PETA responds to ‘Curious Iowa’ feature on ‘no-kill’ shelters

“No-kill” animal shelter policies sound appealing. Many facilities tout them to secure donations and other support. But they often mean “no help” for animals, when shelters turn away animals or make it nearly impossible for people to surrender animals they can no longer care for, just to maintain their “no-kill” status.

Consider Baby Girl — not the cat whose photo appears in your article, but a dog whose story went viral last year after she was found tied to a fire hydrant with a backpack full of supplies and a note. Her guardian, who was unhoused and undergoing chemotherapy, had tried to surrender Baby Girl, who needed care for diabetes, at seven different animal shelters with “no-kill” policies. She was rejected by all seven.

After the story made national news, a shelter finally agreed to take the dog. But countless other animals rejected by shelters — including cats dumped outdoors in trap-neuter-reabandon (TNR) programs — fare far worse. Many animals turned away from shelters end up abandoned on roadsides, where they’re hit by cars, catch and spread deadly diseases, starve, are abused by cruel people, and die painfully of untreated injuries and illnesses. The unsterilized ones continue to breed, creating even more homeless animals.

Becoming “no-birth” by working to pass spay/neuter laws and ending sales of animals by pet stores and breeders is the only humane way to become “no-kill.” Shelters must keep their doors open to every unwanted, lost, and homeless animal without restrictions, fees, waiting lists, or excuses.

Teresa Chagrin

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Norfolk, VA