The last gas chambers
News and headlines for November 2 - 15, 2024
In other news: Peanut’s Law. Remembering Oreo. The cost of running a humane shelter. Lawsuit: $2.45 million dollar “boondoggle” consultant will cause animals to die on the streets. Another week, another potentially fatal pet product. Do you have what it takes to save lives? Huntsville Animal Services goes from good to bad to worse. Starbucks ends ‘vegan tax’ on plant-based milk. Out of the shadows and into the sun. Animals lose big at the voting booth.
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
Peanut’s Law
Recently, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) agents seized and killed a squirrel named Peanut and a raccoon named Fred from their home.
Peanut’s mom got hit by a car leaving Peanut an orphan. As no shelter would take him in, the gentleman who found him raised baby Peanut before attempting to release him back into the wild. Peanut would not leave. Unfortunately, living with wild animals is illegal, even in the case of rescue.
In response to this tragedy, a NYS Assemblymember introduced a bill to change DEC practices. Dubbed “Peanut’s Law,” the bill aims to reform the draconian policies that led to the seizure and killing of Fred and Peanut. The No Kill Advocacy Center wrote to the NYS Assemblymember asking for amendments to save more animals.
Those amendments include restarting the grandfather clause for wild animals already in homes, prohibiting DEC from seizing animals from individual homes unless there is clear and convincing evidence of neglect or abuse, providing the right to appeal a seizure or destruction order to the courts, prohibiting the killing of a seized animal during the pendency of appeals, and banning the killing of animals who are not suffering if an individual licensed to rehabilitate wildlife under Environmental Conservation Law Section 11-0515(3) agrees to rescue the animal, regardless of whether the animal can be released back into the wild.
Remembering Oreo
This week marked the solemn anniversary of the ASPCA’s killing of Oreo. On November 13, 2009, the ASPCA killed Oreo, an abused dog who a No Kill sanctuary offered to save. Oreo was a one-year-old dog thrown off the roof of a six-floor Brooklyn apartment building. She suffered two broken legs and a fractured rib. Several of the neighbors in the building reported hearing her being beaten.
The ASPCA dubbed her the “miracle dog” and fundraised off her plight, reportedly raising millions. But the miracle was short-lived. After the money was counted and safely deposited into ASPCA bank accounts, the ASPCA decided to kill her.
On a cold morning in November, Oreo was killed, not by her abuser but by those whose mission was to protect her. The No Kill Advocacy Center wrote legislation to make it illegal for “shelters” to kill animals when qualified rescue organizations are willing to save them. Tragically and cruelly, New York Assemblymember Donna Lupardo refuses to allow a vote at the behest of the ASPCA.
Instead of enjoying the loving new homes rescue groups would have found them, 375,000 more animals have been killed because of the ASPCA and its enablers like Assemblymember Lupardo.
The cost of running a humane shelter
I recently published No Animal Left Behind, an article with over 20 studies explaining the science behind running a humane shelter. The article can be used to determine whether local pounds are meeting their obligations to animals and where they are falling short. The article also offers free resources to hold those “shelters” accountable.
What does it cost to run a science-backed humane shelter?