September
1996
A
Way Out of the Dead End: Beyond the Cat and Dog Crisis
By Anne Earle
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The August 6, 1996 edition of the Village
Voice ran an article by Elizabeth Hess entitled, "New York's
Secret Animal Crisis." The article criticized the Center for
Animal Care and Control (CACC), which took over animal control
from the formerly scandal-wracked ASPCA in 1995. The focus
of the piece was not only on the CACC, and its director Marty
Kurtz, but the chronic population crisis in New York City and
the cruelty meted out regularly on cats and dogs. Satya interviewed
Anne Earle, one of those featured in the Voice article, for
her solutions to the problem.
Obviously, I would rather not see the City of New York running animal
control. Cities don't have the humane background, are over-burdened to
begin with, and their agencies tend to be bureaucratic - bogged down
in red tape. For example, the City has over one million dollars earmarked
for much needed renovations to the Brooklyn shelter, but nearly two years
later, no work has begun. Meanwhile, the animals and the staff continue
to suffer there in poor conditions. City governments also tend to be
reactive rather than preventive in their approach to problems, mistakenly
assuming that prevention costs more.
Unfortunately, more and more cities are taking over the job as
humane societies are pulling out. The animal rights movement
has been successful
in helping to bring the issue of mass euthanasia of dogs and cats to
the public's attention, causing it to become increasingly unpopular.
Of course, that's a good thing, but until there is no longer a need for
euthanasia, someone must still do the job. The public has not yet translated
the disgust with euthanasia into taking personal responsibility for creating
the problem in the first place. Private non-profit humane societies feel
they cannot raise needed money operating as the bad guys running so called "kill
shelters."
If the City is going to continue running the show here in New York City,
at least the issue of conflict of interest on the board of directors
needs to be addressed. In addition, the board needs more representation
from the humane community and people who have animal shelter and fundraising
experience and some knowledge of the trends around the country in successful
preventive programs.
The Solutions
My main focus as an activist has been the
issue of dog and cat overpopulation. Despite the complex and
entrenched problems which go back to the ASPCA's animal control
and continue in the current CACC, I am more optimistic than I
ever have been. That's largely because I have met some amazing
people who are achieving incredible results around the country.
What New York needs to do is look around the country, see what's
working, and say, "How can we bring some of those programs here."
Low-Cost, High-Volume Spay/neuter Clinic
Recently, the first low-cost, high-volume
spay/neuter clinic, run by the Fund for Animals opened on West
52nd Street. It uses the skills of experts who have perfected
a technique that speeds up spaying and neutering. Because a veterinarian
gets paid by the hour, this high-volume keeps down cost. You
can, therefore, charge as little as $10 for a cat spay or $20
for a dog in some places and provide services for people who
can't afford higher fees. The results are very positive: more
people get their companion animals altered. With costs down,
the program can pay for itself and doesn't have to depend on
City and fundraising dollars to continue.
But it has to be set up with money, and that's the big snag in New York
and other places. Mary and Richard Herro, whom everyone agrees are the
experts on this, have helped set up several clinics around the country
including the one in New York. But they don't recommend just one, they
believe you have to have a comprehensive program to really make a dent
in the rates of euthanasia.
A Mobile Van
In Houston, where animal control takes in
over 100,000 animals a year, the estimated cost for an animal
to be picked up in a van, housed, fed, and then euthanized is
$100. On the other hand, it costs about $32 to provide a preventive
spay/neuter surgery in a mobile van. The van costs $150,000 a
year to run; animal control costs seven million dollars.
What activists in Houston discovered was that it wasn't apathy that prevented
people from coming into the high-volume clinic it had, it was that they
still couldn't afford it and couldn't get there. They also found out
that the areas of greatest need were where most of the animals and most
calls for animal control services were coming from. So their mobile van
goes and targets those neighborhoods and provides free services to those
in need. It also puts out flyers explaining the importance of spaying
and neutering.
Intro 3-2-1
This bill, [see "Intro 3-2-1" below], needs
to be - and can be - passed. Camden, New Jersey just passed a
law which requires a $500 permit if you keep an unaltered animal.
They have a strategy for enforcement as well, because enforcement
is always a question raised by city agencies.
The bill: Intro 3-2-1.
This bill, sponsored by councilmember Kathryn Freed and currently awaiting
debate in the City Council, attempts to legislate a number of things
on behalf of New York City's companion animals. It would:
require by law that all people spay and neuter their dogs and cats to
cut down on over-population;
require all shelters to spay/neuter before releasing any animal for adoption;
discourage breeding at a time when over 40,000 cats and dogs are euthanized
in shelters and thousands more die on New York City streets;
set up a citywide computerized lost and found system to reunite lost
animals with their families.
The Overall Picture
We need 24-hour, full-service shelters,
24-hour rescue services, and most importantly, high-volume, low-cost
spay/neuter clinics in each facility. The City has architectural
plans for a clinic in the Manhattan shelter and available space
in the Brooklyn shelter -žso there could be clinics in both shelters
with little difficulty. Because New York City is so large, there
must be clinics in every borough to handle the need for services.
The message we activists and concerned citizens need to get across to
City officials is that these programs work. We can argue that preventing
births is obviously a far better solution than killing: it's more humane,
better for the environment and sanitation - you don't have thousands
of tons of carcasses in already over-burdened landfills - and obviously
better for the staff who won't have to kill animals every day. Most importantly,
however, to City officials, is that these programs are cost effective.
Over eight years, Anne Earle has worked as a staff member and a volunteer
at the ASPCA, Friends of Animals, and the CACC. The above was edited
from a conversation with Satya. Go to "How to
Be An Activist" for what you can do to help homeless cats and dogs
in New York City.
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