To the Editor,

I want to bring to your attention an issue that is not only important to me, but I believe to all citizens of Beaufort County. It is not an issue that is defined by political affiliation, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, age, economic status or any other category.

The issue is our love of animals and how they are sheltered here in Beaufort County. Please note that what I am about to tell you is not unique to Beaufort County, or North Carolina, or staff and volunteers do not care about the animals. Based on statistics for the two most recent years (2013 and 2014), approximately 46 percent of all animals that were brought into the Beaufort County Shelter were euthanized. This was a number that shocked me, but also should shock the citizens of Beaufort County. We need to do something about how we treat our pets, but I believe it must start with our seven county commissioners.

You may wonder how much it is going to cost taxpayers and how do we accomplish this task. Thankfully, there is already an organization in place that advocates shelter reform. The No Kill Advocacy Center (www.nokilladvocacycenter.org) has literature, documents, videos and other resources available to help make this possible. They advocate no kill shelters.

It is my opinion that the first step would be to modify the existing Animal Control ordinance and accompanying polices so that the Beaufort County Shelter would become a no kill shelter. This would allow Beaufort County staff and volunteers to implement the revised ordinance and policies with guidance from the center so that we do not continue to euthanize animals unnecessarily.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed quickly. Every month that we continue business as usual, approximately 98 pets will be euthanized.

Please make your voices heard by contacting your seven county commissioners and by spreading the word via social media. This is an issue that needs to be fixed quickly and should have the support of all of Beaufort County. Our pets deserve better.

 

Harry Bailey

Washington