Michigan Coalition For Statewide Spay & Neuter supports and follows Proactive Animal Sheltering‘s philosophy and model for animal sheltering. It is a newer and common sense approach to animal sheltering that is data-driven and focuses on spay/neuter to humanely reduce dog and cat overpopulation, homelessness and shelter/rescue intake. And the focus must be all three: owned pets, community cats and shelter/rescue animals. Without focusing our efforts on all three groups, we can never humanely and effectively address these issues.
For years, animal sheltering has concentratred on the present and sadly ignored the future. Shelters work to be no-kill as that is the standard the industry has set. To reduce the euthanasia of shelter animals, the industry focused on options such as transports (animals shipped across state lines and to other regions in the US), fostering, etc. Killing decreased but the inflow continues. No one proactively looked at humanely reducing shelter intake and dog/cat homelessness through spay and neuter. As a result, we see a steady or growing stream of homeless dogs and cats.
Spay and Neuter isn’t “sexy” and its success is not immediately seen. Given the number of unfixed dogs and cats, it will take time to see the results. But it brings real change.
Proactive Animal Sheltering is Community-Based and not Shelter-Based.
While animal shelters play a huge part in this approach, it will take us all, working together, to change this. Rescues, animal lovers and advocates, governmental units, donors, trap-neuter-return programs, veterinarians, spay/neuter clinics and animal shelters all need to come together and focus on spay and neuter! And Michigan Coalition For Statewide Spay & Neuter is here to help put this all together!