Perspective on ‘No-Kill’ Shelters

In the article on the Orange County Animal Shelter (“Doggedly Defending Their Duty,” May 4), mention is made of cities in South County in the process of, or looking at the possibility of, establishing their own animal shelters “where no animal is euthanized.”

Local shelters claiming to be “no-kill” or “pro-life” and comparing themselves favorably with county animal control seldom mention the one major service that the county provides they do not: namely, the acceptance of owner-released animals.

Almost 50% of the animals euthanized at the county shelter have been turned in by owners who no longer want them. Their numbers include the old, the vicious, those with behavior problems, litters of surplus kittens--in short, the unadoptable. It’s easy to claim to be “no-kill” when you’re avoiding 50% of the problem. What happens to an unwanted animal in a city where owner-releases are not accepted?

The owner may find it another home or take it to the vet for euthanasia. But too often, such animals will be dumped, handed out at shopping malls or advertised “free” to an uncertain fate. Or they will be taken to the county shelter, which, by accepting them, will add to its statistics numbers that rightly belong to the city of origin. A public animal shelter should be a refuge for all unwanted animals in the community, not just the strays.

A shelter that refuses owner-released animals or accepts only those for which it is certain it can find a new home is doing only half the job. “No-kill” does not necessarily mean “more humane.”

PAT M. GUIVER, President, Orange County SPCA