Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
- What do you mean by "no kill"?
- So how can you stop killing animals?
- But there will be too many animals if there is no more killing!?
- This No Kill Equation is well and good, but who pays for all this?
- Sure, I would love for killing to stop, but I know animal welfare and it can't happen right now!?
- How long does it take to become a No Kill Community
"No-kill" is a term that describes the philosophy that it is not necessary to kill animals in shelters, except in very specific, infrequent situations. The decision to take an animal's life should not be automatic based simply on their time in the shelter or number of cages available. In a No Kill community, no healthy animal should ever be killed. Most of the excuses used for killing animals in shelters are not based on real science, but on persistent myths within the animal shelter establishment.
It does not mean that no animal will ever be killed in a shelter, but only when that animal fits very specific criteria that meets the definition of "euthanasia" -- to end irremediable suffering due to illness or injury, and for which the prognosis of recovery is poor (or worse). Animals that are truly vicious, and unsafe to the community would also be killed, but this determination is not done by a single test administered by a poorly-trained kennel worker. Any determination that would cost an animal it's life would require the utmost care and attention, and only after all options to save the life have been examined, and never the result of apathy or inflexible policies.
The Indy No Kill Initiative is a rallying point for individuals and organization who are interested in transforming Indianapolis into a city that does not need to rely on killing animals in shelters to solve their animal problems. There are several successful models of large cities that have done it, including San Francisco! It takes a lot of effort on the part of city leaders, animal welfare groups and the public -- no single group or organization can make this change happen alone. But if the desire is present to make the change, it will happen.
The short answer is that you commit to stopping the killing animals. It's a transformation of ideals, and a process, not a quick fix gimmick. Fortunately, the process has been pioneered and proven in other cities. Now it is documented by Nathan Winograd, the nation's most recognized name in no kill, in what he calls the No Kill Equation.
When the commitment is made to stop killing animals, the energy and creativity of the communities goes into making it work...finding any means possible to save a life. Taking an animals life is only done as a very last resort, and only on a small percentage of critically ill, injured or vicious animals.
The transformation into a No-Kill community involves a change in philosophy. Part of this change mandates that effort be directed to increase adoption of animals from shelters that would have killed, including off-site adoption, more public-friendly adoption hours and settings, more reliance on foster care and rescue groups. Shelter intake is reduced by promoting more low- or no-cost spay/neuter resources and providing resource to enable people to keep, rather than abandon or surrender animals.
Make no mistake -- this is not easy. It requires a lot of work from many individuals and organizations. It's a transformative process of ideas, thoughts, policies and systems within the animal welfare community.
Making a community into a No Kill community is no more costly than a killing community. Impounding, housing, killing and disposing of the bodies of animals isn't inexpensive. By IACC's own estimates, it costs $88 to impound, house and either place for adoption of kill a stray animal (no estimate is available for owner surrendered animals). Nationally, the average cost for the housing and killing is about $100 per animal.
Animal welfare in a large city like Indianapolis is composed of many facets. Because people have been desiring solutions for decades that allow animals to live, literally dozens of private animal welfare organizations have been created. Most people recognize the name of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, but don't realize there are many others who have been working very effectively to fill-in some very large gaps in the current animal welfare world. We maintain a list of organizations that play a role in the Indianapolis animal welfare world. These organizations already provide some essential pieces of the No Kill Equation. Our list is a partial list, as there are dozens of other organizations that fill very specialized niches too. An exhaustive list of Indiana animal welfare organizations can be found at the impressive Indiana-PAW Super Database.
Consider that the taxpayers of Indianapolis are already funding a very large system that handles and kills tens of thousands of animals per year. Why is it hard to imagine that the same effort and tax money could not simply fund a system that saves tens of thousands of animals per year?
Killing animals in shelters has been the standard for over 100 years now, and it's ingrained deeply in many people's minds, especially in animal welfare. Even though everyone loves the idea of a No Kill community, they find it incompatible with the way things work now. They're absolutely right! The reason No Kill can succeed is because many things will change for Indianapolis to become a No-Kill community!
Change is inherently worrisome to many people. Some people's jobs depend on the continuation of apathy and the killing of animals. While this may be surprising, institutional animal sheltering in many communities has almost nothing to do with animal welfare. Claiming that a "humane" death is better than being alive is an absurd argument.
The road to becoming a No Kill community isn't magic or junk science. It's been done successfully in various communities from the enormous San Francisco, to Reno, NV, to Tompkins Co, NY, to Charlottesville, VA...all very different, with different animal problems, but a single proven solution, the No Kill Equation!
The change in philosophy can happen virtually overnight, with compassionate, committed leaders in charge of the city's largest shelters. Most of the cities that have implemented the No Kill Equation have seen drastic drops in kill rates (50-70%) within the first year, and continued improvement in following years.
