The killing of dogs for alleged “behavior” continues apace by agencies who claim to embrace a No Kill ethic, as underscored by the recent killing of Tucker by Austin Animal Center and the killing of Linda by the Larimer (CO) Humane Society, despite rescue groups ready, willing, and able to save them. They are not the only ones. The New York City pound recently killed April, an eight-month old dog (the black pup in…
A Former ASPCA “Director of Animal Behavior” Wants “Shelters” to Kill More “Behavior” Dogs, Wants Rescuers to Stop Saving Them, and Gives People Permission to Kill Theirs. “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” — William Faulkner Animal Farm Foundation’s recent podcast interviewing a former ASPCA “Director of Animal Behavior” and euphemistically entitled “We Need to Talk About Behavior Euthanasia” is, without a doubt, the single worst commentary on sheltering I have encountered…
The ASPCA took in roughly $263 million in 2017. That same year, ASPCA CEO Matt Bershadker had take home compensation totaling $852,231. Yet according to transporters, the ASPCA did not spend $15,000 to protect dogs by equipping each transport van with an HVAC system, a fraction of Bershadker’s salary and only 1/200th of 1% (0.006%) of total revenues. Twenty dogs died at the hands of the ASPCA this month. The agency, which refuses to provide…
The ASPCA is lobbying for animals to die. The ink is not yet dry on New York State shelter reform legislation, the bill doesn’t even have a number yet, and Matt Bershadker, the ASPCA’s CEO, is already spending donor funds to kill it, saying it isn’t needed because the New York City pound is a model of compassionate sheltering. Not only does this ignore the care of animals in other shelters throughout the state, but…
What Pixar’s masterpiece says about how far the No Kill movement has come, how far it still has to go, the need for shelter reform legislation, and corruption within groups like the ASPCA. Kitbull is the new short film by Pixar. The name “Kitbull” comes from a combination of kitten and pit bull for the inseparable bond that forms between a feral kitten and an abused pit bull. It is a film that explores…
These are the Faces of NYCACC’s “Spay Neuter Kill” Victims On average, virtually every week since the program started in January 2017, a dog or cat who has been sterilized by the ASPCA under contract with New York City Animal Care & Control (NYCACC) is returned to the pound and then killed—animals who have undergone anesthesia, and the females, major abdominal surgery, with taxpayers footing the bill. This not only exposes animals to needless pain…
By Nathan & Jennifer Winograd In 2007, when Bullet, this man’s dog, fell ill, he took him to the ASPCA’s animal hospital in Manhattan for care. He had fed Bullet with a spoon since birth. “He was my baby,” Lopez told The News. Instead of treating him, an abusive ASPCA employee kicked Bullet to death. The ASPCA subsequently covered it up and lied to him. “I brought the dog there thinking they would save my…
In response to a question about whether to adopt a cat from a No Kill shelter or one that kills, The New York Times’ ethicist—citing PETA, HSUS, and the ASPCA—tells its readers that, “I myself have concluded that it can be O.K. to kill creatures” and that No Kill is a “noble aspiration” at best, but more likely leads to “warehousing.” He then suggest that readers do more research. It is an oxymoron for someone…
That’s Good News, if True, But ASPCA Obfuscates Full Causes of the Decline The ASPCA just announced that shelter killing dropped to 1.5 million last year: 670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats. If true, that would be the first time shelter killing dropped below 1,000,000 each for both dogs and cats. And that is news we should all celebrate, a monumental milestone in the history of U.S. sheltering. But I have some concerns. First, these estimates…
Help needed to get Florida shelter reform legislation passed. It is the most powerful piece of shelter reform legislation ever introduced. Short of a ban on killing, its passage would be a game changer not only in Florida, but across the nation. It is more sweeping than California’s Hayden Law which increased rescue transfers by over 350% (over 45,000 animals a year) and arguably saved over 1,000,000 animals since its passage. It is more comprehensive…