In 2013 the Lynchburg Humane Society (LHS) ended the year with a 92% save rate for the animals in our care, the highest year end figure since we began down the path to No Kill. We were able to reduce the number of cats we took in by 294, compared to 2012, due primarily, we believe, to our spay/neuter efforts. YOU made this possible.
We believe the
Lynchburg Humane Society is about to be embroiled in a controversial attack by
another humane organization because of all the great work we are doing. We want our community and our supporters to
know why and to be informed about this controversy because without you we could
not do what we are doing. You all are
partners in our efforts.
This is long so
please hang in there and read it in its entirety because there is important
information throughout that you probably don’t know.
In April PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
sent us a letter asking us to change some of our life saving programs implying
that we are No Kill extremists.
In November PETA requested a copy of the contract between
the City of Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Humane Society through a FOIA (Freedom
of Information Act) request to the city.
Later in November an attorney sent the Lynchburg Humane Society a FOIA request asking for the following information for the period of January 1, 2009 through the date of fulfillment of this request:
1. All intake records for cats;
2. All disposition records for cats, including but not limited to all adoption
records
3. All records regarding any Lynchburg Humane Society (LHS)
Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) program;
4. All records regarding PetSmart Charities grant(s) to LHS to provide free
spay/neuter services to feral and outdoor cats in the city of Lynchburg
5. All protocols for feral cats;
6. All records regarding animals who died in LHS’ facility and other via
euthanasia;
7. All records regarding adoption of LHS animals by LHS employees;
8. All emails sent to and from Makena Yarbrough
Our attorney sent a response that the Lynchburg Humane Society,
as a private non-profit, is not subject to FOIA requirements and would not
provide the information requested by the firm.
Then on January 10th the same attorney who sent
us the FOIA letter, sent a FOIA request to the City of Lynchburg seeking basically
the same information that it requested from us. The City is in the process of responding to
this request.
Upon doing a little research we discovered that the attorney
has represented PETA in the past and has in fact been their voice in defending
PETA’s FOIA requests.
But why, you might
ask, is PETA so curious about what we are doing here in Lynchburg?
There is a lot going on in Virginia right now in regards to TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release) and the growing No Kill movement. A group of humane organizations has been trying to get state law changed to protect caregivers so they can’t be prosecuted under current law when they try to help feral cats live safely in established colonies.
We can only guess at this point, but we believe it is
because PETA and some of its allies are not in favor of TNR for feral cats and are
against the No Kill movement, see chart below. We believe
they are trying to find ways of discrediting us by attempting to show that we
are doing something wrong or illegal or, at the very least, trying to find
something to damage our character. Maybe
it is because our programs have gained national recognition. We
believe that PETA and its allies have been doing similar things to other
successful organizations that have been doing great work across the country so at
least we are in good company.
We have been transparent with this community about
our policies and with our statistics. We
post our stats each month on our website and report them to the State Vet’s
office each year. In an effort to keep our
community informed, and even though we are not subject to FOIA, here is some of
the information they requested.
Since 2010, according to our computer database, staff
members have personally adopted 19 dogs, 3 rabbits, 11 cats, 1 ferret and 2
gerbils from LHS.
(You see, another humane
organization in the Portsmouth area had been taking feral cats into their
organization, fixing them, falsifying records and having staff adopt them, and
then returning them to their colony. They
were fined for this activity. We
believe that is why they are requesting information on employee adoptions. LHS is not
doing this.)
They want to know our
protocols for feral cats.
Since January of 2011
the Lynchburg Humane Society does not take in adult feral cats in general. Instead we educate and promote the idea of TNR;
trapping, neutering and returning the fixed cat to their natural habitat so
they no longer reproduce but can live out their life. To
further help, we provide free spay/neuter services and traps to those people
who are interested in solving the feral cat problems in their area. Studies show that this is the best way to
control the cat population in our community. The old methods of trapping and euthanizing
have done nothing for decades to solve the problem.
920 feral and outdoor
cats never came to our shelter in 2013 instead they went straight to the
spay/neuter clinic to be fixed, provided a rabies shot and returned back to their environment,
all for free.
This is a practice that well respected organizations endorse
including but not limited to the Richmond SPCA, HSUS (Humane Society of the
United States), ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals), Alley Cat Allies and Best Friends Animal Society.
Of course, as with any situation, there are exceptions. Every situation is different and we want to
empower our management staff to make decisions in the best interest of the
animal or the situation. We take in
feral kittens that we can rehabilitate; we take in feral cats that the animal
control officers bring to us; we take in feral moms with kittens; we take in
feral cats that are a public safety risk and we take in feral cats that are
suffering and injured
We feel that feral cats deserve to live in their natural
environment, not die in shelters. Especially
when killing them does nothing to solve the community problem. TNR is the solution. Life is the solution.
So what happens to adult ferals who end up with us? In the
rare case when we end up with a feral cat, we make attempts to place them in
outside environments with people looking for barn cats. We do euthanize those that are too ill, a
public safety risk or can’t be housed safely, but this is a rare occurrence.
As for the other information the PETA folks are requesting, we
have no idea what they want to discover in our animal records dating back to
2009 and in our emails. We hope that
they are not on a vendetta to try to discredit the great work we are doing.
You are probably
saying, “this doesn’t make sense!” You’re
right, it doesn’t. Why wouldn’t PETA support fewer companion animals dying
and support the No Kill movement? No, it
doesn’t make sense to us that an organization which aims to be known as a
champion for animals opposes TNR and No Kill.
Here is one idea, to quote Dr. Stanley Coren from an article
in Psychology Today magazine, “the organization (PETA) seems to have an agenda
oriented against the keeping of animals as pets at all.” “Perhaps the best answer comes from Ingrid
Newkirk, President of PETA, when she said, ‘In the end, I think it would be
lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.’” *
PETA has recently been criticized by other groups for their
companion animal philosophies and the high euthanasia rates at their facility in
Norfolk. We share this information with
you only because we want this community to be educated on PETA’s actions with regard
to companion animals.
Dogs
and Cats Euthanized by PETA *
Year
|
Received
|
Transferred out
|
Adopted
|
% Adopted
|
Euthanized
|
% Euthanized
|
||
1,843
|
130
|
19
|
1.03%
|
1,647
|
89.40%
|
|||
1,992
|
34
|
24
|
1.21%
|
1,911
|
95.90%
|
|||
2,345
|
63
|
44
|
1.86%
|
2,200
|
93.80%
|
|||
2009
|
2,366
|
31
|
8
|
0.34%
|
2,301
|
97.30%
|
||
2008
|
2,216
|
34
|
7
|
0.32%
|
2,124
|
95.80%
|
||
2007
|
1,997
|
35
|
17
|
0.85%
|
1,815
|
90.90%
|
||
*stats can be
found on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website. We got
these off a website called, www.petakillsanimals.com
PETA has indicated that it takes the worst of the worst at
their shelter, those animals that are truly suffering and need to be put down. We wonder if they would take in, feed, house,
and find a good home for a 10 year old blind dog with a wonderful disposition
in good health like we did just last month.
We also wonder if it has a different
feeling on what is treatable or adoptable.
We want to assure you that we will not change our promotion
of TNR and will continue to provide free spay/neuter services to free roaming
cats in the City of Lynchburg in the ways that we can. We will continue to strive to save 90% or
more of the animals in our care and we will continue to work with owners to
bring their animals in responsibly when we have the space to do so in order to
ensure that no saveable pet is euthanized because we don’t have space.
We are reaffirming
our commitment to the Lynchburg Community that the Lynchburg Humane Society
will not waiver from our path of saving animals in a humane and caring way no
matter how big the giant is trying to knock us off our path. It took all of us to achieve this success and
it will take all of us to continue to fight the good fight.
Thank you for your support,
Makena Yarbrough
Executive Director
Here are links to some of the many articles on this topic. You can also find information on PETA’s
website on its views about No Kill and TNR.
(1) For
the entire article written by Dr.Stanley Coren go to: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201204/when-the-ethical-treatment-animals-goes-wrong
(2) For
more see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/nathan-winograd
(
For more information on TNR read our Blog on the topic.
http://lynchburghumane.blogspot.com/2013/08/tnr-opinion-it-is-time-we-fix-problem.html
Peta is crazy, very crazy. I think we have known this for a long long time. But, if I may ask what is done with aggressive animals? As a limited admission facility (I personally do not like the term no kill as animals are still euthanized) you have the option of turning citizens away and putting them on the waiting list I know but I am curious as to what happens to aggressive animals or dogs that exhibit "cage rage", and if they are not coming down with cage rage how is it being prevented? I don't want to bashed by any one I'm only curious. I personally feel there is a need for both limited and open admission facilities across the nation and each should help the other.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the question. We euthanize aggressive animals we will never be 100% non euthanizing the term No Kill is confusing but the idea is that we are not killing healthy or treatable animals. So we still euthanize but 92% of the animals find their ways to homes. Now as far as turning citizens away, we do not do that. I don't care what term you use for us whether it is open admissions or limited admission whatever term you like. We do not pick and choose the animals we end up with. If a citizen has a 10 year old blind dog to surrender we take it in. We take in strays from our community and because of our programs are able to help owners in other counties with taking their animals as well. We do have a waiting list so we are able to bring the animals in when we have space. In the meantime we help people with their problems and give them assistance with re-homing by posting them on our website. Between 64-74% of the people who contacted us found homes or kept their pets themselves. A total of 423 animals last year. In 2013 we took in 291 walk-ins which meant they did not have to wait at all because of the circumstances. As for cage rage we have many techniques to dealing with this and it is more of a case by case basis. The biggest thing we do is have large play groups and make sure the dogs get out and play really hard at least once a day and when possible we try and house dogs together so they have companionship.
ReplyDeleteMakena, are you saying that if we have cats for instance that you will publish pictures of them to appear on your website without our bringing them in? That would be a big help.
DeletePeta is a group of people who I think don't help at all with trying to improve animal welfare. They make so many enemies no one takes them serious. Nothing they can say will change my opinion you guys. I have adopted my last two dogs from there and I know how hard you all work to find good homes for all the animals. Sorry you have to deal with Peta.
ReplyDeleteIt is despicable that PETA would use donation money that they have solicited, by sending out all these emails about how they need money to stop animal testing and the abuse of factory farm animals, and then they turn around and use it to hire lawyers to harass no-kill shelters.
ReplyDeleteThis completely undermines PETA's credibility IMO and seems to be a fraudulent use of funds that were supposed to go towards helping the animals.
Such a great post Makena! We have volunteered on and off with the LHS fostering program and we think you all are doing great work. LHS has come such a long way since I moved to Lynchburg 7 years ago! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteIt is despicable that PETA is using donation money that they solicited by sending out all these emails about how they need money to stop animal testing and end farm animal abuse.Then they turn around and use that money to hire lawyers to harass no-kill shelters, instead of using it to help the animals like they led us to believe.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a fraudulent and self indulgent diversion of funds and completely undermines PETA's credibility. I don't trust them anymore.
It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Don't let peta and their minions change that. They do not believe in pets - period and would rather they were dead (killed, not euthanized) until there were no more owned animals.
ReplyDeleteForget PeTA. No one wants to hear what those nutters have to say about anything, any more. PeTA is so pro-kill, it's sickening.
ReplyDeleteI became involved with PETA in the early 80s, and they not only did valuable work and addressed difficult issues, but they were also one of the FEW national groups doing this. They have a noble history, and I'll always appreciate them for that (they were one of the FEW groups to point out that it is hypocritical for 'animal people' to work on a few, select animal issues and yet continue to EAT animals).
ReplyDeleteBut for the past 10-20 years they seem to have lost their way--exploiting women and using unreliable, youthful celebrities to garner publicity. So I no longer contribute to them, but still have hopes that if they got new leadership they could redeem themselves and be taken seriously again. But I'm not holding my breath.
Congratulations on your incredible accomplishments, Lynchburg! No doubt made possible in part by LHS' open and honest communications with your community - very refreshing. PETA is squandering donor dollars to pick on organizations that are saving lives - shame on them. Do not allow them to take up one more minute of your time; keep on saving lives together and celebrate your successes.
ReplyDeleteYou did the right thing by going public with your suspicions about what PETA is up to. This is very typical of PETA. They seek to undermine the efforts of real rescuers and animal shelters because what PETA really desires is no more cats and dogs in the world.
ReplyDeleteA little research is all that is required to verify this sad fact for yourself. They try and hide it, but this is surely one of their goals that they secretly work to achieve.
Glad you're watching your six, LHS. PETA bushwhacked us good in Portsmouth about PHS's feral cats. They'll probably come at you in the local press next so if I were you I'd make friends with a reporter and cut them off at the pass. Best of luck, keep fighting the good fight!
ReplyDeleteDon't refer to PETA as a humane organization; they are anything but. You guys are doing the work of the angels, I wish all shelters could measure up to yours.
ReplyDeletePETA is a disgrace to Virginia. In 2010 the State Veterinarian's office visited their "shelter" to determine it's exact status - the report is an interesting read. In response to charges that PETA employees took animals from shelters under the guise of finding homes only to euthanize them in the back of their van, often right in the shelter parking lot Heather Carlson, PETA’s media liaison said: “The two workers were providing a humane release to animals who had no future prospects, and the trial never should have happened.”
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work and don't let the haters get you down.
ReplyDeleteI truly admire the work you do! It is shameful that PETA is attempting to discredit the No-Kill movement and the TNR program. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteJacalyn Kelly
Thank you! LHS Rocks, a beacon of hope for helpless, mistreated and abandoned creatures of God who deserve so much better.
ReplyDeleteNever under estimate the depths that PETA will stoop to in order to undermine life saving efforts.
ReplyDeleteI am so angry from reading your blog as I know exactly what PETA is up to and we wont let them get away with it.
Keep us all updated continuously and watch what backlash comes PETA's way.
If PETA is stepping in, there must be a lot of suffering that is happening to the un-owned cats that are fending for themselves on the streets or in their environment. If you are releasing tame cats to fend for themselves that is totally unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteto Julieveggie, if PETA is concerned then have a conversation with us and we can have a dialogue. but how they are going about this makes us suspicious of their motives.
ReplyDeleteWhen PETA is investigating a case it's because they have received many complaints by the public. They are not the instigators. Asking for shelter records is not outline but by you not wanting to disclose them makes it seem like you are hiding something.
ReplyDeleteHow hard did they investigate their own employees killing dogs and putting the bodies in dumpsters a few years ago? Not much, as it turned out.
DeleteAMEN Anonymous! Don't listen to Julie. She comes into all of these blogs and just tries to whitewash PeTA and what it does.
DeleteIf they want information they can have an open dialogue with us, but the method in which they are requesting the information is suspicious. Our question is what are they hiding?
ReplyDeleteQuestion for julieveggie. Are you a spokesperson for PETA or are you employed by PETA?
ReplyDeleteShe has "something" to do with PeTA, as she comes into ALL of these blogs and spews the PeTA lies. I think she has more time on her hands than most people do as she's always on these.
DeletePETA is NOT a Humane organization. Their so-called shelter in Norfolk is a slaughterhouse. How dare they waste the money of well meaning animal lovers who send them donations thinking it will help homeless animals. Instead they use it to harass the real animal shelters in our state.
ReplyDeleteAnon, Julie is not a PETA employee, just a well-known internet troll who spends her free time helping the group spread misinformation about the no kill movement, feral cats, and TNR.
ReplyDeleteJulie, please educate yourself about Trap, Neuter, Return. TNR is designed to humanely reduce the outdoor feral cat population by sterilizing, vaccinating and then returning feral cats to their outdoor homes -- WHERE THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN LIVING. TNR does not add new feral cats to the outdoors, not does it involve putting tame cats on the streets. An effective TNR program includes long-term monitoring and vet care, in addition to trapping any newcomers and removing and rehoming kittens and tame adults. I doubt you have any clue how many kittens and tame cats TNR programs REMOVE from the streets every year.
Twisting facts in an effort to discredit organizations who seek to help cats through TNR and other public spay/neuter programs will not help cats in any way. Do you really think allowing unvaccinated feral cats to reproduce and languish on the streets is a better option than sterilizing them and allowing people to continue caring for them? Because that is what happens in communities where there are no spay/neuter resources for feral cats. You may not be aware that in Virginia, shelters are not required to accept cats at all, and many of them don't. Most of the shelters who don't accept cats are NOT no kill and provide no public s/n resources at all, let alone resources for feral cats. A significant percentage of the cats sterilized through public TNR and s/n programs for outdoor cats include cats cared for by those in low income neighborhoods. It's these cats that produce a significant percentage of the kittens entering shelters every spring. Doing away with such programs will only result in more homeless kittens.
We are lucky to live in a state where there are an increasing number of forward thinking organizations and communities that have decided to develop a more effective and ethical approach to the homeless cat issue. That's not going to change, and, in fact, more communities are embracing this approach every year.
The organization that needs investigating is PETA. Expect it.
ReplyDeletePETA SEEMS TO BE FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT UP TIGHT FOLLOWERS WHEN WE REQUESTED THEIR HELP IN PROTECTING A GERMAN SHEPHERD RESCUE FROM A LUNATIC THREATENING TO KILL AND POISON THE DOGS HE WAS HARASSING US DAILY FOR MORE THEN ONE YEAR . I BEGGED PETA TO HELP THEIR REPLAY WAS SORRY WE WILL NOT GET INVOLVED BUT IF I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION WHICH I THOUGHT YEA HOLD YOUR BREATH HONEY. CONTACT LIBERTY LAW STUDENTS SEE IF THEY CAN HELP PROTECT THE ANIMALS & THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF LYNCHBURG .. I WOULDNT GIVE THEM A DANG ON THING BUT A HARD TIME
ReplyDeletePETA is a bunch of nuts. Name their attorney.
ReplyDeleteIf Julie doesn't work for PETA, then why is she answering for PETA? How does she know why PETA is asking for this information?
ReplyDeleteAnd I am aware that julieveggie is an uneducated troll who spends her days and nights spreading lies about Nathan Winograd and No Kill.
So if she doesn't work for PETA, why does she feel she has the knowledge or authority to speak for their motives in requesting this information?
Be aware, LHS, that julieveggie is probably one of the people who has been complaining about your organization, if any complaints even really do exist.
Don't bother trying to educate julieveggie about TNR because she doesn't care to learn the truth and will continue to lie just as long as PETA tells her to.
It's people like julieveggie that cause the rest of us normal folk to believe that PETA is a cult. She spreads the propaganda and does the footwork of her Master, Ingrid Newkirk.
Very creepy people.
You held the dog I have for 1 year before we found her, I am so glad you did she is 7 years old and I would not trade her for anything. Even old girls are great. I love the no kill policy!
ReplyDeleteLHS had a cat for a year before I got her. She was in a crate as I 1st came thru the door. Not knowing I got her out and she just loved up to me. A worker there said she had not wanted people to hold her and had never been a people person. Well if they had put her down because of this, as I'm sure others would have, I would not have a great friend. She still at times hides from others but she's mine and always comes to me. That's all that matters. We have been together going on a year. Sometimes cage rage is just the right person hasn't come along. Keep saving lives, PETA needs to stick with the wild. Those are the animals that need their help. Save the seals.
DeleteIt seems that PETA only gets involved when they hear about No Kill shelters that are doing a good job of saving animals lives. If you ask them to do something about the countless complaints of horrendous abuse that goes on in the nation's animal care and control facilities or "KILL" shelters, then they have nothing at all to say about that.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fairly obvious to anyone who is paying attention that PETA really doesn't like animals very much and would prefer them dead to begin with. They certainly hate cats.
Does PETA actually have any authority in the state of Virginia to investigate other private, licensed non -profit animal shelters? Isn't that the job of the Dept. of Agriculture or something?
Shouldn't any "complaints" be investigated by the proper govt. agency? What business is it of PETA what you write and receive in your email?
Are they for real? Name the lawyers who sent these requests. It's time for us all to do some of our own investigating I think.
I can probably give you a 90% right guess who is behind this garbage. HSUS ! They are the worst liers about their work and what they actually do. Please read up about them on Humane Watch.org.
ReplyDeleteAmen to all the antiPETA Peeps!!! Julie..you need a hug from a furry friend!
ReplyDeleteJulie, responding to yourself are ya now, LOLOL?
DeleteMost of these "Organizations" are nothing more than fundrasing fronts. They make a scene, cry and wail, then disappear when you contribute. As with most of these things, I always say Follow the money. Who is going to profit from the action?
ReplyDeletePETA?, HSUS?....= PITA!
julieveggie, please give PETA a message from the rest of us:
ReplyDeleteBACK OFF.
PETA needs to get their own 'house' in order over there in Norfolk before they go looking for dirt elsewhere.
Everyone READ Dr. Kovich's shelter inspection report done in 2010 about PETA's "shelter" in Norfolk and then call PETA and ask them to get their own house in order before they go harassing REAL SHELTERS that actually provide something other than death to the animals in their care.
PETA makes me sick.
Doesn't make sense. PETA doesn't believe in animals as pets, yet feels feral cats should be in cages in the shelter and going to private people instead of TNR and colonies? I do know they did not respond to my request for help with the slaughter ordered by Lake Vista board majority in Forest of what has come to be known as the Lake Vista 66 (geese). Eventually, there was the final edict from the judge who stated that goose poop didn't look attractive so it must be dangerous to health and ordered their killing. THEN there was a blast from PETA, which of course USDA picked up immediately along with the rest of the public. So they were ready to jump on the kill just before the 30 wildlife rescuers and vets could get to the lake to take the geese away as family units.
ReplyDeleteMaybe julieveggie, who seems to be here to speak on behalf of PETA, can explain to us what PETA thinks should be done with feral cats?
ReplyDeleteWell, don't bother answering julieveggie, I know the answer to this. PETA thinks all feral cats should be trapped and destroyed. Do NOT cage and do not re home - GO STRAIGHT TO THE DEATH CHAMBER
Isn't that right, julieveggie? Please do correct me if I am mistaken.
Where have you gone julieveggie? Why aren't you answering these questions? You seem to think that you are somehow qualified to respond for PETA as to why they are bothering this organization, so why wont you answer the questions that I have been asking?
ReplyDeletePETA lies, plain and simple. The animals they manage to get their hands on, often by false pretenses, are NOT suffering and in need of "the gift of death". How about the ones they wheedled out of Vets' offices, killed immediately in their van, and dumped in a dumpster behind a grocery store in NC? They kill 97%of the animals they get, and have the biggest walk in freezer East of the Mississippi in which to store the corpses until the truck comes for them.
ReplyDeleteWhat possible reason is there to even acknowledge these PETA extremists? They are making money while pets are suffering under their cruel and hypocritical false image. I say IGNORE them.
ReplyDeleteI think the general population is starting to see through PETA's lies and wreckless abandoment of helping animals live good lives. Politics is their # 1 agenda!
ReplyDeleteA society is judged by their treatment of the less fortunate ... animals as well as people. The LHS policy is the most humane and most effective. I adopted my dog from them and she is part of my family as much as any other family member ... thats right PETA my wonderful dog is my family. Humans have always been in the company of animals in a relationship of common need and respect. PETA needs to understand the history of companion animals and educate themselves. Feral cats are a problem, but attaching and discrediting a program that is working is a waste of time and money (money that well meaning people have donated to PETA based on their lies and propaganda). Shame on you PETA!!! Clean up your own house before you criticize anothers. As for you julieveggie try reading something other than PETA's self serving, incorrect and misleading literature. They publish that crap to separate you from your money. If you want to make a difference then start locally and put your time, money and talents to good use.
ReplyDeleteUnder Virginia law TNR is illegal, it is considered abandonment. It sounds all well and good that the cats will be altered so as not to reproduce and they will get a 1 yr rabies shot but, who is going to be the responsible party that gets them the next years shot and the next, who is going to keep track of when they get those shots and if the cat's shot has expired and god forbid it bites or scratches someone or someone's pet, who will pay for the rabies exposure shots? Currently, none of the organizations for TNR want responsibility for potential cat colonies beyond getting them altered, including providing food. Much more humane for the cats to starve to death right? The term "No-Kill" shelter sounds fantastic unless you know that they can be that because they don't accept ALL animals, they pick and choose based on space available and more importantly adoptability, those animals deemed to old, not social and with medical needs are routinely turned away, it's more humane for the rejected animals to be abandoned to the streets, right? Open admission shelters like PETA take the animals that have no hope, been abused, neglected and starved, that places like LHS won't take, so is it really any wonder the "numbers" are so different?
ReplyDelete