Found this very interesting piece at the Alley Cat Allies website (
http://www.alleycat.org):
Alley Cat Allies is committed to advocating for an end to the killing of cats, leading the movement for change, and protecting the rights of cats—and the people who care for them. Get informed about the issues impacting cats and what you can do to make a difference.
Lives Count, Secrets Kill
Animal pounds and shelters kill more cats entrusted to their custody than they save. But the killing usually happens in secret, away from the public eye. While some facilities keep track of their own numbers, few ever reveal them to the government, let alone the public.
As part of the Lives Count, Secrets Kill Campaign, Alley Cat Allies is urging state governments to pass laws requiring these facilities to keep track of every cat they take into custody—and to report to the public each and every fatality.
Citizens nationwide deserve to know the real fates of animals inside pounds and shelters. It’s time to bring the facts into the light—and stop the killing once and for all.
Illinois – Killing 60,000 Cats, Unable to Account for Thousands More
More than 60,000 cats were killed in Illinois animal pounds and shelters in 2006. That’s 5,000 cats killed every month, and 160 each day.
On top of that, these same facilities couldn’t account for over 17,000 cats. No one knows what happened to them.
These findings come from an analysis conducted by Alley Cat Allies of Illinois Department of Agriculture reports collected from the 247 animal pounds and shelters licensed by the state that handled cats in 2006.
Illinois is one of the few states with laws already requiring pounds and shelters to report the fate of animals in their custody. In the same year that 60,000 cats were killed and 17,000 went missing, the Illinois Department of Agriculture didn’t review the reports. It didn’t even total up those numbers.
And it didn’t penalize or investigate a single facility for failing to account for so many fatalities.
Alley Cat Allies and its supporters care about these deaths. Everyone who believes that each cat’s life counts, please join us in our campaign to end the secrecy—and end the killing.
Take Action - Insist on the Truth
Unfortunately, Illinois is not alone. Across the country, the majority of all cats entering animal pounds and shelters are killed. And most of it happens in secret.
You deserve to know what happens to cats in your state. Insist on strong laws requiring animal pounds and shelters to be accountable for the animals in their care.
If you are disturbed by the troubling picture that our analysis uncovered in Illinois, then please, add your voice to our movement.
Tell Your Story of Shelter Deception
Have you found a stray cat or kitten and taken him or her to your local pound or shelter trying to help the animal, only to find out later that the facility killed the cat you wanted to save? It’s an easy mistake to make. For decades, these facilities have been urging the public to bring them stray animals, styling themselves as animal “shelters,” “rescue leagues,” and “protection societies.”
But the most comprehensive study to date indicates that over 70% of cats entering U.S. pounds and shelters are killed.
Tell Us
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=574
Have you and an animal you tried to help been victims of deception by pounds or shelters? Maybe, like Cynthia and Claude, the couple who tried to save Rocky and Spring, you were personally told at the shelter that the stray you brought in would not be killed. Or maybe you brought a cat to a "no kill" shelter only to learn the animal was later killed. Whatever form of deception you experienced, please share your story with Alley Cat Allies by filling out our testimonial submission form. You can also upload photos and documents to help tell your story.
Through our Lives Count-Secrets Kill Campaign, we are documenting and publicizing the kill-rate statistics. But the cats need you to do your part—tell the story of the animals you tried to save so that they are not forgotten. Tell your story to stop the pounds and shelters from misleading the public and covering up the killing. Tell your story to help bring the killing to an end.