Quote:
"Unfortunately, this animal; there's nothing medically wrong with this animal.
Unfortunately we have to euthanize because of space," Gannon says.
|
Fallacy!
Euthanasia is defined as
"the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of
hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy"
(see
euthanasia - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
Gannon
kills these
healthy animals.
Calling it euthanasia, is euphemism. An ugly one at that.
Quote:
|
Not all euthanasia's are because of over-population. City policy requires all pit bulls, unclaimed by the owner, to be put down. They're not adoptable.
|
They are not adoptable
only because of city policy, not for some other more sensible reason. Many pit bulls can be successfully adopted. For example, the Tompkins County SPCA successfully adopted 86% of it's pit bulls.
Quote:
|
In general, it's a case of too many wagging tales and not enough homes.
|
Just not true.
According to the statistics in this
book more animals already in homes pass away each year (thus opening a space in a home) than are admitted to shelters.
People are willing to adopt animals, but
everyone hates actually going to a shelter where that majority of animals are being killed. Easier to avoid the problem than contribute to fixing it.
I can't help but feel from the article that the shelter is giving excuses for killing, trying to make themselves and the public feel that it is necessary and OK to kill healthy animals, when it is not.
Furthermore, I have to disagree with the statements in this thread that blame irresponsible pet owners for the problem and thus the killing. While that is an excuse, it is just too easy. True, pet owner education and spay/neuter programs will reduce killing but changing the way shelters operate can result in more immediate reduction in killing. For example from their website, "The Oklahoma City Animal Shelter is open for adopting or reclaiming pets from noon to 4:45 p.m." Not many working individuals can adopt animals during those hours. Having just one evening open for adoption will result in fewer deaths.
OKCcrime