All non-profit organizations have identical rights and responsibilities before the law. FARA seeks to protect those rights by leveling the playing field between the large non-profits which have all the power and the small non-profits that are prevented from fulfilling their lifesaving mission when these larger organizations refuse to collaborate with them in order to save more lives. Take Action Below!
FARA specifically excludes dangerous dogs, and animals who are irremediably suffering. Take Action Below!
FARA reduces the number of animals they kill. It reduces costs for killing. It brings in revenue, through adoption fees. And it transfers costs from taxpayers to private organizations, funded through philanthropic dollars. Take Action Below!
FARA is based on a law in California which was passed in 1998 with overwhelming bipartisan support (96-12), and passed in Delaware unanimously. Similar legislation is currently pending in Minnesota and New York. Take Action Below!
The same statewide survey of rescue groups in Florida State also found that 45% of respondents are afraid to complain about inhumane conditions or practices at Florida State shelters because if they did complain, they would not be allowed to rescue animals, thus allowing those inhumane conditions to continue. Take Action Below!
A 2011 statewide survey of rescue groups in Florida found that 63% of non-profit animal rescue groups have had at least one Florida state shelter refuse to work collaboratively with them and then turn around and kill the very animals they were willing to save. Studies in other states show that when these laws are passed, lifesaving goes up. In just one County in California, rescue transfers increased 4,000 a year when it passed a rescue access law. Take Action Below!
FARA is modeled after a similar law which has been in effect in California since 1998. An analysis of that law found that sending animals to non-profit animal rescue organizations rather than killing them saved the City and County of San Francisco $486,480 in publicly funded animal control costs. Take Action Below!
Studies show that staff members responsible for killing animals in shelters are vulnerable to emotional trauma, exhaustion, and burnout. FARA would spare staff from killing animals, when those animals have readily available lifesaving options. Take Action Below!
Florida Survey Shows Animals Needlessly Killed; Rescue Access Law Introduced!
"Florida Animal Rescue Act, SB 818/HB 597, would make it illegal for a shelter to kill an animal when a qualified non-profit rescue organization is willing to save that animal."
A statewide survey of rescue groups across Florida State found that 63% of non-profit animal rescue groups have had at least one Florida state shelter refuse to work collaboratively with them and then turn around and kill the very animals they were willing to save. The most common reason given was shelters either having a policy of not working with rescue groups or being openly hostile to doing so.
It makes no sense to kill animals in the face of cost-effective alternatives, nor does it make sense that taxpayers are spending money to kill animals when non-profit organizations are willing and able to save them at private expense. California's "rescue access" law saves tens of thousands of animals every year at no cost to the public.
The same survey also found that 45% of respondents are afraid to complain about inhumane conditions or practices at Florida shelters because if they did complain, they would not be allowed to rescue animals, thus allowing those inhumane conditions to continue.
In addition, 81% of rescue groups that have tried to work with more than one shelter said that different shelters have different rescue access policies, with more than half of those respondents saying that criteria for saving animals changes depending on what staff is on duty or whether staff changes. This creates inefficiency and limits the number of animals who can and should be saved.
The Florida Animal Rescue Act would set statewide standards for rescue group access and make it illegal for a shelter to kill an animal when a qualified non-profit rescue organization is willing to save that animal. Not only will it save lives, save taxpayer money, and mandate public-private partnerships, the Florida Animal Rescue Act is consistent with public health and safety, and improves the public satisfaction with the job government is doing.
