Animal shelter

While no-kill shelters exist, it is sometimes policy to euthanize animals that are not claimed quickly enough by a previous or new owner.

In Europe, of the 30 countries included in a survey, all but six (Austria,[1] the Czech Republic,[2] Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland[3]) permitted euthanizing non-adopted animals.

[4] The shelter industry has terminology for their unique field of work, and though there are no exact standards for consistent definitions, many words have meanings based on their usage.

Stray, lost or abandoned pets picked up off the streets are usually transported to the local animal shelter, or pound.

Animals involved in attacks or bites are placed in quarantine and are not available for adoption until investigations or legal cases are resolved.

Some shelters participate in trap–neuter–return programs where stray animals are captured, neutered and vaccinated, then returned to the location they were picked up.

Most shelters are populated by dogs, cats, and a variety of small animals like mice, rats, and rabbits.

Additionally, there are so-called Gnadenhöfe ("mercy-farms") for larger animals that take cattle or horses from private owners who want to put them down for financial reasons.

Generally, proper reasons are slaughtering or hunting for food production (cats and dogs are excepted from that), control of infectious diseases, painless killing "if continued life would imply uncurable pain or suffering" or if an animal poses a danger to the general public.

[10] In the United Kingdom, animal shelters are more commonly known as rescue or rehoming centres and are run by charitable organizations.

The most prominent rescue and rehoming organizations are the RSPCA, Cats Protection and the Dogs Trust.

[citation needed] In the United States there is no government-run organization that provides oversight or regulation of the various shelters on a national basis.

[11] It provided for the licensing and regulation of pet shops, stables, kennels, and animal shelters, and it established, for the first time, minimum standards of care.

[16] Shelters unable to raise additional funds to provide for the increased number of incoming animals have no choice but to euthanize them, sometimes within days.

[18] However, recent years have seen a dramatic drop in the number of animals euthanized in shelters, due mainly to a successful push to promote spaying and neutering of pets.