The New York
Shelter Access bill provides a strong framework that will require shelters and rescues to cooperate in saving lives.
The lawmaker is calling on Cuomo to include the augmented funding for
shelter access in his state budget proposal, due to be released on Wednesday.
In addition to enshrining basic care for shelter animals, extending mandatory hold times, and identifying and protecting the needs of community cats, the Hayden Act notably
guaranteed shelter access so that 501 (c)(3) rescue organizations could take animals scheduled for death.
We gathered data
on shelter access, shelter protocols, affordable spay / neuter programs, household incomes and population density in order to present a matrix that describes the lives of at - risk pets.
For example, California has perhaps the most extensive and productive network of rescue organizations in the country, supported by provisions of the 1997 Hayden Bill that
mandated shelter access and extended hold times for strays, but it has a weak network of low - cost or free spay / neuter services.
I'm in Texas, but if your legislators are smart and humane they will be for this bill that
allows shelter access to qualified rescue groups and empowers them to claim animals who are scheduled to be destroyed at shelters.
The
Paulin Shelter Access bill will make sure all shelters work with rescues and at the same time that animals will be safe and provided with adequate care.
Ensuring public access to the Shelter every day within the hours of operation posted at the Shelter
New York Assembly Member Amy Paulin has re-introduced as a stand alone bill provisions from last session's
shelter access bill that would help owners find lost pets.
New York assemblyman Micah Kellner and Senator Joseph Robach have introduced the Companion Animal Access and Rescue Act (CAARA), which will
guarantee shelter access to qualified rescue groups and empower them to claim animals who are scheduled to be destroyed at shelters.
However, a steady flow of intact animals are released from shelters in rural areas that concomitantly have the least access to shelters overall, keep few records and have the lowest levels of income and law enforcement staffing per population; these areas lag far behind in terms of prevention,
shelter access and animal welfare.
Shelter access is the first line of defense against abandonment, and, in rural areas with chronic poverty, affordable spay / neuter services are the only line of defense against unwanted litters.
Shelter access is a critical component of collaboration between the shelter and the community.
Many of the goals and policies outlined here relate to a set of topics that are commonly known as «
shelter access» [2] issues.
Update April 30, 2012:
The Shelter Access bill remains in the Assembly Codes committee and is unlikely to move forward this session.
Choose
the Shelter Access bill.
The Shelter Access bill will provide a framework for shelters and qualified rescues to work together.