The State of the No Kill Nation - Awaiting the Avalanche

I’m pondering the questions of where the No Kill Movement is today — as a nation and in the community in which I lead these efforts among my fellow animal-welfare advocates. 

Nationally, just a short year ago, the seminal work that brought it all together was published, and “Redemption” has had an enormous impact.  I must admit, when I first read its subtitle, I was thrown for a loop:  What does this Winograd fellow mean to say that pet overpopulation is a “myth”?  How dare he?!  I wasn’t too sure about reading the book until I looked into it deeper and read the reviews and checked out the No Kill Advocacy Center’s website, etc.  Then, I almost kicked myself for hesitating and being floored or stopped by a subtitle I didn’t yet understand, but this is just a reflection of the sound bite society we live in.

After I read the book, I tried my best to get others around me to read it.  I was jazzed!  I was reformed.  So, I purchased extra copies and handed them out to other animal advocates I was just getting to know.  Ironically, it was about a year ago that I started to work in the Las Cruces area on animal welfare as well.  One other woman joined my bandwagon, and she purchased and handed out copies at the shelter, to all our city and county leaders, and even to our AC department heads.

Some months passed, and we heard nothing from any of these people.  And, this answers where the no kill movement stands in my community … while I and others in the nation have jumped in the pool and are refreshed by the innovative ideas and being knocked out of the complacent myths even I used to buy into, many of my fellow advocates are barely dipping their toes in the water today … still, more are dipping, and more will soon start to swim in its waters and get refreshed and feel reborn.

It seems that the key to opening up your community to the ideas of No Kill is finding some kind of hook. For me, it came in an unlikely form and from and unlikely place — our local newspaper.  Many managers at this outlet are animal lovers and open to exploration of new ideas.  They hosted a blog for me off their website, and it is beginning to take off.  Finally, more people are reading “Redemption” and going, ah ha!  So, this is what you’ve been blathering about all year long!

One advocate put it aptly:  I work all the time, she said, and I don’t have the time nor strength to stay up all night researching and reading like you do.  Do you ever sleep, she always asks me?  Then, she says, I sure hope your blog will be the No Kill Cliff Notes!

What I have discovered, too, is that much of what Winograd writes in his book plays back to me like a sad, tired movie.  Our newly-hired director goes around saying these exact words:  ”It’s not me who is killing these animals; it’s the people that dump them on my doorstep … there’s too many animals and not enough homes.  Who’s going to adopt all these animals?”   She shrugs her shoulders in immediate defeat.   

I’ve tried to talk to her about no kill successes throghout our country, and she says we can’t do that here … not enough funding … not enough support, etc.  I think she did look up Tompkins SPCA in New York, so now she goes around saying that anyone can save 2,000 animals a year — try 17,000.  In none of these conversations is there a genuine effort on our shelter’s part to think outside the box nor look at the programs and services that can turn things around for a shelter of any size/capacity, even open-admission ones like ours in a fast-growing city and county where many retirees come to retire from places like California.

So, there is much left to accomplish both nationally and for us over here in Dona Ana County and El Paso County, which is nearby and which is the community I grew up in.  I want to help them both join this cause, which has started off as one of those small balls of snow cascading down a huge mountaintop … I’m just waiting and hoping for the avalanche.

Nevertheless, this movement has arrived.  It is gaining momentum, it seems, everwhere you turn.  It is no matter to me that most people still misunderstand the meaning of the words no kill.  What does matter is that I see the affects of this movement everywhere, even in the pages of old-guard sheltering publications like Animal Sheltering out of the HSUS.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a NM State Humane conference in which HSUS CEO Wayne Parcelle was the keynote speaker.  His speech was not what I expected.  He talked about this great disconnect between animal welfare and how that has grown by leaps and bounds and more people care about and contribute to animals while, ironically, much suffering is still inflicted, especially in industries such as factory farms, labs, etc.  Surprisingly, in his message, I began to feel the infusion of the philosophy that drives no kill.

It is just a matter of time before the detractors of the No Kill Movement realize the errors of their ways and join the cause.  I think that’s where the HSUS is headed, and recent successes from other big groups are feeding the movement as well.  Pit bulls had three hours of shows dedicated to them on National Geographic last Friday, with the story of Best Friends saving and rehabilitating Michael Vic’s fighting dogs.

What does this have to do with No Kill?  To me, it is all interconnected.  In order for our animal-welfare systems to stop treating our homeless companion animals like throwaway objects, our entire society has to see the value of all animal life.  This is what can lead to No Kill taking the entire nation over, as well as what can end other animal suffering in our society.

Author Michel Meunier writes at the Animal Sheltering … Then and NOW! Blog