So last night, I posted about some of the great work our friends at Animal Haven were doing on the west side of our state line. I think having the shelter in KCMO privatize will help also. And while we are making progress, there is still a lot that needs to be done in the other counties (and states) in our metro.
There are a couple of big obstacles that are standing in our way from becoming a completely No-Kill community.
1) Public shelter managers who are unwilling to make changes that will lead to the ending of the senseless killing of healthy dogs and cats.
2) Laws that have been put in place that are getting in the way of No-Kill.
I think we can overcome the first issue if enough people demand it. If the public outrage over senseless killing becomes loud enough, the shelter managers who are NOT interested in saving lives will be removed.
The second issue is one that Kansas City Dog Advocates is attempting to tackle head on.
There are many laws in the Kansas City area that are getting in the way of No-Kill. Some are hurting pet retention, because pets are removed from homes. Some are hurting adoptions, because there are fewer homes to adopt to. Some are hurting foster programs, because people cannot take in the animals.
In short, we need to change a large number of these laws and policies and how we view animal control laws. This is the focus of our group.
One of our focuses has been on repealing breed discriminatory laws (BSL). Breed bans throughout our metro have made it very difficult to find homes for bully-breed dogs. Currently, about 1/3 of the potential homes in our community are not options for these dogs. This is why dogs like Gramby, from Animal Haven, spend an inordinate amount of time in shelter care instead of in homes. Breed based laws also makes owner retention even more difficult, as perfectly great dogs like Nikko, Fleas and Brutus(and dozens of others) are removed from homes because of the way they look, not because of the way they act. The last 3 examples were all victims of BSL in Kansas City, KS. It is so bad there that Boxer, Mastiffs, anything brindle, short haired or short muzzled has a target on their head.
Arbitrary pet limit laws, mandatory spay/neuter laws, breed bans, outdated vaccination requirements, laws that prevent trap/neuter return programs and punish caretakers of feral cat colonies all have a hand in removing animals from homes, give AC more tools to seize and kill, keeping animals from going to good homes, or eliminate potential foster families that can provide better homes for animals waiting for forever homes.
And all of these laws can be replaced with policies that are better for animals -- all can be done with no decrease in public safety.
We are stepping up our efforts in this arena. Two weeks ago, the community of Greenwood repealed their BSL. We are getting involved in the politics of more communities in the Kansas City area by posting political ratings on candidates on a variety of pet-related policies in cities throughout the metro (you can click on "politics" at the top, and find your individual city - as always, this is a work in progress).
There are a lot of reasons to go to the polls and cast your votes. But as a pet-owning population, the desires for pet friendly policies have too often been ignored. According to the AVMA pet owner census, 60% of the US population currently owns pets. We are the majority. While we should demand a lot of things from our public officials, pet-friendly policies shouldn't be too much to ask. Why is it be that 60% of the population that owns and cares for pets, has to settle for politicians that institute oppresive policies that increase the number of our pets killed in our communites and compromise our safety?
Short answer: They don't.
Additionally, KCDA is going to be kicking off some programs in the Kansas City area to help others learn how to get involved politicaly in their communities -- so their voices can be heard. We understand that getting involved in politics is a little scary for some. We want to help provide some simple structure and some peace of mind about diving in. And it starts with one simple rule -- your city council members are voted on by you, hired by you, to work for you.
We're kicking this off with a KCDA Happy Hour on April 1st at 75th Street Brewery. The event kicks off at 5:30 (it is not a fundraiser, so the only cost you incur is whatever you eat and drink). We'll be in the sectioned off area in the back of the restaurant.
Following this, we will be having a KCDA 101 meeting. The meeting is designed to be a community forum on the different laws that affect the no-kill model, ways to get involved and hopefully the knowledge and enthusiasm you need to go out and affect positive change in your communities. The first KCDA 101 meeting will be held on April 25th, from 3-5 at the Trails West Library (6242 Swope Parkway)- Room A - in Kansas City, MO.
Complete information on these events can be found here.
More info to come from me on these events -- looking forward to seeing you there.
I guess you know that the topics you mentioned are those pushed by HSUS. over 180 Anti-Pet laws are now being pushed nationwide by HSUS. After calling for thekilling of all the dogs/pups in the last big raid, HSUS then announced it was pushing their pitbull training program where they will be rescuing dogs from dogfighting. If HSUS wants to kill dogs from raids,should they be claiming they will be rescuing them from dogfighting? I think the end of HSUS credibility has long past. Like years ago. Both peta/hsus are actively followed by the FBI. Not just Peta. Peta knows they are just the bait. That's why they are allowed to still function.
Posted by: skennedy | April 05, 2009 at 12:59 AM