(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Dear Editor:

Animal shelters in Massachusetts are under intense pressure from a Utah-based group, Best Friends Animal Society, to achieve its dangerous and shortsighted fixation on making every shelter in the U.S. “no-kill” by 2025. This push may make for good marketing, but it ignores the reality of the animal overpopulation and homelessness crisis, and it fails animals and communities.

This group pressures and bullies shelters to implement reckless policies – including refusing entry to animals who have nowhere else to go and handing over vulnerable animals to anyone who will take them, even convicted abusers – just to increase “live release rates.”

These policies result in more suffering and deaths: Unsterilized animals who are rejected by shelters keep breeding, creating even more animals with nowhere to go. And countless animals refused by shelters die in agony on the streets of starvation, after being hit by cars or contracting diseases, or suffering other cruel fates. People in Florida, Texas, and Michigan have been fatally mauled by dogs after public animal shelters refused to accept them.

Shelters must put animals’ best interests first – not statistics – by keeping their doors open to all and thoroughly screening potential adopters to ensure that animals don’t end up neglected and abused. And communities must focus on stopping the animal homelessness crisis at its source, by passing and enforcing comprehensive spay/neuter legislation and offering low- and no-cost sterilization services.

Sincerely,

Teresa Chagrin
Animal Care and Control Issues Manager
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
TeresaC@peta.org