NEWS RELEASE Robideaux Pushes for “No-Kill” Policy at the Lafayette Animal Shelter Posted: 1/13/2016 6:00 PM Parish to Work to Achieve No-Kill Status by 2020. Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux has confirmed his commitment to lowering kill rates and increasing adoption rates at the Lafayette Animal Control Center. Short-term efforts to increasing the adoptions include the animal shelter staff ramping up its collaboration with local organizations to adopt-out animals admitted to the shelter. Next steps to facilitate rapid placement of readily adoptable animals include increased social media postings with photos and information about animals currently in the shelter and increased adoption events and promotions. The term “no-kill” refers to a policy that healthy or treatable animals are placed, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals or those considered dangerous to public safety. Achieving “no-kill” is not only a more humane approach according to Robideaux, but is also more cost effective because it eliminates the costs associated with euthanizing animals; “We are looking at models implemented by communities like ours across the nation that have been successful at increasing adoption rates and lowering the number of animals that are put down. This project will require working together with local animal advocacy groups to better understand this issue and build the plan for achieving our shared goal. We will need the active help and support of our entire community to be successful.” Robideaux plans to also solicit the aid of national groups who work with communities like Lafayette to increase adoptions and lower the rate of euthanized adoptable animals. Longer-term, Robideaux’s plan to achieve “no-kill” status for Lafayette Parish by 2020 is two-pronged: First, by ensuring adoptable animals are placed, whether in homes, local or regional non-profits or animal transport services for adoption in other states; and secondly, by using euthanasia only for health and behavioral instances. “We look forward to working with Mayor-President Robideaux in achieving our shared vision of a no-kill shelter,” stated Bobby Cormier, division head, Lafayette Animal Control Center. Cormier said the current shelter is not large enough to house all of the animals that are taken in and new approaches are also being studied to decrease the number of animals being put down. Future plans to build a new 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art animal shelter for Lafayette will also work to increase capacity. The existing 6,000 square foot facility on Pont Des Mouton Road was built 25 years ago and is no longer large enough to meet the community’s animal control needs. The estimated $6 million cost of the new facility will be funded by the existing Public Health Millage with an estimated completion three years away.
The post Lafayette Pets Alive! appeared first on Acadiana Animal Aid, AAA.