No Kill Huntsville is a coalition of local animal welfare advocates, rescuers and shelter directors who came together in January of 2012 to speak with one voice to seek better for our community. Our goal was to make ours a No Kill Community; a geographic hub where healthy and treatable animals are not destroyed in our municipal shelter using our tax dollars and resources because there are proven ways to save them. There are hundreds of no kill communities across the country where the lives of shelter animals are saved while still ensuring public safety and fiscal responsibility.
The phrase "No Kill" does not mean that animals do not die in the shelter. It is in keeping with use of the word "euthanasia" for the intended purpose. No kill means the shelter does not kill healthy and treatable animals.
The phrase "No Kill" does not mean that animals do not die in the shelter. It is in keeping with use of the word "euthanasia" for the intended purpose. No kill means the shelter does not kill healthy and treatable animals.
We track statistics and analyze reports created by the shelter as a means of monitoring progress. When we began our advocacy in 2012, the live release rate at the shelter was 35%. Almost 90% of the animals whose lives were ended were healthy and treatable. As a result of our advocacy, public pressure and municipal leadership, the rate began to rise drastically in 2014 and first hit the 90% mark for both dogs and cats in 2016. By the end of 2021, the live release rate for dogs and cats was 94% for dogs and 96% for cats. Our focus has always been on the city keeping healthy and treatable animals alive with the statistics being used as a tool to track trends.
The progress achieved by the city proved to be unsustainable. The live release rate at HAS in 2024 was lower than it was in 2015. In 2024, the live release rate for dogs was 80% and it was 93% for cats (as compared to 87% for dogs and 95% for cats in 2015). It is our position that the inability to sustain progress is the result of the city's failure to fully implement the programs and services of the No Kill Equation about which city officials have known since at least 2009. We are hopeful that the new director of Huntsville Animal Services - John Fischer - will more fully implement the programs of the Equation to help reduce shelter intake, shorten the length of stay for animals, help the public make better choices and focus on public safety. Our requests regarding the Equation are found here.
We are promoting the Huntsville Animal Protection Act which is an ordinance to codify more standards for Huntsville Animals Services than already exist in the city code. The HAPA would help preserve the legacy of the city and could lead to a decline in the number of dogs destroyed for behavior through use of standards and protocols so that only those dogs who are genuinely dangerous are destroyed as opposed to dogs who are just scared.
The progress achieved by the city proved to be unsustainable. The live release rate at HAS in 2024 was lower than it was in 2015. In 2024, the live release rate for dogs was 80% and it was 93% for cats (as compared to 87% for dogs and 95% for cats in 2015). It is our position that the inability to sustain progress is the result of the city's failure to fully implement the programs and services of the No Kill Equation about which city officials have known since at least 2009. We are hopeful that the new director of Huntsville Animal Services - John Fischer - will more fully implement the programs of the Equation to help reduce shelter intake, shorten the length of stay for animals, help the public make better choices and focus on public safety. Our requests regarding the Equation are found here.
We are promoting the Huntsville Animal Protection Act which is an ordinance to codify more standards for Huntsville Animals Services than already exist in the city code. The HAPA would help preserve the legacy of the city and could lead to a decline in the number of dogs destroyed for behavior through use of standards and protocols so that only those dogs who are genuinely dangerous are destroyed as opposed to dogs who are just scared.
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