Save An Animal president Lorraine Askam and vice president Pamela Miedtke-Wolf intend to make Maui a No Kill community. If larger cities such as San Francisco, Calif. and Reno, Nev. have already implemented No Kill policies, and more than 90 shelters in the U.S. have also committed to this policy, why shouldn’t Maui be next? Acting as a partnership between dedicated individuals and animal welfare groups like Feral Cats Maui, Maui Pitbull Rescue, East Maui Animal Refuge and Valley Isle Animal Rescue everyone can play an important role in this initiative.
No Kill’s missions is to promote a philosophy of minimal euthanization, and then only in extreme circumstances. The no-kill model seeks to give every healthy and treatable animal a real chance at life by employing an open-door policy at animal shelters so all animals are admitted. While no shelter wants to kill animals, approximately 50 percent of animals brought in are saved. A No Kill philosophy means giving a chance at life to elderly or disfigured animals, ferals and those in need of special attention, rehabilitation or medication, which are often listed as “unadoptable” by most shelters.
On their website, Save An Animal details a few ways Maui shelters and residents can start to move toward this goal. The list includes things like developing better adoption programs, encouraging pet retention among owners, getting more volunteers, providing free or low-cost spaying and neutering and supporting TNR programs. Programs like TNR (trap, neuter, return) offer an alternative and humane solution to dealing with feral cats and their over-population on the island. Often these cats are domesticated pets who have been abandoned without being neutered, which leads to breeding, a problem that can be contained by diligent TNR programs.
To find out more about the No Kill Maui initiative or to find out how you can help, visit SaveAnAnimal.org.
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