Updated (July 15, 2010)
Further Updated (July 16, 2010)
Less than a month after the ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance succeeded in killing Oreo’s Law, New York City Animal Care & Control (ACC) has announced that it will not allow any new rescue groups to save the lives of animals until a new rescue policy is finalized at the end of August. Oreo’s Law sought to make such conduct illegal. According to rescue groups in New York City, the city pound “has suspended all new rescues that were recently approved.” These allegations were confirmed by e-mails obtained from ACC’s rescue coordinator.
The refusal to work with these groups is already costing the animals their lives. While groups like the ASPCA and Mayor’s Alliance claim that New York City is saving all healthy animals, the pound has contradicted those false assertions, killing hundreds in the process while stating “an overpopulation of adoptable animals requires us to humanely euthanize animals,” even as they are turning away rescue groups for the next two months.
On top of that, the pound has decided to renovate their kennels during the busiest time of year, cutting capacity, resulting in even more deaths. According to a July 1 e-mail obtained from ACC’s rescue coordinator:
The contractors are going to start work shortly on the final phase on the project, which involves replacing the floors in a significant portion of the building. We are excited for the many improvements that help make the shelter a better place, although the final phases of construction will pose challenges in addition those normally brought on by kitten season. Work on the floors is set to start Tuesday July 6th, and will be done in phases that have been carefully considered to have the least impact on our operations as possible. However, we will have to make adjustments for housing the dogs and cats and our housing capacity will be temporarily reduced until the project is complete. The work plan will initially impact our dog housing capacity, following by cat housing capacity, until the project is finished:
And it gets worse. In addition to claiming they do not have enough food to feed the animals right down the street from the nation’s wealthiest SPCA (the ASPCA takes in over $120,000,000 per year), the shelter is withholding pain medications from injured animals.
An e-mail obtained from ACC’s rescue coordinator says the above cat is in pain from an injury, but there are “No pain meds available to give the cat.” If rescue groups do not act within one day, the cat will be killed.
New York City is killing healthy animals, turning away rescue groups, running out of food to feed the animals, refusing to give pain medications to injured animals, and is doing construction during the height of the busy summer season, causing them to kill even more.
This is the model program touted by the Mayor’s Alliance, which will be featured at the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Conference in Las Vegas this October by Jane Hoffman. This is the model program that Laura Allen of the Animal Law Coalition said NYS should follow in her opposition to Oreo’s Law.
Thanks to the ASPCA, Mayor’s Alliance, and Animal Law Coalition, New York City’s regressive pound has a license to turn away rescue groups and kill the animals they are willing to save. And thanks to Best Friends, Alley Cat Allies, and others who refused to support Oreo’s Law in deference to their relationships with these groups, that license is not being revoked anytime soon.
July15 update: It gets worse. I’ve been forwarded e-mails involving staff at CACC that confirm additional problems: cats and kittens in the “maternity wards” left without food or water, volunteers terminated for speaking out, animals wallowing in their own waste, lack of socialization, and sick animals getting substandard care. Where are the millions of dollars that the ASPCA and Mayor’s Alliance have raised for a “No Kill NYC” gone? And why aren’t Sayres and Hoffman speaking out in defense of the animals?
Further Update: Three kittens are scheduled to be killed in NYC at the city pound for being underweight and dehydrated. And they came from the ASPCA. An e-mail alert from CACC to rescue groups shows three kittens who are underweight, covered with fleas, and dehydrated. Despite taking in over $120,000,000 a year from unsuspecting donors who think the ASPCA will always come to the defense of animals in need, the fact that they sent these kittens to a high kill shelter shows where their priorities really lie. Because the pound kills even healthy animals, it will not invest care to save these kittens. Consequently, they have asked the rescue community to save them–the very same rescue community the ASPCA accuses of being hoarders in disguise that cannot be trusted, their basis for opposing Oreo’s Law. If rescue groups do not come forward today, these kittens will be put to death tomorrow. Jane Hoffman at the Mayor’s Alliance remains silent about it.
While the ASPCA & Mayor’s Alliance hoard their millions, four 5-week old kittens will be put to death tomorrow if rescue groups don’t pick up their slack.
Further Update (July 16): Despite animals sitting in their own waste, mothers and neonatals without food or water, ACC has shut down the program to new volunteers for the summer. It is not accepting new applications until September!
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