The deception of the title ‘no-kill’ state

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Michigan has gained the title of being a ‘no-kill’ state, meaning at least 90% of animals in shelters have gone home.

“They either get returned to their owners, strays and returned to their owners, or transferred to another organization or adopted out,” Julia Willson, CEO and President of the Capital Area Humane Society, said.

Willson said the CAHS takes in about 4,500 animals a year and several hundred a month get adopted.

MSU senior Shannon Campeau rescued her dog, Beatrice, previously named Ada, from Georgia.

“She actually was surrendered from a family which means they gave her up,” she said.

“B” was closed to being euthanized, Campeau said.

“She was saved by being brought here,” she said.

That’s not the case for all.

If you do the math, 10% of animals in shelters are not going home, which means ‘no-kill’ doesn’t really mean what it says.

“It doesn’t mean that no animals are being euthanized in shelters. It means that 10% or less are being euthanized in our state,” Willson said.

While 90% is the threshold to qualify as ‘no-kill,’ CAHS has even better numbers.

“Currently we’re about 97% of the animals that come into the shelter have a positive outcome meaning they get adopted,” Willson said.

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