The Philadelphia Story

From The Philadelphia Shelters:

In December we reached a tremendous milestone of saving more than half of the entire number of animals that entered our facility. In all of its history, PACCA has never achieved that level of life saving and we could not have reached it without your help. You have accepted the healthy, the ill, the old, the injured and the newborn, truly lives that were saved because you were there.

Even more amazing than this, in a facility that accepted 756 cats in the month of January, we did not kill a single cat simply because there was no space. Once again that is a milestone that had never before been achieved.

Among the exciting signs of changing times:

  • There is no longer a need for a dedicated euthanasia room. It is now used primary for medical care and treatment.
  • There is no longer a need for dedicated euthanasia technicians.

These positions have been eliminated. Veterinary technicians primarily care for sick and injured animals, and do euthanasia as needed.

  • For the first time in its history, the agency did not order a euthanasia solution for over an entire month.

The Philadelphia claim of a radical change in euthanasia figures do not add up. In December they had a 50% kill rate, but some month soonafter, they had a month without any killing?

Does that mean Philadelphia went from 50% kill in December to 0% kill in January, February or March? If they did, they could call themselves no kill now and they don't.

756 cats were brought in January, but not one was killed for lack of space. But, how many were killed for all the other reasons, such as being feral or an owner turn-in? Of the 756 brought in, how many were dead by the end of the month? We don't know; they didn't say.

What about the ferals? How many came in? What did they do with them? Were they all adopted or did they have excess capacity from December, when they killed 50%? Did they release them from where they came, or are they still holding onto them until the killing starts in May?

How would ADLLA react to an organization that has a 50% kill rate sometimes, and 0% at others, without any public statistics and a policy where they can kill stray or owner turn-ins immediately at their sole discretion?

I do note that to go from an 87% kill rate down to 50% is a dramatic drop of 43%. But LAAS has had a 39% drop. What is 4% among friends?

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