Protecting lives, saving money, mandating collaboration
A bill to make it illegal for Utah pounds to kill animals who rescue groups are willing to save has passed the Utah Senate and is now before the House. The bill, modeled after The No Kill Advocacy Center’s Animal Rescue Act, requires “shelters” to notify qualified groups two days before killing and allow them to rescue them. If passed and signed into law, it will save lives, save money, spare rescuer suffering, and bring in millions of dollars in tax and adoption revenue.
In California, for example, a similar law has been on the books since 1998. It has increased the number of animals transferred to rescue groups rather than killed from 12,526 a year before the law went into effect to 99,783 after — a nearly 700% increase, all at no cost to taxpayers.
In fact, it resulted in a potential cost savings of over $3,000,000 statewide for killing and destruction of remains (these savings do not include additional savings relative to the cost of care). Over 2,000,000 animals have been saved since the law’s inception.
The No Kill Advocacy Center has model legislation for individuals seeking to enact a similar law in their city, county, or state.