Mayor and Council
October 1, 2007

I wish to praise Council for responding to the needs of the animals and residents.

The Animal Rights Coalition has been tracking animal control statistics in the Lower Mainland for ten years. New Westminster does not have a problem with pet overpopulation. It costs nothing to be a No Kill pound. But it does take will and leadership to happen.

“Save Our Strays’ and “Redemption- The Myth of Pet Overpopulation…’ are books showing how to establish a No Kill shelter and document how punitive legislation does not work, costs more and ends up killing people’s pets; turning the community against the Pound. Edmonton is an example of this. In 2002 when they first passed the cat licensing bylaws they took in 3812 cats and killed 1434, by the end of 2007 they project to have taken in 4839 cats and killed 1718. Their Pound budget has also increased along with their killing rates with the adoption of these punitive bylaws.

Adopting more animal bylaws with the intention of enforcement requires an increase immediately in the New Westminster Pound budget for staff and the handling more unclaimed animals.

Lower income households will be penalized by the Pound ultimately killing their pets. The healthy and well cared for strays looked after by members of this community will be killed by the Pound.

The latest available statistics I have are from 2005: the New Westminster Pound was handling only 119 cats and 147 dogs per year. Less than one dog every other day and only one cat every three days and the Pound still kills unnecessarily .

There are only 6 dogs and approximately 12 cats in the Pound today. To legislate a volunteer program will at this point frighten staff that their jobs will be taken. It will also exhaust the few dogs available if everyone wants to walk them!

I personally have handled between 350 – 500 cats a year and never had to kill an animal except for reasons of mercy – to end physical suffering for which there was no cure or remedy– but never for behaviour, illness- incurable or otherwise, age, appearance or space. There are other volunteers handling similar numbers with the same no kill history as mine.

If Council passes a No Kill bylaw without having the support of Pound staff and management, and no spay/neuter affordable program, and also expects compulsory spay/neutering and cat licensing to be enforced - more animals will be killed, sabotaging No Kill. Neither Coquitlam or Delta enforce their spay/neuter bylaws.

Instead Council could ask for a report from an independent consultant with input from staff and management, rescue groups and concerned citizens with the intent of setting up a no kill Pound, spay/neuter and volunteer programs and review existing animal bylaws.

Why not examine operating the Pound from a store front? It would be accessible, cost the same and people will love it. It could have educational programs for schools and the general public, sell dog licenses, cat ID collars, adopt out animals, collect donations for veterinary care, etc.

Tonight, if you really want a No Kill Pound then pass a moratorium on all animal killing except for unremediable suffering or hopeless illness and then killed for reasons of mercy and only by a veterinarian.

Thank you

Donna Liberson
Animal Rights Coalition