ANIMAL INTEREST/WELFARE GROUPS Stand up and help us fight to stop the killing in our shelters ! National animal interst Allience really good site everyone should visit. For the past decade and more, national and local animal organizations have blamed puppy producers for euthanasias in shelters and promoted sterilization as the only way to decrease shelter deaths. Slowly, over the past five or six years, university studies have put forth a different picture: it's not the puppies, they say, it's the adult dogs that are picked up as strays or surrendered by owners that populate shelters and die for lack of a home. With few exceptions, however, the news has not translated into innovative strategies to educate potential dog owners before they buy or fail to train.
There are no excuses now. Bob Christiansen, a California writer, dog trainer, and former shelter director, has written a book that lays it on the line: while spay and neuter programs have dramatically reduced shelter euthanasias, it is time for other tactics to take center stage. Christiansen's other tactics include community coalitions between dog clubs, shelters, and veterinarians; low-cost identification programs to help re-unite strays with their families; progressive marketing of adoptable dogs; education programs for potential owners; counseling for owners with problem dogs; multiple housing for dogs to reduce shelter stress; and remodeled shelters that provide a bright, cheerful showcase for adoptable animals.
The book opens with a brief profile of the animal welfare movement in the US from the 1860s to the present, then sets about defining and offering solutions for current animal shelter problems. Christiansen wrote that the dog population has increased from 30 million animals in 1970 to 52 million animals in 1996 but the number euthanized has declined substantially to about 2.5 million animals, a decline he credits to massive education about pet sterilization. He then wrote: "The overwhelming majority of the dogs killed are not puppies (as would be the case if there were true dog overpopulation) but young adults that were once owned."
The big challenges, according to Christiansen, are to
design intervention programs so that people will not relinquish their dogs;
increase adoptions, and
develop identification programs so that lost dogs get back home.
A study printed in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association determined that the following factors increase the chances that a dog will be surrendered to a shelter:
lack of veterinary care,
dog obtained at little or no cost,
dog lives mostly outside,
dog needs more care and attention than expected,
family is divorcing or moving,
family has changed financial circumstances, and
dog is noisy, destructive, or soils the house.
Dogs that stayed in their homes were more expensive to purchase, attended obedience classes, had regular veterinary care, spent part of the day inside, were neutered or spayed, and were housetrained and relatively quiet. Purebred dogs were more likely to remain in their homes, leaving shelter populations at 75-80 percent mixed breeds. These factors, especially obedience training and veterinary care, give clues to intervention, clues that the writer turned into suggestions throughout the book.
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The solutions
Christiansen harshly criticized national groups and shelters that blame owners and breeders instead of reaching out to veterinarians, breeders, kennel clubs, training clubs, groomers, and others who can be allies in the battle to reduce killing. However, he balanced his censure with page after page of constructive ideas for change, ideas that can be implemented in communities, regions, and whole states.
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Identification
"Our current public dog identification system is a major failure and results in millions of dogs being killed every year," Christiansen wrote. "In California, close to 75 percent of all dogs that enter animal control shelters are strays. An effective identification system would cut the canine kill rate in half." In addition, reclamation of impounded cats sits at less than five percent. Although many states require that dogs be licensed, only about one third of owners comply. As a result, fewer than 15 percent of stray dogs are returned to their owners. To increase chances that a lost dog or cat will get back home, Save Our Strays recommends low-cost community microchip identification programs with regional and national databases accessible to shelters, veterinarians, and the public.
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Networks
More than 80 percent of potential dog owners are looking for a puppy, placing a burden on shelters and rescues to market adult dogs to people who think that old dogs can't learn new tricks. Save Our Strays presents marketing strategies and, since a good match between buyer and puppy is likely to keep the dog in its home for life, promotes community networks to help people find puppies as well. These networks should keep lists of responsible breeders as well as available dogs from rescues and shelters so that people can be directed to a dog that will meet their requirements.
Humane societies should work with veterinarians to spay and neuter every animal before adoption; work with local training clubs and trainers as well as operate their own training centers; and focus community attention on adoptions with mobile and satellite adoption centers, Christiansen wrote. Animal control agencies should work with rescues and humane societies to give dogs a better chance for adoption. If the three-day or five-day holding period is up, agencies should transfer dogs to non-profit societies for adoption marketing.
Humane societies and animal control agencies should work together to define the dog problem in their region. Christiansen noted that few communities have gathered statistics, interviewed pet owners, or determined the effectiveness of current programs, and that lack of information leads to failed efforts to reduce the killing.
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Spay and neuter
Save Our Strays promotes low-cost pet sterilization programs - including mobile clinics - for pet owners and insists that shelters should not release intact dogs. Noting that as many as 20 percent of the dogs adopted from one shelter produced litters, Christiansen said that voucher programs do not work, even if mandated by law. "These laws are not effective as many people forego the deposit and pets go unaltered despite the financial incentive. Shelters keep the money. What does that accomplish?" he wrote. "Professional animal shelters spay or neuter animals before they leave the shelter."
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Keeping pets in the home
"A misconception among those who believe that sterilization alone would decrease euthanasia rates was that 'unwanted' births resulted in pups and kittens flooding into shelters. Most animals in shelters are not, in fact, young pups and kittens, but rather 'adolescents,' approximately six to 18 months old, which have outgrown their cuteness and are manifesting minor behavioral problems their owners have neither the skills nor the patience to resolve," Christiansen wrote. Save Our Strays recommends programs - low-cost if necessary - to keep pets in their homes, first by finding out why people want to relinquish the dog and then providing a spectrum of resources that will help these owners understand and train their dogs and help new owners prevent behavior problems.
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Breeders
Christiansen exonerated responsible purebred breeders and the American Kennel Club from blame for shelter deaths but recommended that communities curtail backyard breeding through education programs and a referral service that prospective buyers can use when searching for a responsible breeder.
Save Our Strays separates breeders into several categories: hobby breeders and exhibitors; commercial breeders, "just one litter" breeders, and puppy mills and describes each one. Christiansen devoted a considerable amount of space to hobby breeders and exhibitors because "The problem is not responsible breeders. The nation needs more certified, responsible breeders. The problem stems mainly from accidental breeders and amateur, backyard charlatans out to make a quick buck on the sale of puppies."
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Cats
Save Our Strays notes that cat and dog population problems differ in both degree and kind. "Just as cats are different from dogs, surplus cat dynamics are substantially different from surplus dog dynamics. Most areas in the nation are experiencing a critical cat overpopulation problem," Christiansen wrote. (See Anna Sadler's article "Cats: There oughta be a law ..." on page 11.) Cats find people. Strays take up residence under porches, in garages, and in the hearts of new owners. Most cats spend their lives alternating between indoors and outdoors. Although the great majority - nearly 90 percent in some areas - of owned female cats are spayed, 15-20 percent are allowed to produce a litter or two prior to sterilization. More than half of kittens obtained by households are from a feral cat population, and only about three percent of all owned cats are pedigreed.
Cats are relinquished by owners for reasons similar to those for dog surrender: moving, landlord doesn't allow pets, too many animals in household, cost of maintenance, personal problems of owner, inadequate facilities, no homes available for litters, allergies in family, house soiling, and incompatibility with other pets.
Christiansen wrote that, far from protecting cats, cat licensing laws could spell doom for millions of feral or stray cats because these laws penalize the people who care for stray cats and thus make it more difficult for them to continue their cat welfare work. On the other hand, community sterilization programs for feral cats and encouragement of cat colony caretakers can help reduce deaths, he said. He praised the efforts of the Cat Fanciers Association to both define the cat population problems and educate the public on responsible cat care.
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Conclusion
A must-read for anyone interested in reducing shelter deaths, Save Our Strays is well-researched with more than 50 references, including a 1993 article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association by NAIA national director Patti Strand. Many of the solutions depend on legislation and regulations and call for an influx of government and private money: mandatory pet identification programs, testing and training for prospective pet owners, mandatory sterilization of pups sold in pet stores, elimination of backyard breeders, and certification of responsible breeders. But the book also calls for existing community resources to be rearranged to focus on reducing kills rather than getting bogged down in political and turf wars or misunderstandings - an example of out-of-the-box thinking necessary to save animal lives.
The book is available from CLC Publishing, PO Box 10515, Napa, California 94851; (707) 226-5574. Special quantity discounts are available to shelters and animal-related charities for 12 or more books. The company has a website (www.saveourstrays.com) and e-mail (rgc@saveourstrays.com), and the book can be ordered from the NAIA Amazon bookstore at www.naiaonline.org.
Alabama Canine Coalition"The humane movement has been hijacked, radicalized, and rerouted. Started more than 100 years ago, it was traditionally concerned with the humane treatment of animals. In the last 20 years, however, it has been taken over by animal rights leaders whose priority is neither the humane care of animals nor the prevention of cruelty to animals, but instead, the promotion of a revolutionary value system which redefines man's relationship with other animals. Animal rightists want to end man's use of animals altogether."
These chilling words begin the introduction to Hijacking of the Humane Movement, and Rod and Patti Strand spend the next 174 pages of narrative and case vignettes proving their point. The book is a wake-up call for all-including dog owners-who value the human-animal bond in all of its manifestations.
Patti and Rod Strand are Dalmatian breeders with 24 years experience, are active in their kennel club in the Pacific Northwest, and have researched, written, and spoken about the animal rights movement and its effects on dog owners. Patti is the director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, a network of animal welfare proponents founded to counteract animal rights propaganda.
Hijacking points out that dog breeders and other "users" of animals are being squeezed between the pet-owning, animal-loving average citizen and a growing cadre of radicals who want to sever all use of animals. It works like this: John Q. Public donates money to "end animal suffering" in abusive labs, so-called factory farms, sub-standard zoos and circuses, puppy mills, etc. The radicals take that money and use it to promote their own agenda-the end of meat-eating, zoos, circuses, medical research involving animals, even the keeping of assistance dogs and all other pets. Impossible? The Strands don't think so; read Hijacking, and you'll get the picture.
Perusal of each chapter opening provides the first clue: The quotes from the pens and mouths of the activists themselves illuminate the true purposes of the movement. For example, the famous quote of Ingrid Newkirk, founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), describing her ideal world: "I don't like the word pet. I think it's speciesist language. I prefer 'companion animal.' For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding . . ."
The book begins with a brief look at man's alliance with animals through the millennia, noting the change in relationship from daily affiliation through working partnerships, hunting, and agriculture to token contact through pets and animal symbols in urbanized society. It is the latter circumstance that leads to romanticizing animals as furry or scaly humans (a la Walt Disney), according to the Strands, and it is here that the hijackers concentrate their attack.
The humane movement began in England in the early 19th Century when moralists, political philosophers, and members of several religions joined forces to force laws prohibiting cruelty to animals and children. They established the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the National Anti-Vivisection Society to bring about the end of blood sports (bear and bull baiting and cock and dog fighting) and a number of other cruel practices and to stop the use of animals in medical research. This latter goal was shared by the Luddites, a group of anti-science zealots, and Victorian activists, who were sure that people "deserved" the diseases they contracted and therefore didn't "deserve" to be cured. Remnants of both philosophies are rampant in today's animal rights movement.
England exported its animal cruelties and its humane movement to the New World. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Massachusetts SPCA were the first of many US humane organizations. After an initial flurry of anti-cruelty laws, these groups maintained a rather low profile. Then, in the mid 20th Century, the activists resurfaced in Nazi uniforms and approved a spate of laws designed to protect animals. Hitler proclaimed himself a vegetarian, and so-called crimes against animals were often penalized by death while crimes against people went unpunished.
The stage had been set for the reemergence of the radical animal rights movement, which began in earnest in the 1960s.
Animal rights groups range from the terrorist through the treacherous to the tricky and advocate everything from elimination of medical research involving animals to the keeping of pets. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) raids and vandalizes research laboratories and fur farms and terrorizes scientists; PETA is a mouthpiece for ALF and promotes civil disobedience, harassment, trickery, and lies to end the use of animals; and the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) proposes draconian breeding bans on dogs and cats and lobbies for an end to hunting. Sprinkled into the mix are the Fund for Animals, Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, and a variety of other groups with related agendas and often overlapping personnel.
The hijacking is repeated every day as activists and their groups indulge in doublespeak, enlist celebrities as spokesmen, and engage national attention with their outlandish promotional schemes, lawsuits, and calls for compassion-their brand of compassion that will eliminate the use, any use of animals in human society. The Strands name the leaders of the movement in the US, describe their rise to prominence, detail their activities, and use their own words to prove that the activists want nothing less than a complete repudiation of man's centuries-old affiliations with animals.
A favorite tactic of activists is to infiltrate mainstream humane societies and animal shelters throughout the country, gain election to the boards, and direct activities and money towards anti-breeding legislation under the guise of "population control." They usually get their ducks in a row, contacting politicians and persuading them that the votes lie with a "compassionate" stance against the killing of healthy animals; planting articles and letters to the editor in local papers decrying the euthanasia of dogs and cats in the local shelter; collecting donations for a print-media advertising campaign; blaming "profit-making" breeders for a "surplus" population of pets; and even euthanizing a dog or two for the television cameras to drive their point across. This latter tactic worked in San Mateo County in California.
Other strategies include infiltration of the schools with so-called humane education and classroom visits by people who espouse no-use-of-animals-under-any-circumstances; direct-mail solicitation of funds filled with pictures of "abused" animals; recruitment of celebrities to support the cause; and comparison of animal rights advocacy with campaigns to gain equal rights for blacks and women.
It would have been easy for the Strands to stop after their detailed picture of the animal rights movement as it exists today and of the schemes to further the radical agenda, but they didn't. In three case histories, they describe radicals' actions against tuna fishermen, a research scientist, and an entertainer with a primate act in Las Vegas, then include capsule summaries of dozens of incidents perpetrated by activists from 1983-1992. The case histories outline the use of lies, distortions, harassment, even a doctored video tape by the activists; the incident summary includes bombings, animal releases, thefts, arson, destruction of laboratory equipment, threats, and vandalism.
To wrap up the package, Hijacking ends with "Taking the initiative," a chapter reviewing recent advances in humane animal care and introducing several national organizations dedicated to promoting responsible animal use and enhancing the human-animal bond. These organizations run the gamut from the strident anti-animal rights group Putting People First and the more moderate but equally resolute National Animal Interest Alliance, to the specialized Coalition for Animals and Animal Research and the Incurably Ill for Animal Research. Addresses for each of these organizations is available in the book as is a list of animal rights organizations.
Rod and Patti Strand have done a service to everyone who has a pet, goes to the zoo or circus, eats meat, hunts, or has benefited in any way from medical research conducted on animals. Hijacking of the Humane Movement is hard-hitting, and thus is typical of the expose books of the past several years. It is also well-researched, which puts it a notch above many of the others of this genre. But its value lies most in its structure, for it takes the reader step by step through the evolution of the radical movement, pointing out its fallacies and foibles along the way. Where it fails, I think, is in not presenting even a cursory list of actions that local humane groups, kennel clubs, veterinary associations, breed clubs, training clubs, etc. can take to expose and combat the animal rights movement in their own communities. But the criticism is a matter of personal preference and should not detract from the tremendous value of this book.
The tendency for dog owners has been to view animal rights campaigns as something that happens in the other guy's back yard. Even if someone tried to make a case against the keeping of pets, they'd be laughed out of town, right? Well, folks, lots of communities already have limits on the number of pets a resident can own and bans against particular breeds (not your town? Your breed? Just wait and do nothing). As for breeding bans, there was one introduced in San Mateo, and that's hundreds of miles from here, right? Well, they also had a ban introduced in King County, Washington, and Montgomery County, Maryland, and, in the wake of the HSUS call for a nationwide breeding ban in March 1993, hundreds of local animal rights organizations began working on plans to force such legislation in their own communities-just ask folks in Alabama and Colorado and Texas and Florida and ... Anyone who is tempted to ignore the threat should read Hijacking of the Humane Movement, then form a coalition of their own to fight this outrage.
Hijacking of the Humane Movement By Rod & Patti Strand;
Doral Publishing,
Wilsonville, Oregon,
1993; 174 pp, trade paper.
Order this book from Amazon.com
this is a really good website that everyone should visit GIves yo a better understanding of whats happening here in Alabama. and all over the United States . we believe in this and belong to this group. sign up and help to fight for our rights and animal rights. Peda Kills animals and there beliefs distroy peoples conistutionial rights as well as the animal rights, I think more and more people are finding out what these crooked groups are up to now and the donations need to stop lining there pockets when the money doesnt go for the animals. H.s.u.s is another extremist group that rapes buiness owers rights away and rams legislation through everwhere it can and stands for the Distruction of animals and the people who own them and help them..under the guise of animal welfare. these groups believe that anyone who has animals are not doing the animal right since there into the elimation of animals as pets or to eat..no more chicken nuggets.. I am a lover of animals not a killer. when you visit these sites you will see that animal rights extremist groups along with there video clips will pretty much tell you what there all about. DONT GIVE MONEY TO THESE PEOPLE! AND DON'T BE BLINDED BY THESE PEOPLE. THE RESCUES AND THE NO KILL SHELTERS NEED THE FUNDS SINCE THEY ARE THE ONES SAVING AND HELPING THE ANIMALS NOT HURTING THEM. AS PETA DOES. so please take a look at the sites listed here of what is happening to the people and the animals. IT does'nt have to be one way or the other just a fine tuned balance between mankind and our pets. noone should ever have to loose your human rights to protect or to have animals.SINCE IT SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO WITH THE EXTREAMIST AGENDAS WHICH IS TO BAN OWNERSHIP OF ALL ANIMALS AND VEGITATE EVERYONE! AS HITLER'S MENTALITY. |