Kill kill shelters!

The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia

Raynor keeps a sharp eye out at Saturday’s Summerfest; the dog was with D & W Rescue in Berne, which is a no-kill operation, something Janelle Garland would approve of. Garland is a student at Farnsworth Middle School. She and her classmates again this year have sent us their varied views on matters practical, personal, and philosophical. In what has become an Enterprise back-to-school tradition, we are pleased to showcase their efforts in this special edition.

To the Editor:

According to humanesociety.org, every eight seconds, at least one animal is put down in kill shelters for one reason only: People don’t adopt enough animals from kill shelters.

There are approximately 10,000 kill shelters in the United States alone! I feel that kill shelters should be banned. Millions of healthy animals are put down in kill shelters every day because people don’t want to adopt them, whether it’s they can’t afford food or if they just buy a pet from a pet store.

I mean, why buy an animal for $400 or more at a pet store when you can get an animal who is at  risk of being killed at any time?  I mean, some people may say that animals from shelters are not spayed or neutered or don’t have rabies shots or have some disease like that and it would cost a lot to get it “fixed.”

Well, first off, most animals from a shelter come fixed. But, on the rare occasion that they are not, I think that it is a small cost since you get the animal for free. Plus, you’re saving a life. Getting an animal spayed or neutered costs about $150 to $300 but that is less than the price of your average animal in a pet store that is fixed. 

Another reason I feel that kill shelters should be banned is that only 25 percent of animals who are put into kill shelters make it out. That means 75 percent of these animals are killed for no reason at all!

I talked to a student in my class who has a different opinion than me on kill shelters. He says, “It’s good that some animals get put down if they are sick.” And I totally agree with this.

The student I spoke with also said, “But, if animals aren’t put down as often as they are, then the world would be over-populated with cats and dogs and would lead to even more animals getting put down because more animals would be getting diseases so they would have to be put down more often. Plus, with more animals around, more would be stray and suffer more from lack of food and warmth. More animals also would become more violent with each other and kill each other!”

I think that this is a very logical opinion but I think there is an easier way to work around stray animals’ struggling with lack of food and warmth than to put them down. I think, in life, all living things should be treated the same, whether it walks on four legs or two.

In conclusion, I feel that you should kill kill shelters! Make them illegal! Kill shelters aren’t going to become illegal overnight, I am sure. So, until then, the next time your family considers getting a new pet, try a kill shelter.

Janelle Garland

Farnsworth Middle School

Guilderland

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