Abandoned animals in Kentucky will be helped by around $3 million that the state will provide as grants to county animal shelters or contractors that run shelters for counties.
According to Linda Grimes, chairperson of the Kentucky Animal Control Advisory Board, the grants will come from bond sales and will be used to care for around 285,000 animals that are given to shelters or are abandoned throughout the state each year.
Grimes also said that around 85 percent of homeless animals in the state are euthanized, but she added that the euthanasia rate is about the same as the national rate. She mentioned that some shelters in the rural areas have to resort to euthanasia for most of their animals, but other shelters especially in the urban areas have high rates of finding families willing to adopt pets.
Bill Clary, spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, said that it is the first time in more than 5 years that grants from bond sales have been made available for animal control programs.
According to the advisory board, the state grants would be distributed through a grant application process. They said they expect a lot of applicants because of the sharp increase in abandoned animals throughout the state as more households face economic difficulties.
The advisory board also handles the neuter and spay program of the state, which is financed by the issuance of neuter and spay license plates. Since 2005, an estimated $700,000 has been raised through the sale of these plates.
Meanwhile, several shelters in Kentucky have been facing challenges arising from the decline in donations and funding and in individuals willing to adopt pets. The Lexington Humane Society, which currently cares for around 500 animals, said its monthly adoption rate has dropped.
The Paris Animal Welfare Society said its animals have been rising in number because of the rising number of families moving into rental housing that ban pets and owners of pets which have medical problems that they cannot afford to treat.
Ashley Sullivan, head of the facility, said that the center has been giving pet dogs for adoption at a rate of 90 percent, but the rate for pet cats has only been 38 percent.
According to Teresa Sparks, deputy judge-executive of Estill County, said that about half of the more than 2,165 animals brought in, including abandoned animals rescued from foreclosed properties, are euthanized. She said however that the euthanasia rate has decreased compared to 2008.
Start your Search for:
