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| 101512-11JP 003Bradford Co. Animal Shelter and Control, Starke, Fl |
On Sunday, 11 November, 2012, an email was circulated around
various animal rescue organizations and advocates in N.E. Florida. The subject was
the Bradford County Animal Shelter and Control located in Starke, Florida and the
email contained photographs and a list of over thirty cats and dogs at the
shelter. Animal advocates in this area
are well aware of this “shelter” and its killing policies. In my limited experience I have not dealt
with this particular “shelter”, but one advocate, a person I trust implicitly,
stated that, “This shelter is so poor that they euthanize in each kennel then
lay the dogs in the aisles where the other dogs can smell and see.”
As expected, recipients of the email sprang into action—spreading
the word through social networking—to see if these animals could be saved. After a few days, one person that I know of
contacted the “shelter” to ask how long we had to find homes for these
animals. And it was in the response to
this question that I discovered one of the most callous, heinous, and
unforgiveable attitudes that I personally have heard of: They hope to have all
the dogs gone one way or the other by
next Wednesday due to the [Thanksgiving] holiday.
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| 102512-QA 003 Bradford Co. Animal Shelter and Control, Starke, Fl |
Because I am a third party to this communication this is as close
to a direct quote that I can be and I added the emphasis, but when I asked the recipient
of this statement whether I was interpreting the statement correctly, that the
animals will either be rehomed or will be dead by next Wednesday, it was
confirmed that I was not the only one interpreting it that way! And to prove the accuracy of this statement
we then heard that the killing would begin on Monday, 19 November, 2012!
People in the animal rescue world are used to such
deadlines, but what I find most horrific is the underlying text of the
statement: If the facility is empty on the Thanksgiving holiday, the staff will
not have to interrupt their own celebrations with the need to go into work to
look after all those pesky critters!
Think of the meaning of Thanksgiving, a holiday where
Americans traditionally give thanks for all that is great in their lives, a holiday
that celebrates the blessings we encounter each and every day, a holiday where
many give back to those less fortunate than themselves. Apparently in Starke, Fl (and in many other
communities around this country) this giving back doesn’t extend to our
four-legged friends, many of whom were previously in homes until they became a
nuisance for some reason. Perhaps they
became old or ill or just too damn inconvenient! Whatever the reason, I wonder if those former
owners knew that their former friend and family member would never see another
Thanksgiving?
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| 101512-13JP 003 Bradford Co. Animal Shelter and Control, Starke, Fl |
It should go without saying that Bradford County Animal Shelter and Control (interesting how the word “control” is slipped in at the end of the title there) is not the only organization clearing the book so they can enjoy their holiday; they just happened to come to my attention. So will the staff of those shelters be giving thanks for their day off? Will they be down on their knees asking forgiveness for what they had to do in order to get that day off? Or will they be too busy stuffing their faces to worry about it?
The America that I chose to become a citizen of is supposed
to be a nation of animal lovers. How can this be true when some people are able
to celebrate because of the indiscriminate killing of innocent animals? And I
hope I don’t hear any of the usual bureaucratic excuses . . . I don’t see the
hospitals killing off their patients so the nurses and doctors don’t have to go
into work on Thursday!
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