A) It
is inspirational. Saying "we just want to reduce the
killing" does not inspire the public, shelter staff or volunteers. B) It
makes Oakland a Humane Leader nationwide. This is true whether it
is "aspired to and largely attained" or "completely
realized." C) Maddie's
Fund (a $300 million dollar nonprofit that gives money to help
cities) will not give money to Oakland unless "no kill" is
the vision. D) It
is easier to raise funds with a "no kill" goal. Studies
show that people prefer to give their money to shelters that do not kill
rather than those that do. E) Many people do not want to set foot
inside of a "kill" shelter, whether to volunteer or adopt.
Remaining "kill" actually makes it harder to end the deaths. F) Some shelter directors manipulate the
term "no kill" to mean that only adoptable animals will be
saved. An animal can be designated as "un-adoptable" simply
because there is a lack of kennel space. Oakland's truly "no
kill" vision (as outlined in my plan) will help people
around the country to understand the difference between an accurate
usage of the term (i.e. in Oakland) and a misleading one (i.e.
in L.A.). Education on this issue will lead to demands that other cities
and counties follow Oakland's lead. Responding
to Potential "No Kill" Objections A. Potential Objection: A shelter cannot be 93% no kill. It is either kill or no
kill. Anything else is misleading.
Response: Wrong. Phase one of my proposal is to achieve 93% no
kill. Phase two is to achieve 100% no kill. There is nothing inaccurate
or misleading about this. Analogy. Let's
assume that phase one of a plan is to make a glass of water "93%
full," and later it will be made "100% full." If someone
were to say this glass is either full or not full, you would think they
were crazy. Of course, a glass can be 93% full or 7% empty. Of course a
shelter can be 93% no kill or 7% kill. B. Potential Objection: No kill cannot be
realized. Response: Many
experts would disagree. But even if OAS attained a 97%, 95% or 90%
"no kill" rate, this does not minimize the need to strive for
the 100% goal. Analogy. The
city of Oakland has a goal to end crime. Many could say, "You can
never end crime." This may or may not be true: but regardless, this
is no reason to abandon the goal of ending crime in Oakland. I think Oakland will make a mistake if
they fail to embrace "no kill." Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you. Charlotte Laws, Ph.D.
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