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After LA Animal Services released their latest statistics, The Daily News ran a story with this headline: "Animal Deaths Rise in L.A. Shelters". Yet, the number of animals euthanized in Los Angeles has dropped by 20% this year - a hard-won statistic for Ed Boks, general manager for LA Animal Services. Since Los Angeles adopted a no-kill policy 10 years ago, the number of euthanized animals has dropped from 65,000 to 15,000 a year.
So why is the Daily News reporting that animal deaths are on the rise? Because deaths from reasons other than euthanasia -- sickness, injury or natural causes -- are on the rise in shelters across the city. Which seems to make sense: less animals are being euthanized so there are more animals living in shelters that might get sick or injured.
According to the Daily News, Ed Boks sees this as a positive sign:
"I think that what these numbers are revealing is that Animal Services is not looking to euthanize as a first course of action," said Ed Boks, general manager for the Animal Services Department. "We're triaging the animals as they are coming in, to help them.
Yet, critics of LA Animal Services' no-kill policy accuse the shelters of "warehousing pets in a crude attempt to slow euthanasias and to satisfy the city's 'no-kill' mandate for adoptable animals, established in 2003 after pressure by activists." As further evidence of a no-kill policy gone awry, critics cite the 300 unweaned kitten deaths, an alarming 1,470 slider turtle deaths, and a 182 percent rise in dog, cat and rabbit deaths.
How does LA move into 2008 with an effective no-kill policy and find a way to reduce animal deaths while they wait for adoption? There are no easy answers.
According to Ed Boks' blog, the recently completed $160 million investment in upgraded shelters and facilities is a huge step in the right direction:
"The new Centers have wide aisles, solar and radiant heating, cooling misters, veterinary and spay/neuter clinics, park benches for visitors, fountains and lush landscaping – a world away from the grim conditions of the old shelters, where animals could become so agitated or depressed that they seemed ill-tempered and, thus, “unadoptable” by old school animal control reckoning.What can you do to help? Spay & neuter your pets or adopt a pet today. Can't adopt? Volunteer to walk dogs at a rescue organization or one of LA's six animal shelters. Here's to a better year for all of LA's furry friends.By transforming our animal shelters into places of hope and life, instead of despair and doom, we are already experiencing a measurable increase in our adoption rates and consequently one of the most significant declines in LA’s long history of declining euthanasia rates."
Photo by ny156uk via Flickr
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This is a bad situation.
I'd rather see pets euthanized than put them in a warehouse where they are bound to get sick or injured. And I'd rather spend resources on providing free spaying and neutering (and other veterinary services) than housing huge numbers of strays.
Also, let's stop licensing dogs, and start licensing dog owners. Make people take some responsibility for their pets!
You are confusing the City with the County. That article had to do with LA City. The City is not nokill, neither is the county. They city still kills almost 20,000 a year. More are dying from illness and injury in their cages because of overcrowding, lack of care and a direct order from Ed Boks the Director. In February 2007 Boks sent a memo stating that no one is allowed to euthanize an animal except as ordered by a shelter manager for lack of space only. He did this to improve his numbers. He now lets the animals slowly die from illness and injury so he doesn't have to include them in his euthanasia column. His version of the story is bull.
these "activists" hardly speak for the majority of the people. It's not their fault, they have to do something in order to prevent a major stray problem on the streets. I think until numbers improve they should enforce spay/neutering laws or write new ones that work.
I agree with the first poster. We have to implement more accountability with owners. Pets have to be spayed or neutered and strict special licenses issued for breading. Harsher penalties for people who break them. Where I live there are at least a dozen homes with dogs with no licenses and or breeding unchecked.
The problem with warehousing animals is that they get into fights, and then voila, they can be killed because they are "injured" and it doesn't count as a euthansia. It's like statistics. You can make your case for anything by skewing the numbers. The Mayor is directly culpable for not making animals a priority. He promised to close the elephant exhibit at the zoo (and please, don't respond by telling me the exactitudes of the situation, what I'm saying is he promised one thing then conveniently forgot about it when his minions advised him otherwise) and is now allowing it to be enlarged instead. There is no political will. Animals cannot vote, and more importantly, they cannot bribe.