Delaware may be a much smaller state than New York, but its heart is magnitudes bigger. They just passed a landmark animal welfare bill – not only by unanimous vote – but with the endorsement of all of the Delaware animal shelters too! Its passage follows on the heels of New York State tabling a similar but more narrow bill that – although it had the support of most of the New York animal organizations -- was vehemently opposed by the two largest: the ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance.
Like the New York bill, the Delaware bill focuses on restricting euthanasia to those situations where a licensed veterinarian certifies a cat or dog is in irremediable pain or poses a physical threat to the staff or other shelter animals. Beyond that, euthanasia can only be used after a shelter demonstrates that they have tried everything possible to provide shelter and adoption assistance – including staying open on evenings and weekends and holding lost pets for return to their guardians for at least 3 days.
Before euthanizing a viable cat or dog, the shelter manager must personally certify that:
a. There are no empty cages, kennels or other living environments suitable to continue housing the animal.
b. There are no other compatible animals they can be housed with.
c. There are no foster home available to provide temporary care
d. There are no other qualified animal organizations who can rescue them.
On intake, shelters must check for microchips, ID tags and tattoos and post all lost pets on their web site with sufficient detail that someone could identify their pet to claim them. Wild animals – which I assume includes feral cats – are to be returned to their natural habitat.
Within 8 hours of receipt cats and dogs must be vaccinated to prevent widespread outbreaks of disease in the shelters and within 72 hours they must receive a health exam performed by a licensed veterinarian or technician who has been certified as proficient in doing exams. Any emergency veterinary work deemed necessary must be performed. All shelters must have designated areas set up for treatment, and isolation or quarantine.
Further, shelters must be transparent in their operation – providing detailed quarterly statistics on their operations on their web site.
This law is just another example of how far we’ve come – and it is a terrific model for other states to use in formulating similar laws. We’ve long believed that actions speak louder than words and this action speaks particularly loudly because it comes from the highest authority in Delaware. Congratulations on a job well done! Cats and dogs everywhere will benefit from your action
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