Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
We petitioners will not spend our tourist dollars in New York City until there is an end to convenience killing in the New York City animal shelter system.
A New York statewide survey cited in a recent PR Newswire article about CAARA legislation indicated that 71% of all New York rescue groups have been turned away by a shelter, which then killed the very animals they offered to save.
On June 7th, 2011, many of us from other states and the UK experienced the magnitude of the problem firsthand, as we networked on Facebook as quickly as we could. We were attempting to save a dog named Ebony, whose name had appeared on the notorious AC&C "List" for euthanasia.
There were anywhere from 25 to 35 people involved in the rescue effort from New York City, the boroughs, across the country and the UK. We called the shelter repeatedly and nobody answered the phone. We were not even able to get a "Mayor's Alliance" rescue group directly on the phone.
There was no reason for Ebony not to walk out of the shelter with a responsive caretaker, except for the gross negligence of this agency, that makes it nearly impossible to rescue animals.
A picture of Ebony made it out of the shelter and onto Facebook that day. She was laying in a cramped cage near her own feces. This, just hours before she was needlessly killed.
Until Animal Care & Control in New York City is reformed, not by a publicity campaign, but actually reformed in terms of its objectives, policy and personnel, into a service that functions to care for and save homeless animals, we will not visit the City of New York.
