ZoivanePets’ Post

My recent column: Overcrowded and Overwhelmed: Fallout of Niagara SPCA's No-Kill Policy Niagara County's municipal animal shelters are overwhelmed. With the Niagara SPCA ending contracts to accept animals from local control officers, shelters are overcrowded, especially with hard-to-adopt breeds like Pit Bulls. While "No-Kill" policies are well-intentioned, they may not be sustainable for municipal shelters responsible for public safety and animal welfare. It's a tough conversation, but re-evaluating these policies might be necessary to prevent overpopulation and ensure the well-being of both animals and our communities. #AnimalWelfare #MunicipalShelters #NoKillPolicy #NiagaraCounty

While there are a few UK rescues that take a pack approach over individual kennelling (such as the amazing Dogs 4 Rescue) I haven't come across that that engage in pairing (unless the dogs were previously bonded). However, this is something that I've seen Kristen Hassen pioneering in the US. So it's great to it covered in a mainstream UK newspaper, and backed up by further research. 1. Pairing shelter dogs together ‘could cut stress and help them find homes sooner’ – The Independent https://lnkd.in/dscXT2_N 2. Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators – Grace Hecker, Katherine Martineau, Mariah Scheskie, Rhonda Hammerslough, and Erica N. Feuerbacher (via PLOS ONE) https://lnkd.in/dnprSRyW 3. The Case for Cohousing Shelter Dogs – Outcomes Consulting https://lnkd.in/dcb9cBKr #AnimalWelfare #AnimalRescue #AnimalShelter #DogRescue #DogShelter #RescueDog #RescueDogs #AdoptDontShop

One of the more misunderstood topics in animal welfare right now is the concept of managed intake. The reality is that the shelter isn't the best place for most animals. The other reality is that shelters have finite resources to care for animals. Managed intake is a way of managing resources that outcomes for pets can be determined without them ever having to enter the shelter. Creating these good outcomes outside the shelter can be better for pets, better for the citizens of a community, and better for the shelter. Our team put together a nice resource explaining managed intake and dispelling some confusion about it. I hope you'll check it out. https://lnkd.in/ggAXF8Rq

Earlier this week, San Diego County’s leading animal welfare organizations joined together to share an important message: Our shelters are in a state of emergency. We have been struggling with record numbers of dogs in care for well over a year. Local shelters and rescue groups caring for rabbits and small pets are at maximum capacity and cannot take in more animals. And now, we are facing the impact of annual kitten season when shelters are flooded with thousands of kittens born to the hundreds of thousands of community cats living in San Diego County. We are moving toward a preventable crisis in San Diego this summer if our community doesn’t act now to adopt shelter pets, foster an animal from a rescue or shelter, and spay or neuter. The situation facing our shelters is already extremely challenging and it will soon become worse. Summer is the busiest time of year for animal shelters in San Diego County, and there are already more animals in care than we have space for. Although we are facing a crisis this summer, it’s one we can avoid! As we prepare for kitten season and the highest intake of stray dogs over the July Fourth holiday, we are asking everyone who shares our passion for animals to come together and help by adopting shelter pets, fostering and supporting spay and neuter efforts for pets as well as community cats. We are steadfast in our commitment to Stay at Zero euthanasia of healthy or treatable shelter pets and keeping San Diego the safest place for animals in the country. We hope you will help us spread this message as we all play our part to be there for animals when they need us most. Learn more about the state of our shelters and how you can make a lifesaving difference for animals at sdhumane.org/helpus. #FrostedFacesFoundation #SanDiegoHouseRabbitSociety #CountyofSanDiegoAnimalServices #RanchoCoastalHumaneSociety #PAWSofCorondo #EastCountyAnimalRescue #FeralCatCoalition #SpayNeuterActionProject #CityofChulaVistaAnimalServices #FriendsofCatsInc

In our latest blog, we explore the powerful connection between community services and animal welfare. Find out how your organization can play a pivotal role in fostering these vital relationships. https://bit.ly/3JXqK0q

Target: Michelle O’Byrne, Speaker of Tasmanian House of Assembly Goal: Support ban on puppy farms across Tasmania following closure of major operation. For three years, animal welfare advocates sought the closure of Tasmania’s largest puppy farm, Tasmanian Labradoodles. A prominent advocacy group finally secured this victory when the puppy farm’s owners shuttered its doors following dozens of allegations of overbreeding. As a result, about 250 animals were liberated and are now in the process of finding forever homes. Unfortunately, existing laws in Tasmania mean that such a horrendous practice will likely arise again. As part of a reported settlement, the puppy farm’s owners will not face any legal charges. And even if charges were at hand, they would have almost certainly resulted in nothing more than a relatively low financial penalty. Advocates are calling for an urgent amendment to these laws and a full ban on puppy farms within Tasmania. Sign the petition below to join these pleas for needed reform.

The Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) announced yesterday that they will continue emergency-only intake (limited-admission) procedures as their shelter overpopulation continues to remain well over their capacity for care. With dogs housed for months on end in pop-up crates stacked in hallways for 23.5 hours per day, they ask, “How can we decrease our occupancy rate? How can we help staff and provide them with greater support? How can we get animals the resources they need, or pet owners the resources they need so they don't have to surrender an animal?” The answer is high volume, free, spay/neuter services. The city needs to subsidize these lifesaving procedures to help their community by weaning down the dog and cat population and spay/neuter is the only way to do that. With Best Friends Animal Society having been there for the better part of a year, IACS is the latest large shelter to display a complete failure of “no-kill” policies and serves as the latest example of how Best Friends has betrayed animals and their advocates nationwide with these harmful policies. “No-kill” policies harm animals both within the shelter and outside of it when they are rejected from intake. IACS and Best Friend needs to reflect on the severe damaging effects their policies have wreaked and adopt a HQHVSN model to help dog and cat populations now and in the future. #nokillisslowkill #spayistheway #trueanimalwelfare

What's the difference between humane societies, SPCAs, rescues, and satellite adoption centres? While all these organizations and facilities are pet and animal-centred, they do have some key differences. Humane societies and SPCAs are the most similar organizations on the list above. They typically run shelters and animal adoption programs to find loving homes for mistreated, abandoned, or surrendered animals. They also often educate the communities they serve about animal welfare. Rescue organizations are often run by animal enthusiasts and volunteers. They accept animals that don’t belong in shelters or pounds and sometimes also take in surrenders. The animals waiting for their forever homes are most often kept at the volunteers’ homes or in foster homes. Satellite adoption centres are typically pet stores that don’t sell animals but instead will display them for the Humane Society or SPCA. The animals you see at your local PetSmart are likely not sold by the store but by their partners. Displaying these animals in the store helps them reach more people faster so they can go to their forever homes sooner. To learn more about animal shelters and rescues in Canada, visit our blog: https://lnkd.in/gQMqNjmE #NationalShelterAppreciationWeek

🐾📊 Shelters and rescues: Are you signed up for Shelter Pet Data Alliance yet? 📊🐾 For animal welfare organizations that handle intakes and outcomes, Shelter Pet Data Alliance offers you a unique, comprehensive way to analyze your shelter or rescue data and gain valuable, lifesaving insights. With SPDA’s One Alliance feature, you can compare your data to 7,800+ organizations in our database and narrow down your comparison by state, org type and size, urban or rural classifications, and more. PLUS, sharing your data through SPDA can make you eligible for grants! Make sure you're eligible for July's $3,000 grant by Monday, August 19 at 11:59pm ET* by: ✅ Becoming a Best Friends Network Partner ✅ Joining SPDA and uploading your 2023 & 2024 data (through July!) Links for both are in the comments.

As kitten season approaches, individuals can proactively support animal welfare efforts and reduce the burden on shelters and rescues. Here are some useful approaches to make a difference! #goodnews #solutions #optimism https://lnkd.in/gq3zvTxy