The Hon. Ginger Nelson, Mayor, And Members of the City Council Amarillo City Hall 601 S. Buchanan Amarillo, TX 79101 Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council: The No Kill Advocacy Center is the nation’s premier national organization working to end the systematic killing of animals in U.S. shelters. We have assisted communities across the nation achieve placement rates greater than 90% and as high as 99%, with hundreds of cities and towns…
Ultimately, the culture was terrifying and desensitizing-Š—-Šand I gradually felt that my view of death, of taking animals’ lives, was being warped, my emotions being stripped away. Joining the ranks of former PETA fieldworker Heather Harper-Troje, another employee has come forward by name to tell about her experiences at PETA killing animals and the stifling, cult-like atmosphere that pervades the organization; a culture she described as “terrifying and desensitizing.” Laura Lee Cascada, a PETA employee,…
If HB 1095/SB 1202 become law, tens of thousands of animals will be saved instead of being killed every year in Florida pounds, all at no cost to taxpayers. The Florida Companion Animal Public-Private Partnership Act — written by the No Kill Advocacy Center, my organization and sponsored by Representative Barbara Watson and Senator Kevin Rader — would make it illegal for municipal pounds to kill animals when qualified non-profit rescue organizations are ready, willing,…
PETA has been trending in the news but not for the reasons they should. In a tweet, they criticized Google’s decision to honor Steve Irwin, the Australian conservationist, by doing a doodle of him. Stories taking them to task appeared in USA Today, BuzzFeed, NBC, Fox, and more. They have appeared in Australian newspapers, Indian newspapers, British papers, and newspapers elsewhere across the world. Meanwhile, not a line of print is dedicated to the real…
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…
The animals have lost a great friend and champion. Orly Degani, who used her considerable legal skills to fight for the rights of animals, died Monday, Feb. 4. Yesterday, as the rain fell gently, her family and friends gathered in the Hollywood Hills and said goodbye. Her many victories for animals include a California Supreme Court decision that upheld the ban on the sale of shoes made from kangaroos as she beat back a challenge…
PETA demanded in court that I reveal the names of PETA employees who spoke to me on condition of anonymity about PETA’s killing of animals. The information they provided was used to corroborate newspaper articles, on the record sources, government documents received under the Public Records Act, testimony and information from civil and criminal cases against PETA, videotape evidence, and admissions of killing by PETA officials. Their testimony was used for a series of…
There was a time when the Loudoun County, Virginia, shelter was no place for a little dog, even one described as “lovey, “wiggly,” and “gentle.” In 2009, Animal Rescue of Tidewater sued the pound over its breed discriminatory policy of automatic killing. Counsel for plaintiffs summarized the consequences of being a dog who looked a certain way at the hands of Loudoun County pound staff: Your Honor, on June 19, 2007, a 12-week-old brown and…
Ah, that deceit should steal such gentle shape, And with a virtuous vizor hide deep vice! — King Richard III Today, the single greatest cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in the United States remains deliberate killing at the local animal shelter. But as I argued over 10 years ago in Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation & The No Kill Revolution in America, they are not killed because of pet overpopulation. The…
Almost weekly, my Google alert is telling me of another community that has achieved No Kill because it reached a “90% live release rate.” Using that benchmark, Best Friends recently announced that we now have 4,000 of them in the U.S. But is it true? Unfortunately, it is not. First and foremost, a 10% rate of killing is not No Kill, as I explain below. But even if it was, Best Friends is relying on…