population dynamics to identify
where the problems lie, mobilize shelters and dog and cat fanciers to devise
and implement solutions, and insist on strict enforcement of animal control
and nuisance laws.
Suggested reading:
Pet Guardian Laws
Many owners consider their pets to be part of their families. As a result,
they use family terms to describe their relationship with the animals that share
their lives. Some owners consider themselves 'pet parents' and treat their animals
as children. The latest American Pet Products Manufacturers Association survey
shows that 62% of American households own at least one pet and 47% own more
than one. These pet owners spend an estimated $30 billion annually on their
dogs, cats, fish, birds, rodents and reptiles because they love their animals
and want to provide the best possible care for them.
Advocates of rights for animals have seized on this closeness between people
and their pets to initiate a campaign to undermine pet ownership. They claim
that making owners into guardians will result in better treatment for animals.
However, their campaign rhetoric tells a different story: here they admit that
they intend to use their effort as a wedge to end the ownership of pets.
In their own words:
"Our goal: to convince people to rescue and adopt instead of buying or
selling animals, to disavow the language and concept of animal ownership."
- Eliot Katz, In Defense of Animals
" ... If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would
have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have
a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child.
..." -Ingrid Newkirk, PETA vice-president, quoted in The Harper's Forum
Book, Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p.223.
US law is based on ownership of property, including animals. Property rights
protect owners and their pets from unwarranted seizure by authorities and allow
owners to make decisions about pet care, training, breeding, housing, and other
matters.
NAIA strongly supports laws that preserve our right to own pets, recognize
acceptable animal care practices based on sound veterinary science, clearly
define animal cruelty and neglect, and hold animal owners fully accountable
for animal welfare violations.
NAIA's position is that pets are best protected and cared for by those who
own them and therefore strongly opposes concepts and policies that allow others
to make those decisions. NAIA also believes that replacing 'pet owner' with
'pet guardian' will
- clog the courts with frivolous cases brought by animal rights extremists
on behalf of dogs, cats and other pets.
- harm animals by creating confusion about who is responsible for their care.
- make veterinary care so expensive that many animals will not receive it
or will be prematurely euthanized.
- lead to increasingly restrictive animal care laws and regulations.
- limit the right of individuals to buy and sell pets as they choose.
Suggested reading:
Animal shelters
Animal shelters fall into three general categories: Humane societies, private
shelters, and animal control agencies. Like other animal interests
and industries, shelters fall within a continuum of philosophies, policies,
and missions. Some promote a no-kill philosophy even while dickering
with others about the meaning of "no-kill." Some build fund-raising efforts
around the numbers of animals they kill rather than the number they save. Some
have such strict adoption policies that almost no one can qualify to get a pet,
and others will sell a pet to anyone with the adoption fee and a leash.
Publicly funded animal control agencies also operate under a range of
policies, but because they are charged by law with protecting the community
from dogs that are nuisances or dangerous and because they do no fund-raising
around humane issues, they are often denigrated as animal killers. However,
many animal control agencies employ exemplary policies and practices that responsibly
increase pet adoptions and provide community education about responsible pet
ownership.
Some humane societies solve their money problems by contracting
to fulfill animal control services for their communities even though such agreements
cause confusion among staff and volunteers and open them to criticism for conflict
of interest between their function as animal caretakers and their responsibilities
as law enforcement authorities. Some shelters decline to become government partners
in animal control, and others that have signed such contracts in the past are
giving them up.
No-kill shelters are not all the same. Some use reason and common sense
when writing policies that determine the adoptability of animals, and others
will not euthanize an animal no matter how much it is suffering or how dangerous
it might be. Some provide treatment to animals with mild illnesses and controllable
chronic illnesses, fix traumatic but repairable injuries, provide socialization
and training for unruly dogs, bring malnourished dogs back to health, and euthanize
those animals that cannot be rehabilitated by reasonable efforts to treat medical
or behavioral problems. Some release vicious dogs to the public regardless of
the risks to public safety and spend thousands of dollars to save an animal
when death would be a release from chronic pain and suffering. Some no-kill
shelters aggressively market adoptable animals, and others have such strict
adoption requirements that few people can qualify for a new pet.
Animal control shelters, including those operated by private humane
societies, are sometimes forced to use narrower criteria for assessing adoptability
than private shelters because their mandate is set by government statutes, ordinances,
regulations and policies rather than by a mission statement. Accordingly, and
because (unlike private shelters and SPCAs) animal control agencies generally
accept all dogs and cats that are brought to them and are required by law to
keep them regardless of their adoptability for a specified period of time, crowding
may force animal control agencies to euthanize adoptable animals or ones with
milder health or behavior problems such as ear mites, kennel cough, skin lesions,
excessive barking, or destructive chewing, in order to free up space for more
adoptable animals.
NAIA supports animal shelters and animal control agencies that
- Provide temporary shelter for dogs and cats impounded under animal control
laws or surrendered by owners who can no longer care for their pets;
- Set reasonable policies for rehabilitating animals and placing them in new
homes,
- Educate the public about responsible pet care and training,
- Conduct adoption programs that parallel the placement efforts of responsible
breeders, and
- Are willing to take back any animal that does not work in its new home.
NAIA urges all shelters, public and private, to scan for microchips in incoming
dogs, implant chips in adopted dogs, provide basic training and socialization
for dogs before adoption, work with rescues and breeders to match prospective
owners to a dog that fits their lifestyles and meets their needs, and coordinate
training efforts with local training clubs and businesses.
NAIA recognizes the value of cooperative programs between shelters and prisons
both for training and socializing dogs to prepare them for new homes and for
teaching skills to nonviolent inmates.
NAIA also supports animal control agencies that make the tough decision to
euthanize a dog in the interest of public safety, especially when the decision
is made in the face of vocal opposition from activists intent upon vilifying
the agency and second-guessing its policies and judgment. NAIA believes that
local governments should adequately fund animal control agencies so that they
are able to put policies in place that will enhance public safety and provide
humane treatment for the dogs in their care.
Although few studies about the numbers of animals entering shelters and the
numbers of healthy animals euthanized in shelters have been done and those that
are available depend on a limited number of survey responses, all indications
are that fewer dogs are entering animal shelters, more of the dogs that are
entering shelters are leaving for new homes, and there is actually a shortage
of puppies and small dogs in some areas of the country. However, activists who
oppose dog breeding claim that there is still a huge overpopulation of dogs
and cats in the US, that euthanasia in shelters is increasing, and that dog
breeders are somehow to blame for the shelter deaths. These activists promote
mandatory spay and neuter laws and other restrictions on breeding as the solution
to "overpopulation" and conduct annual drives to convince owners that every
intact pet will be responsible for thousands more dogs or cats in its fertile
lifetime.
NAIA recognizes that responsible pet owners and breeders do not contribute
to shelter dog intakes and deaths and supports the rights of dog and cat owners
to make their own decisions about pet sterilization and breeding. NAIA opposes
mandatory sterilization of pets but encourages owners to voluntarily take steps
to prevent accidental litters and to leave breeding to those who can make the
personal and financial sacrifices necessary to make informed, responsible breeding
decisions.
Private pet placement programs
Breed rescue programs have undoubtedly resulted in fewer shelter deaths
because they rescue purebred dogs and cats from shelters and provide an option
for owners forced to surrender a pet. NAIA applauds those breed-specific organizations
that provide temporary homes and care for dogs and cats in need, offer transport
to new homes, and help owners through the initial bonding with a new pet.
NAIA does not support the so-called rescue groups that justify taking animals
from their lawful owners in the name of humane rescue. Such individuals and
groups often consider themselves above the law and steal animals from owners
whose practices they dislike. NAIA opposes illegal activities and supports due
process for pet owners who are targeted by such activities.
NAIA also recognizes that some people who conduct private animal welfare programs
may become inundated with animals because they lose their perspective. These
people take any animal that comes to their door, may have difficulty in placing
animals because they find fault with many potential adopters, and may ultimately
end up unable to properly care for the animals they have. NAIA believes that
such people should be held to the same standards of care that other animal owners
must attain, not excused because they are 'rescuing' unwanted pets. At the same
time, they should also be treated with compassion, not imprisoned or assessed
maximum fines.
Breed specific legislation
NAIA supports reasonable laws to protect the public from dangerous dogs and
opposes breed-specific legislation in any form. Breed-specific laws target good
dogs and responsible animal owners along with the bad.
Unfortunately, sensational media coverage and misleading claims of canine super
strength and cunning of some breeds of dogs, especially the bull-and-terrier
breeds and crossbreeds, have manipulated public opinion. These factors often
lead to limits on breeding and owning certain types of dogs despite the fact
that many individual dogs fitting the description are beloved family pets or
valuable working partners. Restrictions from outright bans to requirements for
confinement, insurance, and spay and neuter often follow incidents in which
a breed and its crosses are implicated in aggressive incidents or dog fighting
or other criminal activity. Such limits cause the death of many well-behaved
pets and rob law-abiding pet owners of their rights to choose a breed or mix
and responsibly own or maintain a pet or working dog without government interference.
NAIA supports nuisance ordinances and dangerous dog laws to protect the community
against unruly or dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog owners. NAIA supports
sentences for violation of dog confinement and nuisance laws that include mandatory
attendance at a basic obedience training class. AKC
dog obedience clubs have provided such classes for the general public for
decades and, together with private trainers, they represent a well-established
community resource for courts dealing with dog-related offenses.
Suggested reading:
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