Talking Points for April 16 Meeting
No Kill Long Beach has put together some talking points for the Tuesday, April 16 meeting (3:30 pm, City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach) We need the community to speak out and tell City Council we need a No Kill shelter in Long Beach.
1. No Kill is great for Long Beach’s economy. A 2017 study out of the University of Denver found that in the years since Austin, Texas went No Kill, the City of Austin has accrued $157 million in benefits for the City in revenue for the city’s animal-related businesses, tourism and name-brand equity. Google even cited Austin’s commitment to No Kill as one of the reasons why it established itself in Austin. Google executives noted of Austin’s No Kill policy that “it is attractive to a young, vibrant, pet-loving workforce.”
2. No Kill has been successful in hundreds of shelters across the US. Austin saved 98% of its shelter animals last year. Sacramento, though not technically No Kill, has an 86% save rate and rising. Shelters in Palm Springs, CA; Petaluma, CA; Washoe County (Reno), NV, and many others, have successfully gone No Kill. Orange County has a new No Kill manager from Austin, and is on its way to No Kill. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel -- we can learn from other communities and do the same. And if it’s working in other cities, it can work in Long Beach, too.
3. No Kill is within our Reach. Long Beach is actually very close to going No Kill. Last year, Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS, pronounced "elbacks") killed just under a thousand animals. Some of those were incurably suffering and truly needed euthanasia. The rest, about 900 animals, could have been saved. If LBACS adopted out only 4 more animals per day, we would be at No Kill. This is EASY in a city of 500,000 people like Long Beach. Sacramento does more than this every day.
4. A No Kill shelter is great for the community. The same University of Denver study found that “The study found that “increases in the rate of adoption can be connected to increased rates of pet-keeping in the community, which has been correlated with changes to pet-keeping individuals and families’ holistic wellness, including their physical, mental, and social health.”
5. A No Kill shelter is good for shelter workers. Shelter workers in traditional shelters suffer from stress of working with animals that they will later have to kill. In a No Kill shelter, they feel good about helping animals get into good homes by doing adoptions, placing animals in foster, reaching out to the community and helping empower others to save animals.
6. A No Kill shelter doesn’t require more money – it requires programs that are carried out competently, and it requires city management that knows how to capitalize on the strengths of the community to save lives. Long Beach is an incredibly animal-loving community – if a No Kill shelter can succeed anywhere, it can succeed in Long Beach.
If you can’t come to the meeting on Tuesday, April 16 at 3:30 you can send your comments in via e-mail and they will be given to Council at the meeting. Send comments to cityclerk@longbeach.gov. Put “E-Comments for April 16 Study Session” in the subject line.
A No Kill Shelter is Within Reach. BE A VOICE FOR SHELTER ANIMALS ON APRIL 16.
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NOKILLLB
#NoKillLongBeach
#NKLB
1. No Kill is great for Long Beach’s economy. A 2017 study out of the University of Denver found that in the years since Austin, Texas went No Kill, the City of Austin has accrued $157 million in benefits for the City in revenue for the city’s animal-related businesses, tourism and name-brand equity. Google even cited Austin’s commitment to No Kill as one of the reasons why it established itself in Austin. Google executives noted of Austin’s No Kill policy that “it is attractive to a young, vibrant, pet-loving workforce.”
2. No Kill has been successful in hundreds of shelters across the US. Austin saved 98% of its shelter animals last year. Sacramento, though not technically No Kill, has an 86% save rate and rising. Shelters in Palm Springs, CA; Petaluma, CA; Washoe County (Reno), NV, and many others, have successfully gone No Kill. Orange County has a new No Kill manager from Austin, and is on its way to No Kill. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel -- we can learn from other communities and do the same. And if it’s working in other cities, it can work in Long Beach, too.
3. No Kill is within our Reach. Long Beach is actually very close to going No Kill. Last year, Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS, pronounced "elbacks") killed just under a thousand animals. Some of those were incurably suffering and truly needed euthanasia. The rest, about 900 animals, could have been saved. If LBACS adopted out only 4 more animals per day, we would be at No Kill. This is EASY in a city of 500,000 people like Long Beach. Sacramento does more than this every day.
4. A No Kill shelter is great for the community. The same University of Denver study found that “The study found that “increases in the rate of adoption can be connected to increased rates of pet-keeping in the community, which has been correlated with changes to pet-keeping individuals and families’ holistic wellness, including their physical, mental, and social health.”
5. A No Kill shelter is good for shelter workers. Shelter workers in traditional shelters suffer from stress of working with animals that they will later have to kill. In a No Kill shelter, they feel good about helping animals get into good homes by doing adoptions, placing animals in foster, reaching out to the community and helping empower others to save animals.
6. A No Kill shelter doesn’t require more money – it requires programs that are carried out competently, and it requires city management that knows how to capitalize on the strengths of the community to save lives. Long Beach is an incredibly animal-loving community – if a No Kill shelter can succeed anywhere, it can succeed in Long Beach.
If you can’t come to the meeting on Tuesday, April 16 at 3:30 you can send your comments in via e-mail and they will be given to Council at the meeting. Send comments to cityclerk@longbeach.gov. Put “E-Comments for April 16 Study Session” in the subject line.
A No Kill Shelter is Within Reach. BE A VOICE FOR SHELTER ANIMALS ON APRIL 16.
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NOKILLLB
#NoKillLongBeach
#NKLB