Rethinking our Language
Whether you are an animal welfare professional, work with a rescue organization, are a volunteer, adopter, or a person who loves animals, collectively, we want the same thing - for every pet to have a loving home. With this in mind, it is high time to reconsider the use of “kill” language when describing the work of animal shelters. Here’s why:
The “no kill” movement served its purpose at a time when few solutions were being explored to handle the volume of animals entering shelters. It drove creativity, along with a focus on spaying and neutering pets and encouraging adoptions. Decades later, we have found ourselves in a position where our industry has stalled out at approximately 30% of households acquiring their pets from shelters and rescues. Most people get their pets elsewhere, and many don’t even consider entering their local shelter to see what pets are available for adoption. This has to change.
The average person is going through life focused on their family, career, and home, and simply wants a great pet. As a society inundated with information, stress, and noble causes, the average person doesn’t have the bandwidth to partake in our collective stress over pet euthanasia and shelter overcrowding. While they might indicate some sympathy that pets are awaiting homes in shelters, their primary interest is ensuring they find the right pet for their family. These people don’t know that shelters are likely to have what they are looking for. Instead, the most general communication shared is about the shelters and rescues themselves. People are told they should help, shelters are overcrowded, they may have to euthanize, rescue a pet, be a good person, do the right thing. Additionally, it is often implied that shelters are chock full of abandoned and abused pets. What other industry markets their products in this way? We need to be mindful that shelters and rescues are asking people to make a major, life-changing decision in welcoming a new family member, and portraying shelter pets as damaged is wholly unhelpful.
When shelters are described as “kill” or “no-kill” it reinforces the idea that shelters are sad, scary places where animals go to die. Most people do not wish to be sad and it has been demonstrated over the past several years that using guilt and shame as motivators to get people to adopt has limited reach. Additionally, the truth of the matter is that regardless of what shelters call themselves, many are functioning the exact same way. They are working to save all healthy and treatable pets and euthanize those that have untreatable medical conditions or pose a threat to public safety. Nearly all shelters strive to do this, and their relative success has largely to do with their resources and level of community support. It also has a lot to do with their admission policies. Vilifying open admission shelters with higher levels of intake and fewer resources by calling them “kill” shelters does nothing to solve the problem nor help the animals. What it does accomplish is the creation of an environment where staff members feel demoralized as they are referred to as “killers” and are subject to harassment, bullying, and even death threats. How are shelters expected to recruit and retain qualified, compassionate staff under these conditions? Also, think about the message this sends to the public. Countless people will tell you it is just “too sad” to walk into an animal shelter. They don’t want to subject themselves to the feeling they are choosing one pet while leaving others to die. This does not serve us and is immensely counter-productive. If all of those people who are not visiting shelters because it’s “too sad” showed up to adopt, everyone would have a whole lot less to be sad about.
Let’s reframe the narrative. If you have to label shelters, please consider calling them high intake, open intake, limited admission, or adoption centers. Let people know that shelters are THE place to find the best selection of amazing animals, and encourage them to visit their local shelters first when they are ready for a new pet. Looking for the right match? Shelters have staff and volunteers ready to help! It’s time to engage the public in these lifesaving efforts and the best way to do that is to get them in the door to meet the fantastic animals awaiting new homes.
CEO
California Animal Welfare Association