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week of December 19, 2004
No-Kill Philadelphia by 2015?
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals and the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association (PACCA) say they will work together to turn Philadelphia into a no-kill community within the next decade.
As a step toward this goal, the Alliance has joined forces with PACCA to bring in, as a consultant, Nathan Winograd, founder and director of No Kill Solutions and former executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca, New York. Winograd will be asked to provide a thorough assessment of all PACCA operations, to help find a new PACCA executive director, and to help develop a comprehensive no-kill plan for the city.
Meanwhile, to help reduce the death rate, PACCA and the Alliance are building partnerships with rescue groups, and working on offsite adoption events, increased spay/neuter efforts, and a fund to help save sick, injured and abused animals.
Alliance president Tara Derby-Perrin notes that Philadelphia was one of the early leaders in the humane movement. "We were the first city in the U.S. to have an adoption program for homeless animals and a humane education program," she says. "We believe this partnership follows up on that tradition with the goal of returning the city to national prominence as a model of compassion."
The Alliance was formed earlier this year to help support existing humane organizations in the city. It represents a coalition of local shelter and rescue groups, including PACCA. The PACCA performs animal control functions for the city and currently kills 30,000 animals per year.
"With 30,000 animals killed each year, PACCA certainly has a long way to go," says Winograd. But he says he is encouraged by the agency's apparent commitment to change and its willingness to work with other organizations.
"It was the first humane organization to join the Alliance, it is progressively making its animals available to rescue groups to increase its lifesaving capacity, but most of all, it is not beholden to any history or ideology," he says. "From what I have seen at this preliminary stage, everyone is open to putting in place innovative strategies that have helped save thousands of animals in other communities."
Based in San Diego, No Kill Solutions provides community-specific consulting, training, and strategic planning to help people achieve no-kill shelters and build no-kill communities.
Prior to founding No Kill Solutions, Winograd was director of operations for the San Francisco SPCA, helping to advance some of the nation's most progressive shelter programs. As executive director for the Tompkins County SPCA, he reduced the death rate by 75 percent to 1.8 animals for every 1,000 human residents -- seven times lower than the national average and the lowest of any community in the United States.
Winograd plans to kick off the assessment by having a town meeting to discuss where the city is now, and where it might go. Participants will include area rescue groups, shelters, local veterinarians, PACCA and city employees.
"This assessment will be an inclusive process," he stresses. "Anyone who wants to take part in this lifesaving initiative is welcome to participate."
