This is a special episode of “This Week in Animal Protection,” my podcast, in which Jennifer and I do not focus on the week’s news followed by a deep dive on an animal rights issue as we normally do, but on answering your questions instead.
I invited my Substack and Facebook readers to ask me anything. I received dozens of questions in response, over 100 comments in all. They covered many issues: whether animals feel pain when killed in shelters, humane vs. aversive dog training, trying to eliminate rental housing discrimination for families that include animals, and more.
I tried to answer as many as possible on Facebook, but Jennifer and I took six of those questions to discuss more fully in this episode of our podcast. We picked those that we believe will be the most interesting and useful.
They are:
Are we making progress?
Are No Kill and Managed Intake the same? In other words, do we have to limit – or at least, manage – intakes to create No Kill?
Will No Kill solutions that worked pre-pandemic also work post-pandemic? Or have things changed – the population of dogs, mass surrender of pandemic puppies, or something else – so that the programs and services of the No Kill Equation no longer eliminate killing?
What’s the most effective way to go about change when you live in a primarily rural, small town community?
With the demise of Austin, TX, as an inspiration to turn to, what communities can we use as examples of No Kill success?
And finally (cue, eye roll):
Why are you against purebred dogs? (Spoiler: I am not. I love all dogs. But I am against exploiting and hurting them so that they look a certain way.)
If you enjoy the conversation, we have them every week on our podcast. Those conversations are usually available only to subscribers. We invite you to join us.
As promised in the podcast, here are some helpful resources:
Podcast: Ask Me Anything