Animal Euthanasia
To Kill or Not To Kill In the past few decades, there has been a big uproar regarding the topic of euthanasia in dogs. Euthanasia used to be a term used to end the suffering of a life by putting them in a painless and permanent state of sleep. I believe that today, the term ‘euthanasia’ when referred to dogs has transformed to a word used to justify the mass murder of dogs across the world. Most people will agree that the only time a dog should be put down is when it is sick or suffering from pain. I believe that if a dog is euthanized for any other reason, the person in control is guilty of committing an abominable act.
They do not call dogs “mans’ best friend” for nothing. With proper training, every single dog has the potential of making a good house pet and becoming an important part of an owner’s life. Most dogs that are being euthanized each year are not even suffering from any illnesses and are not aggressive either. They are just unlucky. The reasoning that is given by these shelters committing these vile acts is that there is an overpopulation of dogs in their shelters and not enough homes for all of them so they have no choice.
The problem with this picture is the fact that many of these shelters breed dogs for the sole purpose of having them sold. Many of these dogs are being sold for sums well over a thousand dollars. The dogs that they are not able to sell are sent to shelters. These shelters fill up quickly because of these breeders who can’t sell their dogs and can only take what they have room for and can manage which leads to these breeders euthanizing their extra dogs, many times in the convenience of their own backyards.
They figure that it costs them a lot less to murder their unsold dogs then the expenses they pay to take care of them while they wait for them to be sold. In the United States, an estimated 4 to 6 million dogs are euthanized in shelters each year. Pete Wedderburn, editor of Small Animal, says “It’s very disappointing that after all the noise that is made about how appalling it is, nothing changes. ” Unfortunately, not everyone will agree with the fact that euthanasia amongst dogs should only take place when the dog is suffering from pain or terminally ill.
Joy Leney and Jenny Remfy mention in their book Dogs, zoonoses, and public health why dog population management is necessary and very important. In their book they say “Some people love dogs. Some people hate them. Some dogs are man’s best friends. Others, or sometimes the same ones, are sources of injury, accident, disease and pollution. ” (299) Dogs can breed and multiply their numbers very quickly but the breeding is not their fault. It is the fault of the breeder for breeding them in order to sell them.
Once they are not sold, they either become stray dogs and usually end up being killed in the future or are sent to be killed right away. I believe that this is very inhumane. Leney and Remfy continue to speak about the methods used to kill these dogs are beginning to be too costly because of transportation and drugs needed so kill shelters and breeders have come out with cheaper ways to get rid of their extra dogs. These new methods include ovens and gas chambers where they throw in large amounts of dogs at a time to be killed in order to save time and money.
It makes me shiver how anyone who is responsible for these mass murders can live with their despicable acts. A simple solution to lower these rates of dogs being euthanized and to take control of the overpopulation of dogs is to alter the majority of dogs. Most shelters and animal organizations neuter dogs for no charge as well as give vaccines needed to prevent diseases from being transmitted. By altering dogs, the rate of dogs reproduced each day will drastically decrease. Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U. S. – and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born.
As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Early age altering of dogs (6-14 weeks) has been practiced for over 25 years in North America. The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem since many shelters will happily do it for free. The problem is the lack of education dog owners have about altering their dogs. If the benefits were understood, more people would be altering their dogs. Euthanasia should be thought upon and observed very carefully before being put to use.
It used to be a treatment but is now mostly used as a weapon to kill. . In the Irish Veterinary Journal, Pete Wedderburn believes “…the government ought to proceed with compulsory micro chipping, a license for life and a discounted license fee for neutered pets” (Wedderburn 530). This is one way to really help lower the number of dogs being euthanized. Furthermore, it will be thought upon twice before euthanizing a dog since the dog is now neutered and will not be able to produce more dogs. Not allowing a dog to reproduce may be a bit cruel but a big step towards lowering the kill rate.
Having the dog micro chipped and placed inside a database will also help influence the decision of a shelter or breeder of whether or not to put down a dog. There are numerous pet owners surrendering their dog due to personal reasons and inadequacy in taking responsibility for their dogs. This also adds to the overpopulation of dogs. According to a survey conducted by the American Humane Association, out of the 1000 shelters who responded to the survey, 2. 7 million of 4. 3 million animals (64 percent) are being euthanized. Out of this euthanized number, 56 percent are dogs.
Majority of the animals in shelters were being euthanized since there is a standard period of time, ranging from several days to weeks, for unclaimed stray animals. However, there are “no kill” shelters run by private and animal welfare organizations. This alone is part of the solution to end the overpopulation of dogs. These “no kill” shelters make it an official policy never to euthanize animals unless it’s for medical reasons. If overcrowding is really an issue, then it may be necessary to send dogs to other shelters instead of murdering them.
I am sure there are many animal cruelty prevention organizations that will be willing to take these dogs in and finding them a foster home until they are adopted into a permanent household. This will lower the rate of dogs being killed, give the dog a better life, and be a much more humane thing to do. In the book Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America, the author Nathan J. Winograd writes “The decision to end an animal’s life is an extremely serious one, and should always be treated as such.
No matter how many animals a shelter kills, each and every animal is an individual, and each deserves individual consideration. And finally, to meet the challenge that No Kill entails, shelter leadership needs to get the community excited, to energize people for the task at hand. By working with people, implementing lifesaving programs, and treating each life as precious, a shelter can transform a community. ” (Winograd 22-31, 229) The programs Winograd is referring to include free spay/neuter, rescue groups, foster cares, pet retention, medical and behavioral programs, ommunity involvement, volunteers and a compassionate director to control the friendly shelter. Winograd calls this the No Kill Equation. I don’t quite agree with Winograd that this equation is the key solution to lower the rate of dogs euthanized each year. I think that there are much easier and more efficient ways to lower the rates. It will take too long for all community shelters across the country to set up these programs in their communities. The right way to do this is to hire lobbyists to fight for the no kill shelters and animal welfare organizations and push the passing of a law against euthanasia on healthy dogs.
All dog owners should be taught the benefits of neutering their dogs. The usage of microchips should be implemented by all shelters in order to manage the population of dogs. For every single animal euthanized in a shelter, there is a person outside of that shelter responsible for it. The responsibility to keep shelters from euthanizing animals lies with each of us as pet owners. If we adopt through rescue, choose a good match, spay and neuter, and keep our animals for their lifetimes, the shelters will be near empty, not overfull, and euthanasia can become a tragedy of the past.
