April 7, 2006

Humane Society Silicon Valley holds annual State
of the Animal address

Shelters saving more animals, but problems
persist with homeless cats

Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) President Christine Benninger says Santa Clara County animal shelters are taking in fewer animals and saving more lives, but problems persist with homeless cats, approximately 14,000 of which are euthanized in Santa Clara County shelters each year.

Approximately 14,000 homeless cats are euthanized in Santa Clara County shelters each year.

Benninger made her remarks at a press conference on April 4 at the State of the Animal address, held at the Humane Society Silicon Valley animal shelter.

“The good news is that our spay/neuter and education programs are working,” Benninger said. “Fewer unwanted dogs, cats and rabbits are entering shelters and more animals being are adopted into loving homes.”

Benninger said the number of animals entering Santa Clara County shelters declined from approximately 52,000 animals in 2000 to roughly 35,000 animals in 2005. Last year, Santa Clara County animal shelters saved nearly 1,000 more animals than the previous year.

Benninger credited the dramatic increase to HSSV’s decision to discontinue its animal control contracts with the cities and force the creation of more resources focused on animals in Santa Clara County. Up until 17 months ago, HSSV was the only animal shelter in Santa Clara County housing stray and unwanted pets for nine cities.

“We knew that if we were going to save more animals’ lives, something had to change,” Benninger said.

The move paid off when San Jose Animal Care & Control opened its doors in October 2004, thus doubling the amount of shelter space in Santa Clara County.

“We made a bold move to save more animals’ lives and that move has paid off,” Benninger said. “With a second shelter in the picture, the Humane Society had more space to do the work that we do best; care for animals that could be deemed adoptable if they had some obedience training, time to recover from a health ailment or received special attention for a behavioral problem.”

While fewer animals are entering shelters, Benninger said those that pose the greatest challenge are homeless cats, which comprised nearly 80 percent of the animals euthanized in shelters.

Homeless cat epidemic
Benninger said there are an estimated 125,000 homeless cats roaming Santa Clara County. Cats comprise roughly two-thirds of the animals brought to shelters and are euthanized at a far greater rate than dogs or rabbits. Benninger said this is because a majority of them are feral (wild) or too young (unweaned) or too sick to be adopted.

“All too often, people feeding the neighborhood stray cat don’t get that cat spayed/neutered and find themselves with a litter of unwanted kittens,” Benninger said. “Our message to these folks is ‘be a responsible caregiver and spay/neuter the homeless cat you’re feeding.’”

Benninger says HSSV’s Medical Center offers affordable spaying/neutering services as well as a $10 spay/neuter clinic for feral cats. The shelter has also spearheaded a coalition of shelters, animal control facilities and rescue groups to address the homeless cat epidemic. The coalition’s goal is to significantly reduce the unnecessary euthanasia of homeless cats through a non-lethal technique called TNR (trap, neuter and return).

TNR reduces homeless cat populations by sterilizing cats so they cannot reproduce. TNR, when accompanied by ongoing homeless cat management, is the most effective, humane method of reducing homeless cat populations. Furthermore, Benninger said TNR saves money, noting that it costs cities approximately $250 to pick up, house and euthanize one homeless cat. For the same price, they can spay/neuter five cats.

In March, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring 2006 the Year of the Homeless Cat. In the resolution, the board recognizes TNR as the best method for managing homeless cat colonies. The board also approved an additional $25,000 in emergency funding to subsidize low-cost homeless cat clinics.

“We applaud the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for recognizing the homeless cat problem and for their leadership role in helping with this ongoing effort. Their additional funding will help sterilize nearly 1,000 homeless cats,” said Benninger.

Homeless cat documentary
HSSV has produced a 30-minute documentary on homeless cats and plans to show the film at a series of town hall meetings throughout the year. The first public viewing of the film is slated for this summer. A trailer of the film can be accessed on HSSV’s Web site at www.hssv.org.

“The goal of this documentary is to raise public awareness about homeless cats and get people to care,” Benninger said. “I’m often asked, why should the public care about homeless/feral cats? My answer is simple: Euthanizing unwanted animals is a community problem, not just a shelter problem. It is a reflection of our society and how some of us treat other living things.”

Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) is an independent, nonprofit agency offering quality adoptions, medical care and education programs to enhance the human-animal bond. Established in 1929, HSSV has served Silicon Valley for more than 75 years and grown into one of the largest animal shelters on the West Coast, caring for nearly 20,000 animals in fiscal year 2004-2005. To date, HSSV has adopted more than 500,000 animals into permanent, loving homes. HSSV is an “open-door” shelter and accepts animals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of any temperament or health-related problems. HSSV’s medical center offers affordable spaying/neutering, vaccinations and microchips to the public.

For more information about HSSV visit the Web site at www.hssv.org.