A couple of weeks ago, an email went out from the person who overseas Kansas City animal control to animal control directors across the country asking for advice as the city was considering allowing for private control of its animal control shelter. As the city continues to seek areas in its budget to cut costs, allowing for private control of the shelter is a possible solution to the high costs of running a shelter.
Members of the animal welfare community in Kansas City are welcoming the change.
In 2006, the KCMO animal shelter killed 97% of the dogs that it brought into the shelter. In 2007, they killed 86% of the dogs that came through the door. This is a huge number of dogs -- killed at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the taxpaying community. This is a number of dogs that barely makes Kansas City seem like a civilized community, much less a dog-friendly one.
Putting the shelter in the hands of the right organization or group of people would be an opportunity for Kansas City, MO to take a HUGE step forward in becoming a dog-friendly community. It's one of those rare opportunities to really take some time to get it right. KC should consider its options wisely.
There are many groups that are interested in helping KCMO get this right. No More Homeless Pets has certainly become one of the leaders in the community in creating low-cost voluntary Spay/Neuter programs and Trap/Neuter/Release programs for ferel cats. NMHPKC has embraced much of Nathan Winograd's No-Kill philosophy that has been so successful in many areas at eliminating the senseless killing of dogs and cats in communities.
Kansas City Dog Advocates has also fully embraced the no-kill solutions, including helping cities to create responsible by-laws that encourage public safety, but are not restrictive in a way that uselessly takes animals out of good homes for silly "violations". Such laws would be overly-restrictive pet limits, mandatory spay/neuter laws, and breed specific laws. The group also helps push for better owner education and in promoting voluntary, low-cost spay/neuter programs.
There are also countless rescue groups, independent shelters, and humane societies that would love to get involved.
There is a possibility that no one group has all the resources necessary to completely create a no-kill (or at least low kill) shelter environment in Kansas City, MO. But there are certainly the resources when all of the interested parties pool their resources together to make a substantial difference in our community.
KCMO would be wise to reach out to all of these interested parties to begin discussing solutions, visions, and ideas of what "could be". Enough with the closed door policies, and lack of public information. A meeting with these groups had been scheduled...but we all just received notice of its cancellation. It appears as if they are shutting out the people who want to help the most and have the knowledge and resources to do so.
As for the animal welfare community, enough with the posturing. This may be our one chance to get this right for Kansas City...all of us are smarter an any one group of us.
The 2008-2009 budget is approved. The shelter is not closing any time in the next 12 months. Let's get together and create a smart, viable solution for Kansas City. This is no time to make a quick decision without talking with all the people who have a vested interest -- the people who have and are trying to make the shelter/rescue system work in Kansas City. This is no time to sell out to the lowest bidder, or make the "easy" choice. It is an opportunity to talk about the possibilities and opportunities with this change. We have a great opportunity to create a long and lasting impact on the city -- let's do it right -- and get everyone involved.
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