MAKING MARION COUNTY NO-KILL
WHAT IS A KILL SHELTER?
THE UNWANTED AND ABANDONED
What is a Kill Shelter and Why Do they Exist?
What is a kill shelter? A kill shelter is an animal shelter that accepts all animals. There are no restrictions, no age limitations, no health standards or behavioral requirements. All animals are accepted here and there are no appointments necessary before surrendering a dog or cat.
While this sounds good in practice, the reality is that kill shelters or open admission shelters do not have room for all the pets they accept. These shelters are often forced to euthanize animals based on their duration of stay so they will have enough cage space available to accept all animals. So just because a dog or cat is in good health and has a good temperament does not mean he will not be euthanized.
And because there are no health standards, the shelter is often forced to euthanize pets in order to protect the health and safety of the general animal population. Some diseases, for example, are very treatable for a pet in a home environment. However, in a shelter setting certain diseases can rapidly spread to other animals and even the volunteers.
You’ll find this type of shelter in almost every city because there has to be a place where people can take stray, unwanted and abandoned animals. One of the ways you can help the situation where you live is to adopt a pet from a kill shelter. In so doing, you’re creating space for more animals.
Because of the frequent deaths of animals, these shelters can be a very sad place to be. This often leads to the shelters becoming understaffed and constantly in search of more volunteers and more resources.
You’ll find this type of shelter in almost every city because there has to be a place where people can take stray, unwanted and abandoned animals. One of the ways you can help the situation where you live is to adopt a pet from a kill shelter. In so doing, you’re creating space for more animals.
Because of the frequent deaths of animals, these shelters can be a very sad place to be. This often leads to the shelters becoming understaffed and constantly in search of more volunteers and more resources.
VOCAL’s goal is to make Marion County a no-kill county. If you are passionate about reaching this goal, please volunteer with us!
STAY IN THE KNOW
Sign Up for Our Newsletter