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Advocacy For A No-Kill Community

by John Ficarro

advocacy no-kill community photo of dog at NC rescue

You Can Help Safeguard the Future of Countless Animals in Our Community

As you know, Kill No More was recently established for the purpose of promoting a No-Kill philosophy for all community animal shelters locally and elsewhere in North Carolina.  Our mission is to help provide solutions to what is a serious problem in many communities throughout North Carolina.

Shelter killing is the leading cause of death for healthy companion animals in the United States. Adoptable animals are surrendered to public “kill” facilities for a variety of reasons and usually through no fault of their own. For example, here in Moore County alone in 2015, 37% of all animals surrendered to its facility never made it out. That’s over 1000: nearly three every day. And that’s an improvement over prior years. A decade ago, it is estimated that over 7,000 animals were killed annually.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“ASPCA”) estimates that approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter public shelters each year in the United States and that 96% are dogs and cats. The ASPCA also estimates over 2.5 million of these animals are killed in public shelters. Many are mercifully euthanized for good reason but the vast majority, perhaps up to 90%, are killed because of lack of space; stressful or unsanitary conditions inside the shelter making them sick and therefore subject to euthanasia; or  subjective yet inaccurate evaluations of potential adoptability. 

The No-Kill philosophy embraces shelter reforms that promote innovative programs and services to achieve a 90% live-release rate, accepting that realistically up to 10% of animals entering shelters are mercifully euthanized due to untreatable illness, injury or dangerous behavior.

Many public shelters have embraced this philosophy to make major improvements, such as:  Jacksonville, FL; Indianapolis; Nashville; El Paso; Baton Rouge; San Jose; Charleston, SC to name a few. In North Carolina, Asheville and Orange County have also been successful.advocacy no-kill community photo of volunteer with dogs at rescue

Forward-thinking public shelters are fostering robust on-site volunteer programs; engaging more citizens in aspects of off-site initiatives; providing accessibility; aggressively marketing adoptable animals via the internet and frequent adoption events; and working with and supporting local, private rescue organizations. 

Please, join us in our quest to save adoptable animals from utter destruction. On this website you’ll find important resources that I highly recommend.

How can you help? Simply stated: “Spread the word.” Educate yourself and encourage others to do the same. Incredibly, most people are not aware that adoptable animals are killed in public shelters, let alone how many.  Also, support local, private no-kill rescue organizations and their efforts to save and adopt these animals to suitable homes. They are key to eliminating the unnecessary destruction of life.

(originally published August/2016)

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John Ficarro
John Ficarro
President, Kill No More, a non-profit corporation to promote a "no-kill" philosophy for all community animal facilities in North Carolina. Mr. Ficarro, a retired corporate attorney from New York, has for over 30 years routinely provided pro bono legal services as well as resources and other services to assist animal welfare groups. In 2014, he and his wife Betsy founded The Farley Foundation, a non-profit animal rescue organization, to help reduce and ultimately eliminate the unnecessary killing of homeless adoptable animals in Moore County and elsewhere in North Carolina.
John Ficarro
Latest posts by John Ficarro (see all)
  • A Community Must Step Up - January 28, 2020
  • A Troubling Trend - January 28, 2020
  • Why Are We Killing So Many Animals - August 8, 2019

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Kill No More is a North Carolina non-profit corporation established in Moore County for the purpose of promoting a "no-kill" philosophy for all community animal facilities in North Carolina and raising public awareness of related homeless animal issues.
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