Dear Editor:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an international non-profit charity with over 700,000 members dedicated to ending animal abuse. We were shocked to read the letter from Tom Hart, Executive Director of the “Assisi Center” (formerly the Hudson County SPCA) in the Jersey City Reporter on November 12, 2000, stating that the shelter which is supposed to serve the entire population of Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Secaucus and West New York has become a “limited admission” shelter that refuses to euthanize animals.
While the idea of a municipal shelter that doesn’t euthanize animals may give some people a warm and fuzzy feeling, the reality is that this concept is completely unrealistic and will, if it hasn’t already done so, result in increased animal suffering.
Statistics show that for every human born in this country, at least six puppies and kittens are born as a result of society’s failure to spay and neuter companion animals. It’s easy to do the math and see that there simply are not enough homes, much less good homes, for all the animals who need them. What happens when the Assisi Center fills up to its capacity of 100 animals and has no room for the dog eating garbage in an alleyway, the sick cat living under a bridge, or the animal who has been abused by a cruel guardian? Where is animal control supposed to bring these needy animals? Reports in another local newspaper indicate that, already, animals have been turned away from the shelter. How many animals will be dumped on the side of a highway by people who are turned away from a full-to-capacity Assisi Center?
Tom Hart suggests that the city should build more cages. But the reality is that after a few months of warehousing animals, with more animals constantly pouring in, Hudson County would need a facility the size of Newark Airport to hold them all.
And what about the animals who will never be socialized, or dogs who have been trained to fight or attack for whom adoption is not a possibility. Under Tom Hart’s plan, will the Assisi Center keep these animals imprisoned in cages for the rest of their lives?
We, too, wish that no animal had to be killed as a result of society’s irresponsibility. But rather than chasing a seriously flawed fantasy, Tom Hart needs to focus on aggressive spay/neuter programs if he wants to make a real dent in the overpopulation problem in Hudson County. In the meantime, Jersey City and its neighbors should move forward with long promised plans of building a new, open-admission shelter. Clearly the Assisi Center, in its current mismanaged state, cannot meet the sheltering needs of Hudson County.
Ali Morris
PETA
Cruelty Caseworker
Research, Investigations, and Rescue Department