The pictures shown above were taken at the Animal Care Society in Louisville, Kentucky. The Animal Care Society is one of many no-kill animal shelters across the nation. The No Kill movement is a growing idea that animals in shelters should not be euthanized simply because they are difficult to find a home for or because there isn’t enough room to house them.
Many argue that no-kill animal shelters are ineffective because they turn away the very animals they claim to be helping due to lack of room or amenities. In reality, this lack of room or amenities is mainly due to the fact that no-kill animal shelters are almost always also non-profit shelters.
In order to be a successful no-kill shelter, some necessities include an adoption program, an inexpensive and effective option for spaying/neutering, willing foster home participants, a rehabilitation program and of course plenty of volunteers. In addition to these, the costs of the basic necessities for the animals, such as shelter and food, no-kill shelters ineffectiveness, when it occurs, is mainly based on lack of funds.
To clarify, the No Kill movement does not support denying euthanasia in all cases. In severe cases of suffering such as uncontrollable depression or rage, the animals will be given a painless release. The movement works toward changing shelters that have been known to euthanize healthy, adoptable pets simply to make more room or because they were taking too long to be adopted.
No-kill shelters aren’t perfect, but they have the right idea and they just need a little help (some volunteers or a few donations) to be a lot more effective.
