LOCAL STORY CASHEW’S ADOPTION DAY AT HUMANE SOCIETY OF FREMONT COUNTY. COURTESY OF DOUG RAE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HUMANE SOCIETY OF FREMONT COUNTY. UNDAUNTED, ADVOCATES REMAIN COMMITTED TO PASSING COLORADO RESCUE ACT BY JAMIE MILLER LAST YEAR, 11,466 CATS AND DOGS were reported euthanized, dead, or missing/stolen in Colorado’s animal shelter system, according to the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA). Of these 11,466, there is no reported data on the number of healthy animals that were euthanized for shelter space. But Davyd Smith, founder of No Kill Colorado, knows there are thousands of them. “Unfortunately, thousands of shelter pets are needlessly killed each year. This is often justified by arbitrary policies that lack transparency or accountability, resulting in the death of countless animals that, had they been given the chance, could be in a forever home today,” said Smith in a letter to the Colorado General Assembly. Some SARA Coalition (Shelter and Rescue Alliance Colorado) members, like No Kill Colorado, Maxfund Animal Adoption Center, and Humane Society of Fremont County, along with national partner groups like Best Friends Animal Society, are working to shrink the number from several thousand to zero with the Colorado Rescue Act. This legislative initiative is aimed at improving communication by mandating collaboration between animal shelters and licensed rescue organizations in Colorado, focusing on the goal of saving the lives of homeless pets. The bill is KATHY GAINES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MAXFUND ANIMAL ADOPTION CENTER, WITH A RECENTLY ADOPTED BOXER/TERRIER MIX. COURTESY OF MAXFUND ANIMAL ADOPTION CENTER. 10 DENVER VOICE May 2024 sponsored by Colorado House Representatives Mandy Lindsay and Ryan Armagost. On February 29, 2024, the Colorado Rescue Act was rejected by the state of Colorado. It was presided over by Colorado House Representative Karen McCormick. The polarized political climate of animal welfare played a heavy role in the bill’s rejection, according to Bailey Kramer, principal lobbyist at Legacy Consulting. “We knew passing this bill would be particularly difficult with heavy opposition…and as we made concessions to the bill, the goalpost was constantly moved,” said Kramer. The bill would require that shelters communicate what animals are on euthanasia lists, shedding light on which healthy animals are being euthanized. “We believe that it boiled down to the fact that organizations would have to disclose — not publicly but just to other shelters and rescues — that they are euthanizing animals that could otherwise be in loving forever homes today,” said Kramer. Kramer added that there is a divide in the Colorado animal welfare community between two philosophies: no-kill and socially conscious sheltering, which further contributed to the bill’s downfall. “The Colorado Rescue Act was not inherently no-kill and did not require that shelters function as no-kill shelters. The bill only required that all shelters/rescues work together regardless of business model. Even this was a hard no for socially conscious sheltering organizations,” said Kramer. Those who opposed the Colorado Rescue Act include Dumb Friends League, Humane Society of Boulder Valley (HSBV) Colorado Voters for Animals (CVA), and more. According to Smith, many shelters opted out of supporting the bill out of fear. “The opposition effectively went to the small rural communities in the state and scared them into thinking this was going to hurt them, somehow cost them more. The only
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