Tell Harrisburg Not to Kill Its Strays!
The hot topic on the agenda at the Harrisburg Police Department is not fighting crime or fighting the drug war but rather, how to eradicate the city's booming population of stray dogs.
How do we know this? A recent leak in the HPD. And, the consensus isn't good. The word is that the Harrisburg Police Chief is still telling his officers to gun down stray dogs that they cannot adopt out. Either that, or drive them out of city limits and drop them there.
Neither option is humane, nor is it a means of addressing this issue for the long-term.
Tell the Harrisburg Police Chief and the Harrisburg Mayor that we need to focus on identifying pragmatic and humane long-term solutions to this issue and not a short-term band-aid approach such as this one.
We the undersigned are writing to make an urgent plea to the city of Harrisburg to end the mandate to shoot stray animals in city limits.
Not only is this a grossly inhumane means of dealing with the issue at hand but it is also a very short-sighted plan of action.
Instead of instructing officers to violently gun down animals - simultaneously putting the lives of citizens in jeopardy - Harrisburg should be working with local animal welfare agencies to collectively identify the most effective and humane solution.
Please urgently shift the focus from violence to pragmatism. Harrisburg needs to move away from this short-term band-aid approach and steer towards a viable long-term solution. Until this is done, the people and the animals of Harrisburg will be losing out.
