Ingrid Newkirk's Blog
March 31, 2009
Why We Euthanize
In my first year working at a grossly substandard animal shelter in Maryland, I forced myself to go in early to euthanize dogs by holding them in my arms and gently helping them escape an uncaring world without trauma or pain and to spare them from being stabbed haphazardly, while they were fully conscious, terrified and aware, in the general vicinity of their hearts with needles blunt from reuse and left to thrash on the floor until they finally died by the callous people who would arrive later to do the job.
I always wonder how anyone cannot recognize that there is a world of difference between painlessly euthanizing animals out of compassion, aged, injured, sick, and dying animals whose guardians can't afford euthanasia, for instance, as PETA does, and causing them to suffer terror, pain, and a prolonged death while struggling to survive on the streets, at the hands of untrained and uncaring "technicians," or animal abusers.
It's easy to point the finger at those who are forced to do the "dirty work" caused by a throwaway society's casual acquisition and breeding of dogs and cats who end up homeless and unwanted, but at PETA, we will never turn our backs on neglected, unloved, and homeless animals, even if the best we can offer them is a painless release from a world that doesn't have enough heart or homes with room for them. It makes it easy for people to throw stones at us, but we are against all needless killing: for hamburgers, fur collars, dissection, sport hunting, the works. PETA handled far more animals than 2,124 in 2008. In fact, we took in more than 10,000 dogs and cats and work very hard to persuade people to spay and neuter their animals and to commit to a lifetime of care and respect for them. We go so far as to transport animals to and from our spay/neuter clinics, where they are spayed or neutered and given vet care, often for free! Since 2001, PETA's low to no cost spay and neuter mobile clinics, SNIP and ABC, have sterilized more than 50,000 animals, preventing hundreds of thousands of animals from being born, neglected, abandoned, abused, or euthanized when no one wanted them. And on a national level, PETA is focusing on the root of the problem through our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign.
If anyone has a good home, love, and respect to offer, we beg them: Go to a shelter and take one or two animals home. The problem is that few people do that, choosing instead to go to a breeder or a pet shop and not "fixing" their dogs and cats, which contributes to the high euthanasia rate that animal shelters face. Most of the animals we took in and euthanized could hardly be called "pets," as they had spent their lives chained up in the back yard, for instance. They were unsocialized, never having been inside a building of any kind or known a pat on the head. Others were indeed someone's, but they were aged, sick, injured, dying, too aggressive to place, and the like, and PETA offered them a painless release from suffering, with no charge to their owners or custodians.
Every day, PETA's fieldworkers help abused and neglected dogs, many of them pit bulls nowadays and many of them forced to live their lives on chains heavy enough to tow an 18-wheeler, by providing them with food; clean water; lightweight tie-outs; deworming medicine; flea, tick, and fly-strike prevention; free veterinary care; sturdy wooden doghouses stuffed with straw bedding; and love.
What we see is enough to make you lose faith in humanity. One pit bull we gained custody of, named Asia, looked like a skeleton covered with skin when PETA released her from the 15-pound chain she had been kept on for years. Asia suffered from three painful and deadly intestinal obstructions, which prevented her from keeping any food down. She faced an agonizing, lingering death, so our veterinarian recommended euthanasia to end her suffering. We pursued criminal charges against those responsible for her condition, leading to their conviction for cruelty to animals. That is just one of the dozens of cases we see every week.
The majority of adoptable dogs are never brought through our doors (we refer them to local adoption groups and walk-in animal shelters). Most of the animals we house, rescue, find homes for, or put out of their misery come from miserable conditions, which often lead to successful prosecution and the banning of animal abusers from ever owning or abusing animals again.
As long as animals are still purposely bred and people aren't spaying and neutering their companions, open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA must do society's dirty work. Euthanasia is not a solution to overpopulation but rather a tragic necessity given the present crisis. PETA is proud to be a "shelter of last resort," where animals who have no place to go or who are unwanted or suffering are welcomed with love and open arms.
Please, if you care about animals, help prevent more of them from being born only to end up chained and left to waste away in people's back yards, suffering on mean streets where people kick at them or shoo them away like garbage, tortured at the hands of animal abusers, or, alas, euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a good home. If you want to save lives, always have your animals spayed or neutered.
Posted to Tags: euthanasia animal abuse abc adoption shelter animals
Comments
michael abbott says …
April 4, 2009 06:44 PM
Hello!
Please help me, Ingrid
http://www.citizentribune.com/news/view_sections.asp?idcategory=67&idarticle=11859
I saw this article yesterday from my hometown newspaper in Morristown, Tennessee. It was especially alarming to me given my recent experience with an abandoned pet that had been dumped by it's owner in a plastic bag on the streets of New York City. We have to acknowledge that with the current state of the economy, many pet owners are going to choose to give up their pets. Without the aid of a humane society, these pets are being dumped, literally, on the street.
Can you please help me get the word out about this situation? Do you have ideas or suggestions for me where I might go for assistance? I have been in touch with the directors and have pledged to help bring acknowledgement to the issue. I started a Facebook page to get the information out there along with contact information where contributions can be sent: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=68332384339&ref=mf
It's all a little overwhelming to me, but what keeps me going is the thought of what will happen to the pets if the Jefferson/Grainger County Humane Societies are forced to close down. I am currently brainstorming ideas for a fundraising event (talent show or "local idol" type event) in my hometown using what little resources I have to help raise some funds. The bottom line is that these pets are running out of time.
These articles also by Mike Williams of the Citizen Tribune may be of interest to you as well:
Left behind
Families lose homes & abandon pets
http://lwpolive.citizentribune.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TUNULzIwMDgvMDQvMDkjQXIwMDEwMg==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
Starving dogs rescued
Humane Society finds severely abused dogs
http://lwpolive.citizentribune.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TUNULzIwMDgvMDQvMjQjQXIwMDEwNA==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
Horse sense?
Man accused of starving horses faces misdemeanor charges
http://lwpolive.citizentribune.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TUNULzIwMDkvMDIvMDYjQXIwMDEwMw==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
Your kindness is MUCH appreciated.
Thank you.
Michael Abbott
itsmykabit@gmail.com
karen lyons kalmenson says …
April 11, 2009 01:20 PM
there is "his story, her story" and it is up to those of us who are capable of reason, to discern the truth.
there is no room for judgement on such a complex issue as euthanasia.
you do what you think is right.
brianna montou says …
June 26, 2009 01:36 PM
people who abuse animals should payed for it if you don't like animals don't put them threw all of that please give them to a shelter please don't make them suffer anymore thanks you.
Mia Gianecchini says …
July 10, 2009 04:06 PM
Hello Ingrid,
I wonder if you still run this site http://namethatdriver.com/index.asp
If you do, I should be very thankful if you could add Jaime Alguersuari ( new driver in Formula 1, I think it was Toro Rosso or Red Bull Racing Team )
Thanks in advice.
All the best,
Mia
Ingrid says …
July 13, 2009 08:59 AM
Mia,
Absolutely, we will be doing that shortly, and please look for many other drivers' names to go up in the next week!
kim says …
December 16, 2009 09:10 PM
i think any one who abuses any type of animal no matter what the situation is should have to pay the consiquences because that truely is cruel abd anyone that can hurt an animal with little remorse they make me sick.People are so cruel in the world today.What people do to animals today is wrong!!!!
broooke says …
December 18, 2009 11:58 PM
omg!!! howw caan somebody do that to animalss thats soo sick,i feel sooo bad!!! hopefully who ever saved theem got a reward! (:
Chloe' says …
December 22, 2009 03:02 AM
It's hard to believe that anyone could possibly find the nerve or heart to abuse animals such as these; people are too cruel and don't realize the pain that they are putting these poor creatures through. I recently did a report on animal abuse in the U.S. and found that 6 states actually consider animal abuse not to be a felony. Even thought the fine's were quite pricey doesn't mean a lesson will be learned; I feel the people who actually go to jail and prison for it are the one's who get the idea of how wrong it is. Me being an animal lover and owner of 5 pets can see how wrong animal abuse truly is. An animals life is just as valuable as a humans and with this said, I feel that killing or abusing an animal should be charged the same as if a human were abused or murdered. Animal abusers need more than just a slap on the wrist for taking a life.
I hope for the best for all of the animals that PETA has been able to rescue. Thank you for all that you have done.
Devin Lee says …
February 5, 2010 11:05 AM
OMG!!! I am a all time animal lover how can anyone ever do this, they should be ashamed of themselves thats so cruel........Even though I'm only 13 years old i have always wanted to be a vet since I was 3 and I've kept that all along.. Right now I have 2 dogs 13 cattle and 1 donkey and I love them very dearly they are my best friends and I can't imagine how anyone could do this for fun. ANIMAL LOVER IN TEXAS!!!!
misty nicole;) says …
February 23, 2010 12:29 PM
pleas stop herting these animals its not like they smashed your face in stop herting them i love animals
-misty nicole-
breana says …
November 7, 2010 12:44 AM
how in the world can people do this to there animals i mean come on you have to be one sick person to do this. what did they ever do to you. put your self in there paws. you know you wouldn't like it so stop beating them and neglecting them. if you hurt them because your pissed then get angermangment class. i have three dogs and a kitten and yeah sometimes they piss me off but i dont hurt them i still love them and i care for them i havent once beaten my animals and i NEVER will. if your an animal killer or beater and if you neglect your animals all i have to say to you is GET A LIFE AND LEAVE THESE POUR ANIMALS ALONE
Shocked says …
March 22, 2011 11:02 PM
Oh my gosh, those photographs are heart breaking. It would be helpful to have captions explaining what happened under each photo. What, pray tell, is the brown dog at the bottom afflicted with? It looks like a cross between a gunshot wound and a serious burn. I hope the poor guy was put to rest.
Katy says …
December 9, 2011 03:37 PM
Anyone who loves animals (should) know some of the horrible things that happen to the unfortunate masses. I don't believe those who have to put down animals want to kill man's best friend. I believe it is heartbreaking and those in that role have to accept that ending the suffering is the best. The humans are to blame and adoption is great, but irresponsible breeding is the real problem in my opinion. This is all a tragedy.
Iona says …
March 7, 2012 01:17 PM
I agree that there should never be senseless killing. I am, however, in favor of hamburger, or any other meat, poultry, or fish. Vegetables are also alive. Some plants respond to music, touch, light, dark, etc. It is always a matter of what we personally allow or do not allow. I suppose there are those who condemn the Eskimos for the fur they wear to keep warm. So I do not condemn anyone who eats meat, wears fur, etc. etc. I agree that killing animals should never be to cause pain to the animal, whether it be from people who would put them to death for health reasons, or for food consumption. Everything has life that is alive, including bugs, etc, etc. So I applaud Peta's treatment of animals, I do no agree with their private philosophy of whether people have the right to wear fur or eat the meat of animals. Your ethics are just that... your ethics. And I have seen Peta's many unethical treatment of humans.