“Animal Shelters and Animal Welfare: Raising the Bar.” By Patricia Turner (Professor in animal services); Jim Berry (Veterinarian); and Shelagh MacDonald (Federation of Humane Societies) discusses the ongoing crisis of animal overpopulation of shelters effecting Animal Welfare. Turner, Berry, and Macdonald make valid arguments with facts and research to back them up throughout the article. The authors state there are eight million animals entered into shelters yearly in the United States, out of those eight million animals 50% of them will be euthanized, shelter personnel takes it upon themselves to euthanize healthy unwanted animals to lessen overcrowding in the shelters. Thus by employees doing this it violates the Animal Welfare Act that
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I know for a fact from volunteering at a shelter the motto of some shelters is “spot cleaning done correctly saves time” I was horrified when the shelter personnel said that to me, some of the suggested cleaning included; trying not to move the animals if possible, clean gently around the animal, brush out spilled litter if there’s a lot of it, wipe walls lightly hard-core cleaning not needed, and leave bedding with animal unless heavily soiled or animal has an infection. With the inhumane treatment, animals get in shelters of poor maintenance and socialization the animal also misses out on the required amount of exercise outside of the cage, therapy, or temperament evaluation. Many of the personnel working at shelters are volunteers who have little to no background or training in proper medical care and handling of animals, all staff should be trained and educated in the well-being and proper care of all animals to make sure the animal welfare act doesn’t get …show more content…
One way shelters could lessen overcrowding is to lower the adoption fees the typical adoption fee is $65 dollars for cats and $85 dollars for dogs but can go anywhere up to $400 dollars depending on the shelter. The only other answer is to educate pet owners on the importance of spaying and neutering your animals; According to the Humane Society neutered male animals live 18% longer than unneutered animals, spayed female animals live 23% longer than unspayed females, curbs bad behavior, roaming when in heat, aggression, excessive barking, marking of territory, and other dominated related behaviors. Lastly adopt don’t shop shelter animals have just as much love if not more as animals from a breeder and are more grateful for you adopting them I know that first hand. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the ongoing crisis of overcrowding in shelters, I believe all animals deserve the right to receive compassion, proper medical care, and humane treatment in life; with the proper education and training of all personnel in contact with animals this will ensure the good welfare of shelter animals
I know for a fact from volunteering at a shelter the motto of some shelters is “spot cleaning done correctly saves time” I was horrified when the shelter personnel said that to me, some of the suggested cleaning included; trying not to move the animals if possible, clean gently around the animal, brush out spilled litter if there’s a lot of it, wipe walls lightly hard-core cleaning not needed, and leave bedding with animal unless heavily soiled or animal has an infection. With the inhumane treatment, animals get in shelters of poor maintenance and socialization the animal also misses out on the required amount of exercise outside of the cage, therapy, or temperament evaluation. Many of the personnel working at shelters are volunteers who have little to no background or training in proper medical care and handling of animals, all staff should be trained and educated in the well-being and proper care of all animals to make sure the animal welfare act doesn’t get …show more content…
One way shelters could lessen overcrowding is to lower the adoption fees the typical adoption fee is $65 dollars for cats and $85 dollars for dogs but can go anywhere up to $400 dollars depending on the shelter. The only other answer is to educate pet owners on the importance of spaying and neutering your animals; According to the Humane Society neutered male animals live 18% longer than unneutered animals, spayed female animals live 23% longer than unspayed females, curbs bad behavior, roaming when in heat, aggression, excessive barking, marking of territory, and other dominated related behaviors. Lastly adopt don’t shop shelter animals have just as much love if not more as animals from a breeder and are more grateful for you adopting them I know that first hand. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the ongoing crisis of overcrowding in shelters, I believe all animals deserve the right to receive compassion, proper medical care, and humane treatment in life; with the proper education and training of all personnel in contact with animals this will ensure the good welfare of shelter animals