Unfortunately, the whole "no-kill movement" & eventually the whole animal sheltering sector got hijacked after April 2007 by public sympathy for Michael Vick's pit bulls, manipulated by the ASPCA & the Best Friends Animal Society into a pit bull advocacy movement that has now deformed every aspect of shelter operations, animal control, and data tracking. The lack of local & regional detail in the latest Shelter Animals Count annual update is just one example of how data has been corrupted to hide the realities of a system warped to fit around the idea that "we can save them all" by rehoming pit bulls, never mind making spay/neuter services affordable and available in every community, targeting specifically pit bulls, as the animals who are still most abundant in shelters, most likely to fail in homes, and most likely to be finally euthanized, after wreaking bloody havoc against both humans and other animals. The 2025 edition of Shelter Animals Count indirectly admits this, of course without using the words "pit bull": “Non-live outcomes in shelters have risen by 0.5% for dogs. The increase for dogs is driven by government organizations,” meaning open-admission animal control shelters that cannot legally turn away dangerous dogs, "where non-live outcomes grew by 1.5%, now standing 17.5 higher than in 2019, with a non-live outcome of 15% of total intakes.”
Thank you, Merritt and Beth, for sharing your insights and raising these important points about the evolution of the no-kill movement and its impact on shelter operations and data reporting. Your concern regarding the lack of local and regional detail in the SAC report are critical to understanding how aggregated data can obscure the realities faced by individual shelters. Your observation about the challenges posed by pit bull advocacy and the sidelining of spay/neuter initiatives also underscores the need for a more balanced approach that prioritizes both humane outcomes and community safety. These are exactly the kinds of conversations we need to have to ensure transparency, accountability, and meaningful progress in animal welfare. Thank you for your knowledgeable contributions to this important conversation!
Not to mention that humane societies will not turn over euthanasia records so the public can compare raw data to what they report. SDHS is in no doubt killing more than they are admitting. Many current and former employees have said this.
Unfortunately, the whole "no-kill movement" & eventually the whole animal sheltering sector got hijacked after April 2007 by public sympathy for Michael Vick's pit bulls, manipulated by the ASPCA & the Best Friends Animal Society into a pit bull advocacy movement that has now deformed every aspect of shelter operations, animal control, and data tracking. The lack of local & regional detail in the latest Shelter Animals Count annual update is just one example of how data has been corrupted to hide the realities of a system warped to fit around the idea that "we can save them all" by rehoming pit bulls, never mind making spay/neuter services affordable and available in every community, targeting specifically pit bulls, as the animals who are still most abundant in shelters, most likely to fail in homes, and most likely to be finally euthanized, after wreaking bloody havoc against both humans and other animals. The 2025 edition of Shelter Animals Count indirectly admits this, of course without using the words "pit bull": “Non-live outcomes in shelters have risen by 0.5% for dogs. The increase for dogs is driven by government organizations,” meaning open-admission animal control shelters that cannot legally turn away dangerous dogs, "where non-live outcomes grew by 1.5%, now standing 17.5 higher than in 2019, with a non-live outcome of 15% of total intakes.”
Thank you, Merritt and Beth, for sharing your insights and raising these important points about the evolution of the no-kill movement and its impact on shelter operations and data reporting. Your concern regarding the lack of local and regional detail in the SAC report are critical to understanding how aggregated data can obscure the realities faced by individual shelters. Your observation about the challenges posed by pit bull advocacy and the sidelining of spay/neuter initiatives also underscores the need for a more balanced approach that prioritizes both humane outcomes and community safety. These are exactly the kinds of conversations we need to have to ensure transparency, accountability, and meaningful progress in animal welfare. Thank you for your knowledgeable contributions to this important conversation!
Not to mention that humane societies will not turn over euthanasia records so the public can compare raw data to what they report. SDHS is in no doubt killing more than they are admitting. Many current and former employees have said this.