Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Blame Game of No-Kill

In the past week, I've watched the no-kill movement blame everyone but themselves for animals that die every day in our shelters.  There have been articles and Facebook posts about the ASPCA, HSUS, PETA, Best Friends, and the never ending whining about the "trolls" and "sockpuppets" that disagree with their movement.  Now seriously, this is the movement that our Governor and legislators went to for the writing of our "shelter standards" law called CAPA.

ASPCA Claim - One Example

Clearly the movement has no grasp of reality.  For example, here was one of the statements against the ASPCA:
"One argument that people like to make is that organizations like the ASPCA use some of the money for its intended purpose. And with nearly $150,000,000 a year now in revenues, how can they not? But it is a question of potential: are they doing enough given their immense wealth? The answer is No. They could save 1/4th of all animals killed in U.S. shelters, rather than fewer than some rescue groups do." - Nathan Winograd's Facebook Page
So lets look at the costs per animal in Washoe County to test that theory.  Washoe County in Nevada is the community that Mr. Winograd uses in his Dollars & Sense - The Economic Benefits of No Kill Animal Control.  

Washoe (Reno) - $7,800,000 Budget / 15,000 animals = $520.00 (Washoe County / NHS)

Now let's look at how many animals the ASPCA could save at that same rate.

ASPCA - $150,000,000 Budget / $520 per animal like Washoe = 288,462 additional saved

Considering Mr. Winograd has in the past acknowledged that 4 million animals die in animal shelters each year, 1/4 of those animals would be 1 million.  He appears to be off by about 711,538 animals. This must be the "new math" of the No-Kill movement.

I'll even ignore the fact that the ASPCA already provides million in grants to shelters across the country.  So according to these calculations, an additional 288,462 would be saved, but 3,711,538 would still be dying.  So his desire for their $150 million in funding would amount to one of those tiny little band-aids you place on a pin prick.

In addition, this would take away the ability of the ASCPA to investigate cruelty cases, assist those animals seized in cruelty cases, provide disaster training and response, their equine fund, spay neuter services, or any of their other services.  So who in their right mind would want to take these services away from our animals, and if those services were no longer provided, the fact is donations would drop tremendously anyway.  So the logic is just ludicrous.

Delaware's Legislature Buys This?

What bothers me most is that our state leaders actually buy into this crazy logic with their continued support for CAPA.  I look forward to seeing the minutes for the upcoming Delaware Animal Welfare Task Force Meeting on November 15, since they will be discussing adding enforcement to this misguided legislation.  I'm just wondering how much more money our state can waste on investigations, bickering, and creating an environment that is harmful to our animals.  Maybe they should consider who responds to cruelty, hoarding, and disasters in our state, as well as representing our state assisting other states when they make their decision about CAPA.
“The Humane Society of the United States is thankful for the assistance of New Jersey SPCA and Kent County SPCA. With the help of our partners, our response to this disaster has resulted in the rescue of hundreds of animals in New York and New Jersey,” - The Paramus Post"  
What Does No-Kill Spend Their Money On?

Here is the Form 990 of the No-Kill Advocacy Center (Expenses $321,210).  Expenditures include $147,048 producing a movie to convince people that No-Kill works, $90,415 for their annual conference, $60,000 Salary, and $54,206 providing guidance and support with publications like Dollars & Sense discussed above.

Here is the Form 990 for No-Kill Nation (Expenses - $283,076).  Their notable expenses were $119,482 for Program Expenses which they list as conferences, $22,545 in advertising, and only $22,898 in awards and grants.

In fact there is even a new No-Kill fundraiser underway.  Is it to save those animals that they claim the other organizations neglect to?  Of course not!!!  The No-Kill movement is not about saving animals, it's about creating a brand identity, like the name sewn on someone's backside wearing those $500 jeans. So the movement needs funds to try to silence anyone that disagrees and speaks out about their tactics against organizations like PETA and HSUS.


These were my favorite statements from the site:
"In response to this — and other efforts to undermine the No Kill community — we have set up a fund to counteract slander and libel. This will be a sum of money, equally divided between No Kill Nation and the No Kill Advocacy Center.  It will be put towards efforts (already underway, and successful) to sue those who spread libelous disinformation about No Kill.
Mr. Cooper is donating all of the digital proceeds from three of his novels to No Kill, for at least the next six months. If you buy these novels, the proceeds will be automatically deposited in our bank account.  Alternately, you can leave a donation through PayPal, via the link at the bottom.
Hence, for as little as 99 cents, you can read a novel, and simultaneously contribute to No Kill’s Anti-Slander Fund." -  NoKillFund.com
At first I thought it was a joke, but when I checked the Whois record, the site is owned by No-Kill Nation.  What a shame that money that should be spent saving animal lives, is instead being spent on a website to promote a fiction author and threaten dissenters. 


As much as I have disagreed with the No-Kill Movement and their legislation CAPA, they really have sunk to new depths reminiscent of playground bullies. As we know, bullies never accept responsibility for their actions, and blame the world for their mistakes and failures.  I guess that's why No-Kill feels it's necessary to attack other organizations. It seems the No-Kill movement thinks that the world is picking on them, but that's not the case, we're just pointing out that their logic doesn't work.