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Back to Home >  Local & Regional > | Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Pennsylvania | |

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| Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005

Expert envisions 'no kill' shelters in Philadelphia

By Frederick Cusick

Inquirer Staff Writer

A national expert on the humane treatment of animals told a town meeting in City Hall Friday that within a few years, Philadelphia could have a workable "no kill" program for abandoned dogs and cats, if the right steps were taken.

Nathan J. Winograd, head of No Kill Solutions, a San Diego firm brought in to survey the city's animal program after several Philadelphia Daily News stories criticized how it was being run by the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association (PACCA), said "no kill" programs had succeeded in San Francisco and in Tompkins County, N.Y.

"I believe it will work in Philadelphia, despite the skepticism," Winograd told about 200 officials and animal welfare activists.

"It takes a community, but all the love, compassion, is already here in Philadelphia," he said.

The city has a poor record of handling stray dogs and cats.

In 2003, PACCA euthanized about two-thirds of the 44,550 animals in its custody. Animal People, a newspaper that covers animal welfare, said that in 2002, Philadelphia killed about 18.4 animals per 1,000 in population. The national average was 17.4. In New York, which is in the process of implementing a "no kill" program, the figure was 2.7 animals per 1,000.

Winograd's firm is being paid $16,000 to study the city's programs and recommend changes. He is also expected to help find a new executive director for PACCA, which this week signed a memorandum of understanding with the city and the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals, a welfare group started last year.

In his talk, Winograd said a new policy should include several elements, among them:

A foster-care program for adoptable pets so that animal shelters will not be overrun and forced to kill animals, particularly during the peak kitten litter season in the spring.

A cheap spay and neutering program for city residents so that, among other things, poorer people can afford to have their animals neutered. Winograd said studies have shown that residents of wealthy areas were four times more likely to have their pets spayed or neutered than residents of poorer areas. He said that split could be overcome with a policy that makes spaying and neutering cheap and easy.

A comprehensive adoption program to put healthy strays into the hands of people who want them.

An aggressive feral cat control program. Winograd said such a program is crucial.

"No kill" does not mean that no cats or dogs will be killed. The goal is to save all healthy dogs and cats, and those dogs and cats whose problems are treatable.

Winograd said that when he ran the animal control program in Tompkins County, a rural New York area that includes Ithaca and Cornell University, the number of dogs and cats killed was reduced by 78 percent.

He said that if the same program existed throughout the United States, 4.1 million of the 5.0 million dogs and cats killed annually would have been saved.

Contact staff writer Frederick Cusick at 215-854-4449 or [email-masked].

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