SHELTER AND RESCUE ISSUES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY We’re making
progress! By: Norma Bennett Woolf Date: 01/9/2012 Category: |
Canine Issues | Shelter Issues | On September 21, Gary Patronek
VMD, PhD, stood in front of 200 rescue advocates in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, and said that "pet overpopulation" is a meaningless
term. Patronek, acting director of the Center for Animals and
Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine,
said that rather than focusing on "overpopulation," evidence
shows that shelters and rescuers would do better to target the
"disease of euthanasia" - which may be responsible for 30
percent of all canine deaths. The occasion was the annual rescue
conference of the Michigan Purebred Dog Rescue Alliance. During
his talk Patronek praised the success of efforts to reduce
numbers - shelter deaths are down to five or six million
animals, he said, sterilization of pets has reached 63 percent
of all dogs and 80 percent of all owned cats and shelter intakes
are down. He also presented stu