More Killing in the Name of "Rescue"

Yeah, I know. This is supposed to be a dog blog, but sometimes a story comes along that’s just too important to ignore. Please bear with us.

It appears that killing in the name of “rescue” isn’t just for those lucky pit bulls anymore.  According to KSTP-TV:

Last Wednesday, the Humane Society wanted to show us the nearly 120 cats they saved from animal hoarders in St. Anthony.

Now 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned that same day—the shelter began putting them down, despite the plans they told us. They said they had little time to act.

Two local shelters—Animal Ark and Home for Life—state they reached out to the Humane Society in Golden Valley, willing to take in the cats, regardless their condition.

Kathie Johnson, director of animal service with the Humane Society, said it would take weeks to determine the cat’s health.

“We’re giving them time to settle down and we’re hoping after a few days, we can start fully evaluating them,” Johnson said on Feb. 11.

But now, the Humane Society said they were euthanized—not weeks later, not days later—but just hours later that same night.

The Golden Valley Animal Humane Society must be reading from the H$U$ playbook.  You know, the book that says that the key to a “successful” rescue is to:

• Show up for a high-profile seizure. Preferably this will involve a puppy or kitten mill or animal hoarder where large numbers of sad-looking animals can be shown being removed from dire conditions while your articulate, well-groomed spokesperson provides voice over commentary about how deeply your organization cares about animals.
• Take the animals back to your facility for more photo ops. Immediately update your website pleading for donations for the care of these “poor victims.”
• Don’t waste your time doing those messy and time-consuming temperament and health evaluations.  Just declare the whole bunch hopelessly damaged and say that their deaths were ”unavoidable.”
• Use the situation where you seized the victims as a springboard to advance laws that will restrict responsible small-scale breeders – while encouraging large-scale, industrial breeders. After all, it’s the PR you get from the large scale breeders and the pet stores they supply that helps keep you in business.

Mike Fry of the Animal Ark posted a scathing  prediction of the Humane Society’s actions titled “How to Make 100 Cats Disappear” — days before the mass killing was reported. It seems that this isn’t the first time that Golden Valley Animal Humane Society has been involved in this kind of “rescue” effort.

Given the conditions of the place they were confiscated from, I’m sure that some of the cats were beyond hope — but… I’m also convinced that some of the 118 animals could have been saved. And even if only a few of them could be saved — these animals deserved a better fate than a quick trip to the death room.

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