No-Kill Resources

PHILOSOPHY

Sheltering Is Pointless...Until the Need Is Reduced (.pdf)
This editorial from the newspaper Animal People explains why building more shelters shouldn't be the first step to solving the pet overpopulation problem. First, a community needs to focus on effective spay/neuter, adoption, foster and humane education programs.

A Question of Ethics (.pdf)
Imagine you are the director of a busy city shelter. You always have more abandoned dogs and cats than you can take care of and today's dilemma is...

Toward A No-Kill Nation (.pdf)
As long as people believe that killing homeless animals is "just one of those necessary evils," it will continue.

To Kill or Not To Kill?
"No-kill shelters sound great," writes a lady in a letter to Best Friends. "But where do all the other animals go--the huge overflow our SPCA must handle?" 

To Kill or Not To Kill? That's No Longer the Question (.pdf)
Nobody who works at an animal shelter or humane society wants to kill the animals who are brought to them. Humane workers only do it because they see no alternative.

Unintended Consequences
Shelters that "euthanize" the animals may be prolonging the very problem they seek to end. By Craig Brestrup, author of "Disposable Animals", 1997.

Speciesism: Alive and Well (.pdf)
Ed Duvin examines the ethics and practices of animal shelters and their broader implications to the success of the humane movement in this 1990 article.

In the Name of Mercy (.pdf)
Ed Duvin makes a rational appeal for a new ethic in animal sheltering, questioning conventional wisdom about the kindest way to deal with homeless animals, in this revolutionary 1989 article.

A Tale of Two Brothers (.pdf)
To a large extent, success in the No More Homeless Pets campaign depends on large-scale spay-neuter and adoption programs. But, at heart, it's still all about single acts of kindness, one at a time.

Profile of a No-Kill Leader
Nathan Winograd has been fighting to save animals all his life. His story is one of evolution, from a teenager rescuing a stranded kitten, to a law student battling to save feral cats, to a position at the forefront of the humane movement.

COMMUNITY-WIDE NO-KILL PROGRAMS

When the Best Shelter is a Caring Community (.pdf)
Richmond, Virginia is a model of what can be accomplished when a community bands together. Robin Starr, the innovative director of the city's SPCA, says they've learned that the "best shelter is a humane community."

How I Turned My Shelter Upside Down: Diary of a No-Kill Shelter Director (.pdf)
A former California district attorney, Nathan Winograd took over leadership of an SPCA in upstate New York and turned things around virtually overnight.

Care or Control? (.pdf)
Ed Boks, currently executive director of New York City Animal Care & Control, discusses his philosophy for animal control.

Animal Control: A Century in Review (.pdf)
The evolution of animal control programs over the last century, by Ed Boks.

Building A Successful Coalition: The 12 Cardinal Rules (.pdf)
The 12 cardinal rules for successful team building to work effectively with others and bring the organizations in your community together to save animals lives. By Gregory Castle.

MODEL PROGRAMS

See our Model Programs section.

FORUM TRANSCRIPTS

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