When adopting a pet, one of the first things to think about is what kind of shelter you want to adopt. More specifically, do you want to support a kill or non-kill animal shelter? This challenging question has been debated for a while, and hopefully, this article helps you figure out what you would like to support.

I prefer no-kill shelters. Kill shelters have euthanized innocent animals. One of the main reasons they have euthanized individual animals is that there is no more space for the animals in the shelter. That’s like a family saying to one of their children, “the house is too crowded, so we’re kicking you out.” I understand if a pet is sick and needs to be put out if it’s misery, but what if it’s not ill and it has nothing wrong with it?

The Big Issue

The real issue isn’t necessarily the shelters; it is the overpopulation of the animals. Neither no-kill shelters or kill shelters are entirely innocent; kill shelters kill innocent animals, and no-kill shelters don’t take in enough animals. But both shelters can get far overcrowded. Their responses to this overpopulation have caused people to debate over this complicated issue. We want to be able to find homes for all animals. But not all animals fit in the shelters. The leading reason is that unspayed animals reproduce and the offspring end up on the streets. According to Peta, one unspayed female cat and her offspring can lead to 370, 000 kittens a year! This happens so often that animal shelters don’t have enough space for all of the animals.

But this is precisely why we need to support no-kill shelters. We can take an animal off their hands, not only giving it a loving home but also leaving room for another animal to have a life off the streets. Even life in the shelter where there are people to care for a dog or cat is better than being abandoned. An animal deserves an experience, not to be killed once given a chance in a kill shelter.

This all leads back to adoption. By adopting animals, it’s a win for everyone. You get a pet; a no-kill shelter gets to save another life from the streets. You can also help by spaying your pets. You can help stop the overpopulation issue and support shelters in general. We do not need to have a divide between different shelters. If we can solve one big problem, a shelter can be a shelter. But until then, we should be making space for more animals without costing the lives of pets. This can only happen if we support no-kill shelters.

We do not have to euthanize innocent animals. There are other options. By supporting a no-kill shelter, you are supporting an animal’s rights and life. So next time you think about adopting, choose a no-kill shelter, and save lives.