Connie Swain on: What is No Kill?

TNKN contributor Connie Swain:

I never thought I would be a zealot  kind of person, but then I spent two days listening to Nathan Winograd discuss that it really is possible to have a society in which we do not kill healthy, non-aggressive, adoptable animals — ever. No kill means no kill, not just not killing the easily adoptable animals.

All of my life I found it depressing to think of all of the animals in shelters across the country who are killed each year (an estimated 5 million). Animals like my dog Batman, who are great companions, but who for one reason or another found themselves in a shelter situation. I bought into the Humane Society rhetoric that it was better to provide a humane death because there just weren’t enough homes for them all, but it always bothered me to think that perfectly wonderful animals were dying. I thought I was alone. But, I’m not and not only am I not alone, but Nathan Winograd has actually been out doing what everyone in the HSUS and PETA say is impossible.

After listening to Nathan I became more actively involved in animal issues in my community. To me that’s what No Kill is – becoming involved and keeping to Nathan’s vision of No Kill. No Kill has to mean the whole No Kill Equation, not just a closed shelter that keeps its animals until they find homes.

No Kill means those animals which are healthy or which have issues that can be treated are saved. Animals which have behavioral issues that can be fixed are saved. No kill means only animals which cannot be saved or which are too dangerous to adopt out are killed. And No Kill means not turning animals away because space is limited.

No Kill means a huge base of volunteers and working with all rescues and related animal organizations. No Kill also means Trap, Neuter and Release of feral cats. And, No Kill requires low cost spay and neuter services.

The HSUS and PETA say No Kill is a myth and that the shelters Nathan has worked in are all smoke and mirrors. I think the animals that are alive today because of Nathan’s vision would disagree.

No Kill also means EVERYONE working together. Too many things never get done because each and every rescue group, animal shelter and dog and or cat group has its own agenda and often those groups cannot see past those agendas. So, you might not like someone on a specific board or someone who runs a specific group. Try and look past that and see if you can support that group’s cause. If you don’t like a direction things are going, don’t complain unless you are active in trying to cause change. Don’t not help just because your specific group may have some issues that aren’t shared by everyone. Too often, we get hung up on little, picky things while 5 million animals are dying.