Animal Welfare Professionals

Presentation slides from the "What's Up in New England?" presentation given by @brad shear and Mike Keiley on the Friday 2/25/22 Animal Welfare Leadership call. 

Presenters: 
Brad Shear, Executive Director at Potter​ League for Animals
Mike Keiley, Director of Adoption Centers and Programs at MSPCA - Angell

Background on the call & presentation: 

The Future of Pet Dog Acquisition - Considerations from the Northeast United States

Data shows that homeless animal populations continue to decline overall nationally. The decline in certain regions, like New England, is even more pronounced. This change has led New England animal welfare organizations to reexamine the needs of animals in their community and shift resources from intake and adoption to programming that supports pet owners in our communities. It has also created frustration for those seeking to acquire animals humanely. Relocation programming alone has not satisfied the demand. The inability of shelters to meet demand led people to find animals elsewhere. New England animal welfare organizations are examining where pets are coming from and where they will come from in the future. That exploration has drawn concern from other parts of the country that are still dealing with the local overpopulation of animals. This discussion will provide an opportunity for staff working in animal welfare outside of New England to ask questions to learn about these trends.

In the discussion portion, we'll talk about the significance of this presentation in the overall landscape of national pet supply and demand. Here are just a few of the questions we'll tackle together: 

Should animal welfare consider collaborating with breeders in the future? What should a community do when there aren't enough smaller dogs and puppies and transport isn't filling the gap? What is our collective responsibility to help pets in areas of regional over-supply? How can animal welfare work together to ensure under-supplied areas have the pets they need while also not leaving medium and large shelter dogs behind? When is the 'right time' to proactively work to increase supply?