GUEST COMMENTARY

VAN DEMARS

Euthanasia a hot topic? Ask any animal welfare or protection agency and they will tell you that’s it’s the only topic. There is no subject that can ignite debate and an explosive confrontation of emotion and anger than the death of innocent animals.

Euthanasia is the legal and humane procedure for ending the life of an animal. There are many sub-component arguments of the euthanasia debate, such as “feral cats,” “no-kill versus open-admittance,” “TNR (trap, neuter and return),” “Pit Bulls,” “overpopulation,” etc., but in the end, it all comes down to euthanasia.

Even though we generally understand the unfortunate need and reality of euthanasia, we as human beings, were not designed to be able to accept the killing of innocent animals, especially puppies and kittens. It is the ultimate conflict between our souls and the sad reality of an overpopulation crisis in dogs and cats.

Indian River County is no exception to these problems, but you may have thought it was, because there has only been one animal shelter in Indian River County and that is the Humane Society of Vero Beach. Many have argued that the “truth” of our county animals’ fate has been hidden behind the Humane Society’s fences and their strictly controlled communication policies. Not until recently has there been a structured debate and an organized move towards change, by the releasing of public documents of the Humane Society’s euthanasia rates.

The argument and discussion seems to have cemented itself as “no kill” versus “open admittance,” and that has not helped matters any, because these two terms are nothing more than solidified fighting positions, with no room for compromise. The solution to this debate lies in the middle ground. It is the middle ground that contains the elements of compromise and cooperation that are critical to our society beginning to respond as a team to deal with its problems.

Why are these somewhat simple ideas so difficult to achieve? Many reasons; as individual non-profit organizations, there is a constant battle for the limited funds of donors, in a still struggling society. Mutual cooperation is not the most popular idea when business development strategists sit down to plan. The ultimate goal of any non-profit charity should be to put itself out of business. But, the bigger the organizations get and the more their dependency to self-sustain becomes, the more they deviate from their core missions. Their mission then becomes to continue to survive to support their existence, not their actual purpose. It is often speculated among our country’s financial scholars, that if we discovered the cure to Cancer, the American economy would suddenly collapse.

What is “no kill” and does it really exist? I do not believe it does. Somebody somewhere is going to have to “kill” animals. Both no-kill and open admittance shelters can and should exist in all communities. It is the best case scenario for the animals and residents. An open admittance shelter is a necessity in a community, but a no-kill shelter, or multiple no-kill shelters in the same community is a luxury. These “luxuries” when in balance and in cooperation with the open admittance shelter can make the difference of change. This is the middle ground we so desperately seek and need.

Until both sides of this debate cease to demonize each other, and fail to recognize and acknowledge each other’s worth to the other’s mission, then more animals will continue to die and will continue to reproduce.

The Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County holds the most powerful tool in their possession. They hold the actual statistics and the means by which to change them. Without the brutal truth, in all its ugliness, the residents and taxpayers of Indian River County, cannot fully grasp and understand the severity of the problem and take action to begin to solve it.

In a recent article in InsideVero, Humane Society Executive Director, Chalmers Morse is quoted as saying their euthanasia rate is “less than 19%” after certain categories are subtracted. The quote of “less than 19%” is an extremely inaccurate number, which is solely derived from the Humane Society’s arbitrary and unfair exclusion of certain categories, such as “feral cats.” According to the Humane Society’s quoted statistics in the Inside Vero article, they have deducted another 19% for “feral cats” and arbitrarily decided that they do not count. Where would that legal and moral authority to make such of decision come from? Certainly not from the citizens and taxpayers of Indian River County.

Neither the State of Florida, nor Indian River County, nor the City of Vero Beach differentiate “feral cats” from any other cats. The term “feral cats” does not exist in State Statute, nor our County and City Ordinances. The only term legally used to describe and designate cats is “domestic cats.” There is no specialized training for Humane Society employees to legally determine if a domestic cat is “feral” or not. The designation and categorization of kittens from “feral” mother cats, as “feral” is a major point of debate and contention among Animal Rescue Groups. The arbitrary exclusion of a large percentage of cats from the euthanasia totals is inconsistent with the actual statistics of euthanasia in our county.

Until factual and truthful numbers are put before the residents and lawmakers of Indian River County, we all do a disservice to the thousands of innocent animals that are dying in our county each year.

Editor’s note: Van DeMars is the Co-Founder and President of the SPCA of Indian River County and the Organizer and Chairman of the Animal Protection Coalition of Indian River County. He previously served as the Assistant Director of the Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County in 2006/2007.