New York City's cruel pound kills stray dog in under three hours; family devastated
New York City's cruel pound kills stray dog in under three hours; family devastated
News and headlines for March 11 - March 18, 2023
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
New Hampshire is considering a bill to ban cat declawing.
Studies show that declawed cats are at significantly greater risk for back pain, not using the litter box, aggression (scratching/biting), and excessive grooming (barbering). In addition, they are at even greater risk for pain from bone fragments left due to “poor or inappropriate surgical techniques,” which occurs in 63% of the cases.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, studies also show that banning the practice does not lead to cats losing their homes: “owners are able to manage normal scratching behavior and retain cats in their homes without needing to resort to onychectomy [declawing].”
The American Kennel Club claims that after 31 years as the most popular dog in America, French bulldogs have unseated labrador retrievers. But it’s not true. Mixed-breed dogs always take the top spot. And it isn’t even close. Case in point: An Ohio newspaper published a headline that says, “Labs still top dog in Montgomery County,” but the article later admits that “more mixed-breed dogs are registered in Montgomery County than any other type. They outnumber the combined tally of the top 12 dog breeds and classes.”
And that should only intensify as fewer people buy animals and overall adoption rates for shelter animals and rescues are increasing. Of the roughly $100 billion spent on caring for animals, the amount paid to purchase animals is declining and is “the smallest area of total pet industry spend.” When it comes to adding a new animal to their household, more people are “turning to shelters and rescues.” And most of the time, that means mutts, who will not be dethroned any time soon.
Existing California law empowers Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) to enforce animal cruelty laws. If AB 554, legislation pending before the legislature, is passed and signed by the governor, SPCAs will also be able to file civil lawsuits to stop continuing harm to animals by obtaining injunctive relief. This will allow humane officers to protect animals without relying on prosecutors to get criminal convictions.
California legislators are also considering AB 322, legislation requiring shelters to report the numbers of animals they take in, adopt out, reclaim, and kill.
And as previously reported, they are considering AB 595, which would require shelters to notify rescuers 72 hours before killing an animal. AB 595 was named after Bowie, a shy 12-week-old puppy killed by a municipal shelter, despite a rescue group willing to accept him into their foster care and adoption program. Since Bowie was housed in a building closed to the public, the rescue group did not find out about Bowie’s scheduled killing until it was too late.
A new report found that California is responsible for more animal shelter deaths than any other state except Texas. Yet, taxpayers also spend more per capita than most states. AB 595 is an essential step to reducing the numbers killed while shifting the costs of their care from taxpayers to private philanthropy, a win-win.
As reported earlier, the Arkansas House of Representatives debated a bill to prohibit cities and counties from banning dogs based on their appearance. Unfortunately, the bill failed to pass, allowing local pounds to continue killing these dogs. Doing so is immoral. It is also ineffective. That’s not opinion; it’s science: