HSUS Clarification Statement July 9, 2003 It is apparent that there are concerns regarding the June 2003 preliminary report submitted by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for the Animal Protection Society of Orange County (APS). The HSUS was hired by Orange County to evaluate APS. Our team conducted a site visit in April and also held a wrap-up meeting with county officials and APS management to discuss our observa- tions. During that meeting it was requested by Orange County that The HSUS submit a preliminary report on issues needing immediate attention. By nature, our preliminary reports address issues that need immediate attention; in this case health care, disease control, and general animal management in a shelter environment. A pre- liminary report is not meant to be viewed as a complete evalua- tion and therefore will not generally include the sections in which we highlight the accomplishments of the agency. We understand that adoption and euthanasia are emotional issues; however, sheltering large numbers of animals is a complex task that entails more than the general public usually realizes or understands. As you may know, APS is an open admission shelter, which means it accepts all animals that come to its door includ- ing animals picked up by Orange County Animal Control. Unfor- tunately due to circumstances beyond its control such as the public failing to neuter pets and allowing pets to roamAPS has more incoming animals than there are permanent, loving homes. This, of course, creates a surplus of animals, which may lead to overcrowding and illness if appropriate animal management proto- cols are not in place. With this in mind, we believe it is in the best interest of the animals and the public to make the most healthy and behaviorally sound animals available for adoption by constantly evaluating incoming animals against those already up for adoption. Not all animals that arrive at the shelter are adoptable due to illness, aggression or other factors; and in addition, animals that are in adoptions may become stressed or sick during their stay and may become unadoptable. Moving animals through a facility rather than warehousing them indefinitely can be accomplished through a combination of effective health care protocols, efficient adop- tion practices and unfortunately, humane euthanasia. To assist APS in developing efficient animal management protocols, in our preliminary report, we recommended an average length of stay goal be established. It appears that this recommendation has been taken out of context and needs clarification. The recommendation as it appears in the preliminary report is as follows: Because APS is an open door shelter accepting all animals and because it has a limited capacity for holding animals, APS must focus its efforts on structuring a system that decreases the length of stay for the animals it receives. Long-term stays must be eliminated and an average length of stay goal established. A goal of 7-10 days for stray animals and a goal of 3-5 days for owner surrendered animals would be considered reasonable. Howev- er, if an animal is doing well, is adoptable, and there is space available, the animal could stay longer. The concept of average length of stay is that sheltering agencies should measure the amount of time an animal spends at the shelter from intake to disposition. Once APS has tracked this for a period of time, they will know that animals spend an average number of days in their care. Once APS has a benchmark, it should set goals to try and reduce that number. The HSUS recommendation of an average of 7-10 days for strays and 3-5 days for owner surrendered animals is a goal; however, APS must set a goal for itself realizing that even if their goal is an average of 7-10 days, this means that some animals may stay 3 days while others may stay 20. The HSUS did not recommend or imply that stray or owner surrendered animals should immediately be euthanized after a specific length of time. To us, the concept of average length of stay is one measure of the extent to which a facility is truly a transitional shelter for animals rather than a long-term sanctuary for them. Whether placing animals with breed placement groups, with the general public, or with wildlife rehabilitators; the goal is to move the animals through the shelter and get them in a permanent setting as soon as possible. The HSUS does not believe it is a kindness to animals to keep them in a shelter environment indefinitely where they may be stressed and possibly exposed to disease with little hope for adoption. We would like to emphasize that the preliminary report is not a reflection of the dedication of staff or a lack of caring, but rather a lack of standard operating procedures. Our recommenda- tions are also just that; recommendations based on what we be- lieve are best practices in the industry. APS and Orange County must carefully decide what components of our recommendations they want to implement. We commend APS and Orange County for taking this step and we encourage everyone involved to use the prelimi- nary report and the upcoming final report as tools for positive change. Krista Hughes, Coordinator Animal Services Consultation Program The Humane Society of the United States Kim Intino, Manager Animal Services Consultation Program The Humane Society of the United States ________________________________________________________________ Second Clarification Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 From: Krista Hughes To: Judith Reitman Subject: RE: urgent HSUS clarification Ms. Reitman, Thank you for the information. We appreciate your concern; however, we feel that responding to every false allegation and misrepresentation would be fruitless. Mr. Cramer has posted both the preliminary report and clarification letter on his Web site at www.ourpaws.org. Also, I would be happy to send a copy of the clarification letter to those who contact me directly. Thank you again. Sincerely, Krista Hughes, Coordinator Animal Services Consultation Program The Humane Society of the United States -----Original Message----- From: Judith Reitman Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 To: Krista Hughes The papers ran your clarification in part of the mis-reporting by APS that your report will precipate higher euthanasia rates. However, our PBS station obviously did not receive this communication and this afternoon. The State of Things broadcast a pet overpop in NC show. During the show the host Melinda Penchava stated that as a result of HSUS report APS says it will have to kill more animals. .... I attended an APS Board meeting last night with several other critics. The Board said that HSUS recommended curtailing APS's foster program! I was stunned, since this was certainly not the case. Will you kindly address this utter fabrication? ... This continued misinformation generated by APS is very alarming to the community. We strongly feel that this attempt to malign HSUS is highly unethical and we are attempting to thwart APS's efforts as we can.