Welcome to Gaia! ::

My internship is basically to write and read animal news all day. I planned to write about wildlife and genetics, but this is what I see EVERY time I open the "Animals" tab on Google News.

"Local Shelter Full, Kills Hundreds of Adoptable Animals."

This is pretty upsetting to see all the time. Could the shelters be doing something different to get animals more adopted instead of euthanized?

I've done a little research on the subject, but not a whole lot and maybe some of you animal people could tell me your ideas and comment on mine.

As an example, there is a large facility called Bunny Luv around here that adopts out rabbits. They only adopt out pairs, unless you already have a rabbit, because rabbits are happier with a friend. They adopt out one pair every 2-3 months.
There's a pet stall at a local indoor flea market called Pet Island. They sell twenty-five rabbits every 2-3 weeks. To whoever.

Here's what I think would get animals adopted out faster:

1. Employ tactics of behavioral economics. That dog isn't $100, it's $200 but half off! Buy two, get one free!
2. Worry less about statistics and more about actualities. BunnyLuv will not adopt out rabbits as pets for children because of some statistic. Instead of making that rule they should simply talk to each person and make sure everyone understands what it means to take animals into your home for the next decade or so.
3. Lower your standards. Yes, I want to see every animal go to the best forever home in the world. But if an animal is on death row then we should compromise. When I adopted out rabbits, I got 3 out in less that 2 weeks. None of them are with any other rabbits, but they have loving, indoor homes. Better than being dead.
4. Don't assume so much responsibility. PETA got in trouble for rounding up animals and killing them. The reason being is their mentality, which is that we are the stewards of all animals. I say that, if you see a stray cat that's healthy, spay and release. Don't assume that any animal we can't care for is better off killed.
5. Increase visibility. I like that shelters are taking more and more advantage of the internet, particularly facebook, but there's no replacement for foot traffic. There's always tons of people bustling through the swap meet, so maybe that's where Bunny Luv should be.
6. Temporary Homes. Foster programs are fine, and also trial periods. If someone wants a dog, but is going to have to get rid of her in five years, consider that a long-term foster, NOT an unfit owner. I'd rather have 5 years of happiness and then get transferred than 5 years of living in a pound, or getting the needle.
7. Let the free market help. With regulation, allow pet sellers to make all the profit they want off of rescued animal sales. Give them a litter and let them sell each kitten for a thousand dollars, /whatever./

So like I said, I'm not an expert, so give me your opinions on these ideas.
Keep in mind my mentality is kind of a desperate one. These mass-slaughters that are going on at shelters are genuinely intolerable.

So then, here's something that presents a huge moral paradox: Should we let the sick animals die rather than spend money on their vet bills to make room for the healthy ones that are getting killed?
I don't think a satisfactory answer for that might exist, though. At some shelters, any animal with a cold gets killed. Sometimes even kittens whose eyes haven't even opened yet get killed, no matter how cute, purebred and healthy. Sometimes hearts are melted by animal sob stories and everyone wants to help rescue the animal who has the smallest chance of survival.