Euthanization of Healthy Animals- Is it ethical?

Ever since I paid a visit to a nearby county's animal control shelter, the subject of euthanasia has been on my mind. The purpose of my visit was the retrieval of a kitten who had unfortunately been brought in the day before. While waiting, I looked at a few of the dogs that were available for adoption. One was an approximately 5 year old female Cur named Candy. She had been brought in as a stray and had been there since December. Therefore, she had been a resident for about 3 months. No doubt due to her lengthy stay and the shelter's limited space, she was being offered for adoption for a fee of only $25, contrary to the normal fee of $70 for dogs. Although the thought did not immediately cross my mind, it seems inevitable that Candy, a perfectly healthy, friendly dog will be euthanized for no reason other than lack of space if she's not adopted soon. In the state of Florida (and in every other state, I imagine), according to Statute 828.058, it is perfectly legal for this to occur, so long as the euthanasia is performed by a "licensed veterinarian or an employee or agent of a public or private agency, animal shelter, or other facility that is operated for the collection and care of stray, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted animals, provided the employee or agent has successfully completed a 16-hour euthanasia technician certification course," and is performed in a humane manner.

But this doesn't mean that euthanizing a healthy animal is ethical. The first thing to do is to consider the ways in which the situation can be improved to insure that no animals are needlessly killed. Ideally, perhaps, a good solution would be the building of more animal shelters to adequately meet the demands of a community. A proposal such as that requires a lot of time and money, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be considered. Secondly, one of the biggest reasons why animals are dropped of at an animal shelter is that the owners are moving and/or they simply no longer want the pet. These reasons are only justifiable if you view companion animals as mere "things" or property. Although companion animals (cats and dogs, generally) are gaining more rights and a higher status in terms of the law, it is obvious that the majority of people who surrender a pet to a shelter are not enlightened as to what it means to be a responsible and caring guardian of animals. Adopting a pet, like choosing to have a child, is not something that should be taken lightly. There are certainly many people who neglect their children in one way or another, however, so it comes to no surprise that even more people treat their pets in that manner. While child neglect is taken seriously in this country, neglect of a companion animal, in Florida, according to Statute 828.13 will only result in first degree misdemeanor charges, resulting in imprisonment for no longer than a year, or a fine of $5000, or both. Neglect of a child, however, according to Statute 827.03, brings about 2nd or 3rd degree felony charges, which is either up to 15 years or 5 years in prison, respectively. Perhaps if animal neglect was treated more seriously, or even if animal laws in general were taken more seriously, the kind of people who would be predisposed to treat their pets poorly wouldn't bother getting them in the first place, and there might be less dogs and cats surrendered to animal shelters. But this is not a perfect world.

There are numerous other reasons why animal shelters across the country are overflowing. Euthanizing healthy animals, however, just seems to counteract the goal of an animal shelter. While it's important that all of the animals staying in a shelter be well-cared and provided for, there's clearly not room for everyone. It only seems logical that the immediate solution to this problem is to create more shelters to house these animals. Why is it justifiable that the animals who have been at the shelter the longest must die simply because no adopted them within the time limit? That hardly seems fair. There are many "no-kill" shelters across America, though, although I wonder how many animals they must turn away because they're already filled to capacity. Whether you're euthanizing an animal to make room for a new one, or turning away an animal because there's no space, someone's always going to lose. This is an issue that needs to considered more thoroughly and shouldn't be ignored.

Having seen Candy 2 days ago now, I wonder how much longer she has. Perhaps she's been adopted, but maybe not. Perhaps she's already been euthanized. It is very difficult for me to sit idly by when I could help her, but then again, a lot of those cats and dogs could use my help. I would love nothing more than to adopt her, but I'm struggling with the fact that it very likely won't happen. If I knew she would be safe from death I probably wouldn't be worrying about her, but it could be her fate. Hopefully someday this sad reality at animal shelters will cease to exist.