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The
Plight of Shelter Animals
 Every year in the
United
States, between 8-12 million animals enter
shelters. This includes dogs, cats, and other animals, and these
shelter intakes are about evenly divided between animals that are
surrendered to the shelters by their owners and strays that are picked
up by animal control workers. Every year, 5-9 million shelter
animals are euthanized, including 60% of the dogs and 70% of the cats
that enter shelters.
At the same time,
of about 60
million dogs and 75 million cats owned in
the United States, 10-20% are adopted from shelters and pet rescue
organizations. Thus, shelters perform a vital service in curbing
the number of animals that enter shelters and must eventually
be euthanized.*
Animal shelters
have the most
difficulty, in general, adopting male,
teenage (2-3 years old) animals, because males are perceived to be more
aggressive and troublesome, and teenage animals (just like teenage
humans!) have a host of normal behavioral issues that require a great
deal of patience, love, and training to overcome. Incidentally,
teenage animals are also among the most common animals surrendered to
shelters, for the same reason that they tend to possess these normal
(but unexpected by their owners) behavioral issues. Banner is one
such 3-year-old teenage male dog with a host of behavioral issues,
stemming not only from the fact that he is a teenager, but also from
his
history of abandonment.
Understanding the Debate There is a
huge amount of information about the plight of shelter
animals on the Internet. If you choose to delve into this topic,
it is important to understand that this issue is riddled with political
controversy, just like many other important issues in our
society. It is not my intent to support any particular political
agenda with PCT for Pets. I simply wish to raise
awareness about the fact that millions of neglected, abused, and
abandoned animals enter shelters every year and many of these animals
are put to death when homes cannot be found for them. Despite the
diversity of political views on animal shelters, a majority of
individuals and organizations does seem to feel that this is a tragic
situation which should be rectified. However, there tends to be
vehement disagreement about how to
rectify the plight of shelter animals. Although I do not
generally like to simplify the world into dichotomies, I would like to
briefly describe the two main points of view which you will discover if
you begin researching this issue, keeping in mind that there are also
many variations on these two philosophies:
Animal Welfare:
In general, supporters of animal
welfare believe that human beings have a responsibility to treat
animals
humanely. The American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA) defines animal welfare as, "a human
responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being,
including proper housing, management, nutrition, disease prevention and
treatment, responsible care, human handling, and, when necessary,
humane euthanasia." As long as an animal's well-being is tended
to, this philosophy believes that it is acceptable to use animals for
food, clothing, medical research, product testing, education,
recreation, entertainment, and companionship. However, not all
animal welfare advocates and organizations necessarily believe that all of these human uses of
animals are acceptable. In addition, there is much debate
about what is meant by an animal's "well-being." Animal rights
advocates will often claim that the term "animal
welfare" has been usurped in some cases by groups (such as large
agribusiness companies) that wish to appear publicly concerned about
the well-being of animals while in reality continuing with established
inhumane practices.
Foundation for
Animal Use Education: The
Animal Welfare Philosophy
(Note that this site has a bias towards animal welfare) Marci's Menagerie: Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare (Note that this site has a bias towards animal welfare) Animal Rights:
The fundamental tenet of animal
rights is that all animals
possess intrinsic rights equal to the rights of human beings.
Often, the beliefs of animal rights advocates go beyond the idea that
animals should be treated humanely to the assertion that humans should
eliminate all use of animals for food, clothing, medical research,
product testing, education, recreation, entertainment, and even
companionship. Many animal welfare advocates have accused animal
rights groups (such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and
the Animal Liberation Front) of
engaging in terrorist activities (e.g. arson) and having a "hidden
agenda" to eliminate all human use of animals
(including as pets) while using the guise of animal welfare to garner
support and funding from the general public which does not generally
support their extreme beliefs. Thus, both sides of the debate
tend to accuse the other of "political doublespeak," and it becomes
difficult for one (like myself) who merely wishes to do some good for
shelter animals to know where to direct one's
support.
The Animal Rights FAQ: Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare (Note that this site has a bias towards animal rights) Being aware
of the diversity of opposing and overlapping philosophies regarding
animal rights and animal welfare can help you to
untangle the web of arguments you will find if you start to
research the plight of shelter animals in the United States.
Banner and I have settled on the American Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as the beneficiary of our PCT for Pets adventure
because we believe that this organization does a great deal of work to
directly benefit shelters and shelter animals around the country.
If you don't agree, we have also provided the option of donating
directly to our Sponsoring
Shelters or to any other animal shelter of your choice.
And thank you to those
who have helped me to better understand the debate...
* Statistics provided by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Return to top |