by Sue Bell, Executive Director

This week’s fierce debate over the passage of SB1381 and the smack down of PETA’s extreme euthanasia activities has brought a lot of discourse with varying opinions about what is right and what is wrong. In many debates, it seems that people tend to fall on one extreme side or the other – we must save every animal at any cost vs. we must euthanize every animal at any cost. I believe that most of us reasonable animal advocates actually fall in the middle. But it’s easy to see how people get caught up in extremism when debating the fate of the most vulnerable and mistreated members of our society.

The No-Kill Movement has been embraced by individuals, shelters and rescues across America. Its goal is laudable and its very name has gotten animal lovers looking at the decisions we make on behalf of animals, debating those decisions and in most cases, committing to finding ways for us to euthanize fewer companion animals.

In the middle of the No-Kill bell curve are the animal advocates who work tirelessly to care for and rehabilitate America’s unwanted animals, maintaining steadfast focus on the animals’ well-being not only in the future but also in the present. These people recognize that every animal cannot be saved and should not be saved. They fully grasp that there are fates more inhumane than death. They recognize that the number of discarded animals remains too great to achieve true no-kill status in their shelters and larger communities. They live with underfunded budgets, elected officials who don’t care and communities who are more the problem than the solution. But they work towards getting there by implementing progressive programs and practices including spay/neuter programs, TNR, educational outreach and offer financial assistance to low-income pet owners. They endure public backlash when they euthanize animals. They are called “animal killers” and worse. They live in fear of being fully transparent because their honesty about the reality they face every day is used against them. And yet they keep going, committed to reaching the commendable goal of euthanizing no adoptable animal. They are the heroes among us.

As with almost any movement, there are extremist views that have tainted the original intentions. The outliers. First there are the No-Kill extremists who believe that no animal, for any reason should be euthanized. They believe that death is the absolute worst outcome and should be prevented at all costs. This extreme view has resulted in countless animals being warehoused, living lives in cages or kennels – both indoor and outdoor, suffering daily from a lack of social interaction, exercise and joy. They are hidden in the backs of shelters “off view” or are released to sanctuaries. They too fear being fully transparent about their actions. These animals live like this for years. They grow depressed, they become aggressive, they are forgotten. But they are ALIVE. And to some, that is all that matters. Thankfully, these people are in the minority and the vast majority out there neither condones nor partakes of these practices.

On the complete other side there are groups, namely PETA, who have taken the opposing view of the No-Kill extremists and believe that our companion animals, no matter what their environment and level of care, are simple hostages to human interests and better off dead. They espouse the All-Kill approach. They euthanize healthy, adoptable animals surrendered by the public or that they have rounded up as strays in or local communities. They are not transparent about their practices, which ultimately did them in, the passage of SB 1381 being proof. And as do the No-Kill extremists, they sleep well at the end of the day feeling certain they ended or prevented the suffering of animals. Yes, the two groups who have complete opposing views on the best outcome for our companion animals sleep well at night, certain that their No-Kill/All-Kill approach is the best.

One only has to experience seeing an animal in a shelter or sanctuary who has been warehoused for months or years on end, lunging, barking, circling obsessively, and begging for attention to know that the No-Kill extremists’ approach results in a fate far worse than death for too many animals. On the other side, the All-Kill approach and recent case of Maya, the dog who was stolen by PETA officials from the front porch of her owner Wilber Cerate and then illegally euthanized, is equally as heartbreaking and wrong. Maya was not freed from being tethered in extreme temperatures or rescued from being abused, tortured or warehoused. She was simply sitting on her owner’s front porch and then lured to a van by extremists who killed her. Additionally, one can’t help but have compassion for the thousands of people who surrendered their animals to PETA assuming the animals were in good hands and likely to find new homes, only be euthanized immediately.

If the last week has done anything for animal advocates, it should be to encourage us all to take a deep breath and hit the re-set button. Extreme views rarely prevail, but they do cause harm and needlessly delay common sense solutions to difficult issues. The result is that the very beings we are working so hard to help end up suffering harder and longer. Oh, the irony.

Let us stop and remember why each of us got involved in animal welfare. Let us remember that we ultimately all want to stop cruelty and abuse. We want to see fewer animals die needlessly. It may be that we want to see fewer animals born. It may be that we want to see fewer animals killed. It may be that we never agree completely on the best tactics. But what I know for sure is that when we calm down and take a moment to actually talk to each other, sharing and reminding ourselves of our mutual interests as well as our differing perspectives, we might just have the chance to find a small bit of common ground that we can use for the collective good.

And when and if that happens, we animal advocates will be a powerful, unstoppable force that will change the world for the better.