California plans to slash its budget deficit ... by slashing the throats (figuratively speaking) of thousands of dogs and cats who fall into the system.
Grim details are below the fold.
California's budget crisis is getting into everything, but the latest move is heart rending. The state currently mandates a six day stay at the shelter for any animal taken in before it can be euthanized. The state will save an estimated $23 million by cutting that time down to a mere three days.
Pets are already suffering in our economic meltdown along with their owners. Less food, less access to health care, and in place of homelessness our four legged friends face either the pound or simple abandonment. The pound is the kinder thing to do - cats will make their way, multiplying as they go, but it's a hard life. Dogs go feral, they menace other pets and livestock, then it's poison or a sharp eyed resident picking them off.
The Google tells me California is already a little nutty in a regressive sort of fashion when it comes to handling pets, but this latest move is simply awful. Rebecca Katz, director of the San Francisco Animal Care & Control, sums it up nicely.
The director predicts that shelters in other parts of California that have been harder hit by the economic crunch may well start culling animals more quickly -- meaning that, if your dog hops the fence when you're out of town for a long weekend, that could be all it takes.
Katz made no prediction on what would happen to their current success rate, with 85% of their impounded animals being adopted out within the allotted time frame.