EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County Animal Care and Control statistics show a 36 percent drop in euthanasia from the previous year, while at the same time a nearly 17 percent increase by rescue groups taking dogs and cats out for adoption.
“We are seeing the numbers change,” Animal Care and Control Manager Michael Perkins said. “There were fewer animals coming in and more being adopted.”
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Perkins said the total number of dogs and cats brought in this past year was 310 less than the previous year. He said in 2017 there were 1,911 animals brought in to Animal Control and in 2016 there were 2,221.
“The total number of animals brought in dropped 13 percent and at the same time the number of animals that we euthanized dropped 36 percent,” he said.
According to Animal Care and Control Statistics the number of cats and dogs euthanized in 2017 was 685, which also included owner request (77) and feral cats (371). In 2016, the total of euthanized animals was 1,078, which did not give a category breakdown.
“Rescue groups took more of the animals that came in,” Perkins said.
He said rescue groups adopted out 931 dogs and cats in 2017 compared to 796 in 2016.
Chairman Kurt Prenzler said he promised to move the county in the direction of “no-kill” and the most recent statistics show there is progress.
“Change can be difficult, but we are becoming more transparent in how we report the numbers,” Prenzler said. “We want to continue reducing the number of animals killed.”
He said this past year the statistics started to show a breakdown for euthanasia — owner requested and feral cats — and he hopes to continue to break down the numbers possibly to show why an animal is put down such as aggressive behavior or ill.
Prenzler said that no-kill doesn’t mean animals wouldn’t be euthanized.
“Our goal is to save as many as healthy and adoptable animals as we can” he said.
He said Animal Control is only a snapshot that indicates how well the area is doing in saving the lives of homeless cats and dogs because the county’s animal shelter is not the only source that rescue organizations use to find animals.
“There are plenty of good people throughout the communities that take in stray dogs and cats too,” Prenzler said.
Perkins said one of the ways to keep the public informed on the strays that come in to Animal Control was by posting pictures on the website and on social media.
“We’ve created a new Facebook page — Madison County Animal Care and Control — and we hope people will like it and then share the information that we put out,” he said.
To find the page go to @MadisonCountyAnimalControl.
Perkins said sometime in the past a page was created and it wasn’t by Animal Control.
“We felt we needed to start over and let the public know,” he said. “Our goal is to reunite pets with their owners and to find homes for those who don’t have one.”
Animal Control is expected undergo changes that include everything from developing a mission statement, clarifying policies and procedures and restructuring fee schedule to utilizing local resources and community involvement.
