b'realitysoundbites.The No-Kill Movement:Lets Finish What We Startedby guest columnist Dina AthanassieT hejourneyofanimalswhofindthemselvesinan remainvigilant,adaptive,andcommittedtoprogress.animal shelter and the ethical responsibilities of those The challenges facing companion animals are evolving, andwho care for them spark deep, often challenging, con- failing to expand the no-kill game plan would be a disservice,versations. This is one of those conversationswell, not just to the movement, but more importantly, to the animalsnot technically a conversation, but my hope is that it sparks one. we seek to protect.TheNoKillMovementhasbeenrevolutionaryinthe Whispers of some animal shelters manipulating data toworld of animal sheltering. It began in 1989 (remember that reachthe90%benchmarkarerampant.Asanexample,ayear; it will come up later) when Richard shelter could put animals on a van forAvanzino, then the president of the San them to be euthanized off-site so thoseFranciscoSPCA,implementedpolicies animals can be counted as part of thethat turned San Francisco into the first shelters live release ratethe justifica-city to adopt a no-kill model. Under his tion being that the animals were aliveleadership,theorganizationstopped when they got on the van. Such practiceseuthanizinghealthy,adoptableanimals, compromise the integrity of the No Killsetting a precedent for others. Movement and the welfare of the ani-Avanzinosapproachwastransfor- malsitaimstoprotect.Italsomakesmative, demonstrating that communities other shelters, who are transparent withcould save the majority of shelter animals their statistics, look like they are failingthroughprogramssuchasspay/neuter because they are not reaching the idealinitiatives,communityinvolvement, benchmark. Shelters may also categorizeadoption drives, and fostering networks. euthanasia for medical or behavioral rea-His work inspired the modern No-Kill sons in ways that minimize their impactMovement,whichhasgrownintoa on live release rates. Some shelters resortnationwide effort, championed by many to restricting intake to avoid having tonational and local organizations. makethesedecisions,ortheopposite:In an effort to establish measurable Dina Athanassie, President and Founder, overcrowdingtheirfacility.Orthegoalsforachievingno-killsheltering,a Sunshine State Humane Society. increasingly common clear the shelter90%saveratebecametheindustry www.SunshineHumane.org free adoption days, which reek of des-benchmark. It is a practical standard because it accounts for the peration, as if the shelter is begging the community: Get thesereality that some animals (those suffering from untreatable ill- animals off our hands! Clearly, shelters are having difficultyness or extreme aggression) may not be adoptable. In industry reaching the benchmark, otherwise they would not need toterms, this 90% target represents the live release rate, mean- resort to these tactics.ing that 90% of animals should be expected to leave the shelter While all this is going on at shelters, lets look at what isalive. going on outside shelter walls. Animal shelters dont operateThe No Kill Movement has saved the lives of countless inside a vacuum; they are influenced by and interconnectedanimals, as well as greatly improving the quality of life of com- with various external factors. munity cats, formerly referred to as feral, who have benefited If there is any critique to be found in the no-kill model, itfromtheTNVR(Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return)programs is that it puts the impetus on animal shelters and little on theimplementedbymanyshelters.Inshort,theNoKill public. After all, they are the driving force behind both intakeMovement has redefined what is possible in animal sheltering. and adoptions.So to be clear: I am not questioning the validity or signif- Animal shelters should seriously consider the followingicance of No Killas either a philosophy or a movement. external factors, as well as others, because they can potentiallyHowever,likeanyambitiousgoal,itisimportantto have a devastating effect on companion animals in the nextperiodically reflect on its implementation and assess where we decade.stand. And I believe we stand in a precarious place. In recent years, private equity (PE) firms have been buy-Consider that 1989 was 36 years ago. It would be a huge ing veterinary clinics at an alarming rate: It is estimated thatmisstep to assume that we have arrived when I fear that com- 25% of veterinary clinics are PE-owned, while specialty carepanion animals are heading toward a crisis of epic proportions. clinics and emergency hospitals have an even higher rate of PEYes, animal sheltering has greatly improved, but we need to ownership, with some estimates as high as 75%.16THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'