Why The City Of Chicago Animal Care And Control Facility Should Not Be Made "No Kill"

This is in response to recent efforts to turn the City of Chicago public animal care and control facility into a "no kill" shelter. This is an idea that appeals to people's emotions, but if implemented, will cause a great deal of suffering besides being costly and impractical. I remember past efforts to lower euthanasia rates in which the animal care and control facility quickly became overcrowded, and dogs were doubled up in cages that were designed for only one, not two or more dogs. There was insufficient space to house the increased numbers of dog and cats, and insufficient manpower to properly care for them. Dogs and cats were covered with feces and urine, as were their cages. Many became sick and diseased. Eventually, the overcrowded, filthy facility had an outbreak of disease that necessitated many of of the animals in the shelter being euthanized. Until the facility was sanitized, animals were turned away. Dogs and cats already die by the thousands each year in Chicago because there are not enough animal control officers to remove them from the streets. Having dogs and cats already die on the streets out of sight, out of mind, and having dogs and cats in an overcrowded facility live in filth is certainly not humane. No kill is a feel good concept that ignores reality, and has already caused animals an enormous amount of suffering. If people truly care about animals, they should insist that the city has a sufficient number of animal control officers so that animals do not suffer on the streets. They should also insist that there is an appropriate and broad based police response to animal cruelty, not with an ineffective small token police team, and certainly not with highly ineffective humane investigators from private animal organizations. Finally, each animal that does find its way into the City of Chicago animal care and control facility should be guaranteed to not have to live in filthy, overcrowded conditions, which is what what happened before when the city tried to lower euthanasia rates by bowing to outside pressure. Unless the budget strapped city plans on vastly increasing the size of the animal care and control facility, and hiring far more staff than it presently has, no kill must not be implemented. There is an enormous amount of dog fighting and real cruelty that takes place in the City of Chicago, and that continues to be ignored or exploited. Humane euthanasia is an unfortunate reality, but it is not cruelty. How unfortunate that the so called "no kill" advocates latch on to the one issue of euthanasia, and disregard or exploit everything else. Every time the city bows to the so called "no kill" advocates, the city animal care and control facility becomes an overcrowded, disease ridden, filthy mess.