These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
As more people turn to rescue and adoption and more shelters embrace progressive policies, the number of communities placing over 95% and as high as 100% of the animals is increasing.
Bedford County, VA, reported a 95% placement rate for dogs, 95% for cats, and 96% for rabbits and other small animals.
New Kent County, VA, reported a 98% placement rate for dogs, 93% for cats, and 100% for rabbits and other small animals.
Louisa County, VA, reported a 97% placement rate for dogs, 91% for cats, and 100% for rabbits and other small animals.
Williamsburg, VA, reported a 97% placement rate for dogs, 92% for cats, and 99% for rabbits and other small animals.
While there is room for improvement in these communities, their achievements and the national data prove that animals are not dying in pounds because there are too many, too few homes, or people don’t want the animals. They are dying because people in those pounds are killing them. Replace those people, implement the No Kill Equation, and we can be a No Kill nation today.
In a recent article, I argued that killing cats in the name of “conservation” is not driven by the protection of birds but by a hatred of cats. The methods employed, such as blunt force trauma, hunting with bows, and poisoning, are sadistic. The arguments in favor of killing are unscientific, as nature cannot be held in a state of stasis, especially in an age of climate change. Killing cats is hypocritical, as humans are the leading cause of habitat destruction and wildlife population declines. And lethal methods are unworkable, as eradication is impossible and fails to achieve the desired outcome. Furthermore, teaching children to kill animals in the name of “conservation” harms their well-being.
But now, a new study confirms that killing cats also leads to severe human suffering, as caregivers form strong bonds with the cats they care for and suffer significant impacts on their quality of life, psychological health, and physical health, including profound guilt, loss, and inability to eat.
To improve the well-being of cats, people, and birds, the evidence compels an end to lethal methods and an embrace of community cat sterilization. But nativists will not allow that. And they will not allow it because they trade in violence to animals and people, not environmentalism.