When I first got involved in animal rescue and I heard the term “Kill Shelter” I was utterly confused. Why would there be a shelter if you’re just going to kill the animal? I imagined a dark and dirty warehouse full of caged cats and dogs who were not taken care of; I imagined apathetic employees. Later, when I became better educated on the matter, I understood that there is a necessity for such shelters, and I grew to admire the people who work there.
The reason Open Admission Shelters are so commonly referred to as Kill Shelters is because, unfortunately, animals at these facilities are euthanized at a much higher rate than those in Limited-Admission (No Kill) Shelters.
Open Admission Shelters are just that. They are open to every animal that is brought in. Usually each city has an Open Admission Shelter in order to have a place to take abandoned animals, regardless of their health or temperament and regardless of the space or funding provided. These shelters are critical to keeping the members of the community (two- and four-legged alike) safe. If we, as people, didn’t have a place to bring homeless animals, there’d be an increase of frightened animals roaming the streets. They would essentially be in survival mode, which would create an unsafe community for the people living there–it’s a lose-lose situation.
These face malnutrition and disease; they reproduce, populating an already overcrowded community. Having a central place to tend to stray or unwanted animals is in the best interest of all involved, even if it might mean that they don’t all make it into happy forever homes. It’s unfortunate, but its true. The best we can do is make sure the Open Admission Shelters are as well-funded and well-kept as possible.
According to NYC’s Animal Care and Control’s website, out of the 34,768 cats and dogs that were taken in in 2010 9,373 were euthanized. Both of those numbers are staggeringly high, and everyone agrees these numbers have to change. But with no other choice, Open Admission Shelters are sometimes the only place to turn.
Another reason Open Admission shelters are given a bad wrap is because funding is so limited, or is non-existent. In New York, for example, the NYC ACC falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, which is much more concerned about spending its money on dealing with the health millions of New Yorkers than it is with maintaining a few tens of thousands of cats or dogs. And putting down the unwanted might indeed be the cheapest and fastest way to protect the health of the humans that the DOH has to deal with. Space is often the biggest issue: Animals with curable ailments and zero behavior problems are often euthanized simply because there just isn’t enough room, and sacrifices have to be made so that the next batch of animals has a place to sleep that night.
You’ll find similar situations in many different cities, and this means a chronic case of shelters being understaffed. Those who are there are overworked, underpaid and usually have few qualifications to be dealing with animal behavior or health. These shelters are also very sad places to be in which makes volunteers almost as scarce as funding. It’s a vicious cycle, with many kinks, but until we get the animal population under control (do the Bob Barker! Spay and neuter!) we should do what we can to support our Open Admission Shelters. They should also be one of the first places you call or visit when you decide to get a pet. Even if you don’t take one of the “death row” animals on the euthanasia shortlist, the dog or cat you pull is creating an empty spot that may then be occupied by an animal who otherwise wouldn’t have lived to see the next day.