Media Contacts:
Dave Green, College of Veterinary Medicine, 919/513-6662
Dr. Dianne Dunning, 919/513-6267
July 19, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
North Carolina State University is a lead institution in a collaborative project to track shelter animal populations, uncover demographic trends, and increase awareness of the plight of homeless, abandoned, and marginalized dogs and cats in the United States.
According to estimates from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), more than 12 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters annually. Of these, some nine million are euthanized.
“We need a better understanding of this national problem,” says Dr. Dianne Dunning, director of the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Animal Welfare, Ethics and Public Policy Program and the study’s principal investigator. “This project seeks to develop consistent shelter reporting methods and to collect valuable information on how, why, and in what condition animals find their way to shelters and what happens to them when they arrive.”
A dozen shelters from Colorado, Tennessee, New York and North Carolina are participating in the study, which includes the monthly reporting of various statistics such as the number of stray animals in the shelter, the health of those animals, and the number and health of euthanized animals. Confidential and voluntary information also will be collected from individuals who are adopting or giving up animals at their local shelters. The results of the yearlong study will be compiled and analyzed later this year.
“We expect that this collected information will provide reliable data for making informed decisions at both the national and local level,” Dunning says. “Our goal is to strengthen shelter animal medicine, promote improvement of the animal shelter system and ensure the most humane solutions to pet overpopulation.”
The project is funded by a grant for $75,100 from the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy and involves the colleges of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University and the University of Tennessee in addition to the ASPCA.
- 30 -
RSS Feeds