More
facts less emotion.... How many dogs and cats enter shelters annually?
"8 million. (Some put it as low as 6 million, but I am going to use a
“worst case” scenario.)
• Of those how many are savable? 90 percent or just over 7 million.
• Of those how many will be saved? 3 to 4 million.
• How many of the savable animals are killed? 2 to 3 million.
Remember 1 million of the above number is pitbull type dogs being euthanized which is another issue entirely.
How
many need to find new homes? If shelters are doing their jobs
comprehensively, just over 2 million (3 million on the high end). The
remainder should be increased reclaims or in the case of feral cats,
TNR’d.
Other
than those who will adopt from a shelter as a matter of course (those
saved above), how many people in the U.S. are looking to bring a new dog
or cat into their home next year but have not decided where they will
get the animal and can be influenced to adopt from a shelter? 17
million. So, 17 million people for 2-3 million dogs and cats.
Has this happened anywhere? Yes, there are many communities which have hit the 90th percentile in save rates.
How
long did it take them? They did it virtually overnight when new
leadership committed to the No Kill philosophy and passionate about
saving lives replaced long standing bureaucrats mired in defeatism and
excuse making.
Are shelters doing all they can to influence those people to adopt from them?
Why
don’t they do better? A failure of leadership among the national animal
welfare groups such as ASPCA and HSUS, a crisis of uncaring among
shelter managers, unfettered discretion to avoid putting in place the
programs and services that save lives, and the built in excuse of pet
overpopulation."
The
US has 83 million dogs and over 90 million cats as PETS in homes… more
than 80% of dogs are spayed/neutered and over 90% of cats are…. HSUS
which I know stinks but their own stats blow the pet over population
myth right up. Not to mention when you have 164 million pet dogs and
cats you have those select few crappy pet owners. Less than 1% of pet
cats and dogs end up in shelters/rescues.
Check out this facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NOKILLNATION/posts/309973579067326
Sources: http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=1390 and HSUS http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=14244
As little as 1% of dogs now find their end in US shelters per year, the majority of them are pit bulls. Spay or neuter but wanting a purebred is NOT something to feel guilty about. Education is key... I fully support spaying and neutering. As a breeder it is in my contract and the new families do not get their registration papers until they send me vet documentation -- so far 100% compliance. It is also in my contract that if at anytime the new family cannot remain committed to the dog they must return the dog to me or I will pursue them legally for the return of the dog... why... because no puppy from me is going to be sitting in some shelter or rescue. There is nothing sadder to me than seeing ads for free puppies because it was an oops litter... according to the ASPCA 75% of dogs in shelters are oops puppies.... they are mixed breeds. The other 25% they assume based on looks are purebred. As a former groomer I know looks can be deceiving. The number of animals euthanized each year has decreased dramatically over the past four decades, from some 20 million in 1970 to about 3 million in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of pets has more than doubled since the 1970s, to about 160 million dogs and cats, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The blame lies with being committed... do not get a pet if you are not committed. Also, stop the oops litters by spaying/neutering.
______________________________________________________________________________
New data released by the ASPCA, HSUS, and the American Pet Products Association‘s National Pet Owners Survey show that shelter killings are at an all time low in both whole numbers and percent of pet dogs in America. Down from a high of nearly 25% of all dogs per year in the 1970s, as little as 2% of dogs now find their end in US shelters per year, the majority of them are pit bulls.
Despite both the human and pet dog populations in America rising, the number of dogs entering and dying in shelters has fallen steadily for decades. While this vast improvement hasn’t stemmed the degree of vitriol against “breeders” by those in the shelter/rescue community, a look at statistics shows that there is little foundation for their anger. The situation is getting better every year and very little of the past or remaining problems have anything to do with hobby breeders or people who buy their dogs.
Purebreds are under-represented in shelters versus their proportion of the 78 million pet dogs, but up to a quarter of intakes are deemed to be pure versus 75% deemed mixed-breed. The most significant disparity between the general population of dogs and dogs that enter shelter and are euthanized is being designated as a “pit bull” or a pit bull mix.
Whereas the percent of dogs desexed has increased since spay/neuter programs were widely introduced in the mid 70s, the popularity of pit bulls and their share of euthanized dogs has steadily increased from as little as 2% in the 1980s to the 60% we see today.
The 2.4 to 3.5 million Pit Bull type dogs that are currently pets make up between 3% and 4.5% of the owned dogs in the USA yet the 1.1 million that enter shelters each year account for nearly 30% of all shelter intakes and 60% of all dogs euthanized. That means that more pit bulls are killed than all other breeds combined. Pit bulls also account for 60% of fatal dog attacks with Rottweilers coming in second with 14%. Fatal attacks are fleetingly rare, but bites and maulings are not, and even pit bull apologists will admit that their aggression propensity towards other dogs and cats is significantly higher than it is towards humans. Yet the average age of dogs entering shelters is only 18 months, so a staggering share of these failed relationships are occurring with adolescent dogs and problems with dog aggression or anything similar doesn’t even register on the top 10 reasons people report for why they are abandoning the dog at the shelter.
The biggest lie in dogdom today is that there is an “overpopulation” problem. This ignores the steady increase in both percentage of homes that have dogs, the rising number of dogs per home, the increase in population and the increase in pet dogs.
The next biggest lie is that breeders are to blame and that every purchased puppy condemns a shelter dog to death. This ignores that the majority of dogs are acquired for little to no cost from friends or family, not from breeders, and that every aspect of buying a dog from a breeder decreases the chance that the dog will ever see the inside of a shelter.
In fact, those pit bulls are making all other breeds of dog and dog enthusiasts look worse than they are. Without pit bulls in the picture, the yearly euthanization rate could be less than 1% of dogs. If you’re decrying dead shelter dogs and the first words out of your mouth are “breeders” and “buyers” or “overpopulation,” and not “pit bull culture” then you’re dangerously misinformed.
The rising status of dogs in our families combined with spay/neuter, foster and rescue, and no-kill programs have made the last 30 years an increasingly better time to be alive for dogs. While there’s still work to be done, and there will always be animals in need, the old paradigm of blame and internecine hatred–especially attacks aimed at people who endeavor to do right by their dogs from conception to old age–are misguided and distract from the real problems.
SOURCE: http://www.border-wars.com/2012/06/now-only-2-of-dogs-die-in-shelters.html
Despite both the human and pet dog populations in America rising, the number of dogs entering and dying in shelters has fallen steadily for decades. While this vast improvement hasn’t stemmed the degree of vitriol against “breeders” by those in the shelter/rescue community, a look at statistics shows that there is little foundation for their anger. The situation is getting better every year and very little of the past or remaining problems have anything to do with hobby breeders or people who buy their dogs.
Purebreds are under-represented in shelters versus their proportion of the 78 million pet dogs, but up to a quarter of intakes are deemed to be pure versus 75% deemed mixed-breed. The most significant disparity between the general population of dogs and dogs that enter shelter and are euthanized is being designated as a “pit bull” or a pit bull mix.
Whereas the percent of dogs desexed has increased since spay/neuter programs were widely introduced in the mid 70s, the popularity of pit bulls and their share of euthanized dogs has steadily increased from as little as 2% in the 1980s to the 60% we see today.
The 2.4 to 3.5 million Pit Bull type dogs that are currently pets make up between 3% and 4.5% of the owned dogs in the USA yet the 1.1 million that enter shelters each year account for nearly 30% of all shelter intakes and 60% of all dogs euthanized. That means that more pit bulls are killed than all other breeds combined. Pit bulls also account for 60% of fatal dog attacks with Rottweilers coming in second with 14%. Fatal attacks are fleetingly rare, but bites and maulings are not, and even pit bull apologists will admit that their aggression propensity towards other dogs and cats is significantly higher than it is towards humans. Yet the average age of dogs entering shelters is only 18 months, so a staggering share of these failed relationships are occurring with adolescent dogs and problems with dog aggression or anything similar doesn’t even register on the top 10 reasons people report for why they are abandoning the dog at the shelter.
The biggest lie in dogdom today is that there is an “overpopulation” problem. This ignores the steady increase in both percentage of homes that have dogs, the rising number of dogs per home, the increase in population and the increase in pet dogs.
The next biggest lie is that breeders are to blame and that every purchased puppy condemns a shelter dog to death. This ignores that the majority of dogs are acquired for little to no cost from friends or family, not from breeders, and that every aspect of buying a dog from a breeder decreases the chance that the dog will ever see the inside of a shelter.
- Purebreds are less likely to end up in shelters than mixed-breeds.
- Dogs purchased from breeders or pet stores are less likely to end up in shelters.
- Dogs given as gifts or acquired for more than $100 are less likely to end up in a shelter.
- Dogs acquired for less than $30 or dogs adopted from a shelter are more likely to end up in a shelter.
In fact, those pit bulls are making all other breeds of dog and dog enthusiasts look worse than they are. Without pit bulls in the picture, the yearly euthanization rate could be less than 1% of dogs. If you’re decrying dead shelter dogs and the first words out of your mouth are “breeders” and “buyers” or “overpopulation,” and not “pit bull culture” then you’re dangerously misinformed.
The rising status of dogs in our families combined with spay/neuter, foster and rescue, and no-kill programs have made the last 30 years an increasingly better time to be alive for dogs. While there’s still work to be done, and there will always be animals in need, the old paradigm of blame and internecine hatred–especially attacks aimed at people who endeavor to do right by their dogs from conception to old age–are misguided and distract from the real problems.
SOURCE: http://www.border-wars.com/2012/06/now-only-2-of-dogs-die-in-shelters.html
