09/07/2024
Please help stop this nonsense, Read and tell the KDA/AFI to stop killing dogs/cats.
URGENT: PLEASE READ! VOICE YOUR OPINION, THEN SHARE. WE NEED EVERYONE TO SPEAK UP FOR THE DOGS/CATS THAT WILL DIE BECAUSE OF THE KDA/AFI REGULATIONS. ALL COMMENTS NEED TO BE SENT TO THE LINK BELOW BY THE 9TH.
Pals is the oldest foster home based rescue in Wichita. We were incorporated in 1995.
Our mission is to adopt our fosters into a well screened and vetted home. Many of our animals come to us with house-training, behavior, and fear issues; and many require medical care. While in foster care they receive training and the needed vet care. It can take time to find the right home for pets who have come from abusive or neglectful situations.
Like other rescues and shelters, we have recently found ourselves being hindered as to how we can help save lives due to the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the Animal Facilities Inspection (AFI) program. Since March of this year, the KDA has taken a great life saving partnership between Shelters and Rescues working together to save lives, and broken it.
• They stopped the transfer of animals with communicable diseases, as simple as a common cold such as kennel cough, to a rescue or shelter that could care for the animal and find it a home.
• Puppies who contract parvo, in the past were eligible to transfer to a rescue or shelter with the resources and vet connections to treat them, KDA requirements have stopped that and most are now euthanized.
• Cats and Kittens with any sort of upper respiratory disease cannot be transferred and are now euthanized. Heartworm positive dogs are now destined to be euthanized due to the inability to transfer them to an appropriate rescue via a veterinarian.
• Shelters can only transfer animals to states that require their rescues to be licensed. Therefore, all Oklahoma rescues are ineligible to help an animal in need from a Kansas Shelter.
• There are strict requirements to import an animal into Kansas. An example is they will require Heartworm testing on dogs. If they are positive they can not come into a Kansas rescue, never mind that we already have a serious heartworm issue in our state so why not let a dog come in so it can be treated. When Katrina hit, there were so many dogs that needed to be transferred to rescues and new homes. Pals took two, who were indeed heartworm positive (as most were). We treated them and they found wonderful homes. Now when a disaster hits, Kansas will not be a welcome place for them to come if they have a communicable disease.
• Now the KDA tells us that we have to ask their permission to keep an animal in our care longer than a year. Pals recently had to ask such permission for 6 dogs and 1 cat. One dog was “granted” a 1 yr extension, the others were “granted” a 4 month extension before they are to be removed from our care. The options we are given is for their foster home to adopt them, or send them to another rescue. Each of our animals are in a foster home, and are treated just like their own animals. They are not in cages or outside dog runs. Our fosters put their heart and soul into being a foster parent, and know if they are required to adopt a foster dog in order to keep it from going to an unknown fate, it hampers their ability to bring in another pet to foster in the future.
Limiting the time rescues are allowed to find the right home for their animals has nothing to do with the care or health of the animal. Some animals take longer than others to find that right home. Some animals are overlooked by potential adopters simply because they are shy, plain, to big, shed too much, are too old, etc. We have always kept our dogs till the “right” home comes along, regardless of how long that takes. Unfortunately, we are now being micromanaged by a department that oversees livestock, and they are not differentiating companion animals such as dogs and cats from their livestock regulations.
Shelters/rescues have tried to talk to the KDA/AFI to no avail. They recently sent out some regulation changes, and what they are recommending is absolutely ridiculous and not within the ability of almost all of the rescues/shelters to abide by.
• They now require dogs/cats to be seen by a vet within 24 hours of it being transferred to a rescue. They give a rescue a week to get a dog/cat altered. They require the vet to again do a complete exam right before they can be adopted. The cost of doing this would be out of range for rescues and many small city owned animal shelters. Our veterinarians are swamped as it is and appointments, especially surgeries are not always available within KDA time limits.
• They are telling some shelters that they cannot transfer an animal until the shelter gets the animal altered. Many shelters, like the ElDorado Animal Shelter don’t have the money to do that, or openings for it to be done in a timely manner with the vets in their area.
THIS NONSENSE HAS GOT TO STOP. DOGS AND CATS ARE DYING BECAUSE OF THE KDA/AFI REGULATIONS. PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK AND SAY, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Comments need to be made by Monday Sept 9th. https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/division-of-animal-health/animal-facilities-inspection/kpaa-amended-regulations Scroll to the bottom of the page..
Let them know that their over regulations are killing animals that could be saved.
• They should only restrict transfer of dogs with reportable diseases, Brucellosis, Canine influenza, and Rabies. No restriction on cats STOP THE KILLING.
• Do not limit the time a rescue/shelter has to get a dog/cat adopted.
• Do not require shelters to microchip a dog/cat that is going to a rescue as the rescues want to use their own chips. Some small municipal shelters do not have the expertise or funding to do the chipping.
• Allow a longer period before an animal must be altered as wait time for a vet appointment is usually longer than a week.
• Do not micromanage shelters/and rescues. They are putting more restrictions on Shelters/rescues then Commercial Kennels/Pet stores that sell puppies.
