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EUTHANASIA: Also called mercy killing is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, esp. a painful, disease or medical condition. The act of abolishing life in the healthy, without consent, for any reason, cannot be called Euthanasia.
The Animal Rescue Site

Monday, September 24, 2007

PETA's FLAWED VIEWS ON NO-KILL SHELTERING

As we all know, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) opposes No-Kill shelters. In 2005 PETA killed over 90% of animals it had brought in. 14,419 animals killed by PETA since 1998. But in their haste to solve the problem of canine and feline over-population, they are forgetting the admonition: "At first do no harm." Promoting the killing of innocent animals is not an ethical act. It is an act of sheer cowardice, a blatant disregard for life.

There are many concerned people working in Kill Centers who themselves believe that killing healthy animals is not the answer. See: USA Today's reader comments here .

Instead of recognizing the good work that the NO-KILL shelters are attempting to accomplish; albeit, yet not perfected at some shelters, PETA expects NO-KILL shelters to carry-on life-saving shelter work (which in fact should be a municipality's goal and responsibility) and in addition answer for the entire problem of cat and dog over-population.

No-Kill shelters do not kill animals by suffocating them in make-shift gas chambers of vehicular exhaust fumes, they do not shoot animals or inject them with toxic substances in the heart while the animal is wide-awake and alive, the kill-pounds do. The fact that a No-Kill shelter is at times full and is unable to accept animals right the very second some unhappy owner brings them in, isn't reason enough to write-off the entire initiative; The fact that NO-KILL shelters are able to take in even a few KILL-SHELTER animals should be applauded, emulated and assisted, not criticised.

An ignorant and irresponsible human population should be made to pay for the damage and pain they are causing the KILL-SHELTER animals. the people who care about them and those who care for them. City and county municipalities should be held responsible for catering to the interests of the breeders, and other special interest groups, for not adequately educating all residents on Spay and Neuter programs and for the number of animals killed in their cities and counties.

Why can't we think of the dog and cat overpopulation as an epidemic ripe for a MANDATED STERLIZATION program? For say a three year time period? The Chinese and other nations have done it to control human population, so why not for American animals?

PETA's sterilization truck is a drop in the bucket and it ai'nt coming here to Johnson City, TN.! As a matter of fact, there is not a single bill-board proclaiming the critical need for animal sterilization in the entire county and city. One would expect that animal killings in such high numbers as claimed by PETA and the Humane Society would by now have inspired "Spay and Neuter or Get Taxed" bill-boards in the thousands!

In order to overcome this gargantuan problem, the entire country needs to be involved, even at a Federal level. States must impose a tax. The cat and dog spay, neuter and housing tax. Persons adopting shelter cats and dogs should be given federal tax credits and/or deductions. Persons starting and maintaining Enhanced No-Kill Shelters should be given discounts and incentives by the city or county and local merchants.

Many No-Kill shelters are adding to, and further refining the concept of NO-KILL by enhancing or converting their programs to the," NO-KILL, CAGE - FREE, OPEN ADMISSION, SPAY & NEUTER" shelter model. This work needs to be augmented by high level spay and neuter programs instituted by the appropriate Federal and State authorities.

Without a State's commitment to
high intensity spay and neuter programs (as is the case with Tennessee) the murdering of innocent animals will continue because these lives of imprisoned animals to do not matter and those who are causing the problem in the first place will continue to breed it.

Concerned individuals spending their own money to obtain PETA brochures, paying for general spaying and neutering, and transporting animals to be sterilized (per PETA's solution to the problem), amounts to placing the burden on the conscious few, for the sins of an indifferent many.

IF this overpopulation is as great as is said, then PETA level prophylactics are a mere drop in the bucket. A unifying comprehensive nationwide birth-control strategy should be considered and implemented quickly by policy makers in order to stop the carnage taking place at shelters around the country.

Note

Small and sustainable, ENHANCED NO-KILL SHELTERS, in a family like setting and adoption/re-homing outreach should be encouraged and supported. The country needs many, many such shelters of this type,
not less!




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