About 30,000 dogs and cats arrive annually at Miami-Dade’s Animal Services care center, where adoption applications are processed and the “no killing” policy of animals that could be adopted is defended.
In a sort of juggling between resources and thousands of dogs and cats admitted annually, the county department Animal Services, the main animal shelter in Miami-Dade, has a clear goal: to save as many pets as possible.
Alex Muñoz, who has been working in this area for 26 years, assumed in 2011 the position of director of the new shelter located in the municipality of Doral, which serves the entire county area with its more than 3 million inhabitants.
At 70,000 square feet and accommodating more than 400 dogs and about 160 cats, it is considered the largest climate-controlled shelter in the United States.
In fact, Miami-Dade County allocated $25 million this year for the maintenance of the county shelter and the implementation of programs that would be aimed at countering overcrowding in its shelter.
‘No-kill’
Mahatma Gandhi said that “a country, a civilization, can be judged by the way it treats its animals.” In the XXI century, the world deals with animal cruelty, laws and ways to improve the lives of dogs and cats, and Miami is no exception.
In 2012, Miami-Dade adopted a policy known as “no-kill,” or not euthanizing animals that could be adopted. According to the 2016 report, 90% of the animals admitted to the shelter came out alive. That means the vast majority were adopted or returned to their owners. This figure meets the parameters assigned to the reception center the qualification No-kill, awarded by the No Kill Advocacy Center.
From 2009 to 2017 there was an increase from 57 to 90% of dogs that come out alive, and as Muñoz said: “Not for lack of space, in the last two years only dangerous animals have been sacrificed, that were very sick or that suffered” some incurable condition. However, the shelter continues to face the challenge of at least maintaining those numbers.
“Every year we receive between 27,000 and 30,000 animals, which is more than 500 animals a week. Of these, we are saving 90%,” said the director.
Cruelty
Another scourge that threatens pets is cruelty. Although Florida statutes 828.12 and 828.13 prohibit acts of animal cruelty, with penalties of up to $5,000 and five years in prison, cases of inconceivable abuse continue to be reported.
“A lot of things happen out of ignorance, like leaving a dog tied up in the yard. And that’s illegal. You have to raise awareness,” Muñoz said, adding that if a police officer, even an ordinary citizen, “sees a dog tied up in a yard, he should report it,” to the county attention number 311 or to Animal Services at 305 468 5900.
Working on the roots
George T. Angell, a nineteenth-century American lawyer, commented: “Sometimes I am asked: Why do you spend all that time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to man? To which I reply: I’m working on the roots.”
Controversy and action
According to a report by the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), of some 6 million animals that arrive at shelters in the United States, about half are eliminated through euthanasia, which is applied with the injection of sodium pentobarbital.
With similar figures, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) points out that of 6.5 million animals (3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats), 3.2 million are adopted and about 710,000 are returned to their owners. About 1.5 million (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats) are euthanized.
PETA identifies three main causes of overcrowding: increased pet store shopping, low sterilization and licensing rates, and the number of people returning animals as a nuisance or too much work.
Source: https://www.diariolasamericas.com/
