Valley animal shelters to become ‘No Kill’ by 2022
Leaders of Coachella Valley’s animal shelters have announced their commitment to becoming a ‘No Kill’ community by 2022
Local animal advocates today announced a commitment to make the Coachella Valley a no-kill community by 2022, seeking to end the practice of euthanizing healthy or treatable animals at the region’s shelters.
The joint commitment is being made by the leadership of the county-operated Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms and the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.
Both shelters have policies against euthanasia due to a lack of available shelter space.
The Palm Springs Animal Shelter’s euthanasia policy states that the shelter “does not euthanize animals for space or length of stay,” while the Coachella Valley Animal Campus offers only “humane euthanasia” for “animals that are irremediably suffering,” according to its website.
Leaders of both shelters will push for cities and organizations in the region to follow suit.
“The Coachella Valley has a healthy and active community of animal rescues and compassionate animal lovers and we are pleased to have an opportunity to help lead this initiative,” said Riverside County Animal Services Director Rob Miller. “No one will be more pleased to become a no-kill community than me and my staff.”
Tamara Hedges, vice president of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, said shelter officials were “thrilled to be partnering and collaborating with RCDAS.”
“We have been running our city shelter under the no-kill philosophy since Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter began operating the shelter in 2012, and are very happy to see our entire community move in this direction.”
Challenges include implementing the practice in an area that handles 45,000 annual pet impounds, but according to Miller, “making a no-kill push in the desert is overdue,” with perhaps future plans to apply the model to the entire county.
Local animal advocates praised the push.
“We’ve had a very strong and productive partnership with the Coachella Valley Animal Campus for more than two years and when you really get down to people who care first about animals, good things happen,” said Leigh Kirk, president of Palm Desert-based nonprofit organization ForeverMeow. “In the past two years, we have rescued almost 700 cats — mostly from the Coachella Valley Animal Campus — and we consider the team to include our volunteers and the staff at CVAC.”
Christine Madruga, president of the Pet Rescue Center, Inc. in Coachella, said “I am pleased to support CVAC and Palm Springs in the effort to become a No-Kill Coachella Valley by the year 2022. Together everybody achieves more. We can do this with community support one tail at a time.”
Dr. Lori Kirshner, president and founder of Advancing the Interests of Animals, said “Our organization has worked closely with CVAC for many years. We are confident that great things are ahead for the animals of the Coachella Valley.”
