Responding to reports that all of the animals at the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter in Hammond, Louisiana were euthanized because of a disease outbreak, The Humane Society of the United States has offered to assist Parish officials with their investigation and resolution of the situation. Representatives of The HSUS have communicated their willingness to provide all needed assistance in addressing the management and operational challenges brought into focus by the mass euthanasia.
Media reports have indicated that the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter recently euthanized all 170 dogs and cats in their facility due to an outbreak of the canine corona virus. This virus is not generally considered a fatal disease, and is not transmitted from canines to felines.
The Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter was among the dozens of facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi that received funds through a Katrina recovery and rebuilding grant program co-funded by The HSUS. In 2007, the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter received $30,000 for facility renovation and program work.
All shelters that received grants also committed to tracking and reporting their intake and disposition of animals for six years. This project is designed to bring about a better understanding of the dynamics of pet overpopulation in these two states - making it possible to develop an effective strategy for overcoming public resistance to spaying and neutering and reducing the overall numbers of animals taken in by shelters.
In Louisiana and Mississippi, animal shelters take in an estimated 230,000 animals annually. This alarming pet overpopulation can be directly attributed to the low number of spayed and neutered animals in the region. The HSUS' October 2006 survey revealed that only 51 percent of dogs and 77 percent of owned cats in Louisiana and Mississippi are spayed or neutered, trailing behind national estimates of 70 percent (dogs) and 84 percent (owned cats).
The death of 170 animals at any shelter in one day is unusual, but the problem of pet homelessness is rampant throughout the nation and it is a challenge that shelters in virtually every community face. Like many animal community care facilities in the Gulf Coast states, the Tangipahoa shelter is under funded, understaffed, and operating under the difficult burden of overwhelming animal intake numbers.
Even after three decades of steady progress in bringing the numbers down, approximately four million animals are euthanized every year in the US. In addition to its longstanding public outreach and direct services work focusing on the pet overpopulation crisis, The HSUS recently launched a major initiative focusing on the specific challenges faced in Louisiana and Mississippi. With key partners, The HSUS is developing a multi-million dollar marketing campaign to promote the spaying and neutering of animals in the Gulf Coast region to reduce euthanasia rates. The program will be launched before the end of the year.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.
