Color Me Geek: Animal Shelters: The Need Of The Hour

Animal welfare is just as important as human welfare. Even though animal welfare is yet to become a global phenomenon, it is gaining importance in India at a rapid pace. It’s common to hear heartwarming stories of rescue operations and random acts of kindness. With proper awareness, people are now more involved in helping raise the living standards and status of all animals. Volunteers, NGOs, and organizations alike, are working relentlessly to create a better, happier environment for them. There is a monumental increase in donations being made for the cause.

There is, however, another side to these happy gestures. As human civilization continues its rapid population ascent, we are encroaching on more and more areas of animals. With the increasing encroachment, the chances of animals getting injured themselves, straying into an unknown area, or being lost are increasing. This is where animal shelters come into the picture. The world of Animal Shelters is often misunderstood. I shall discuss the types of Animal Shelters (Yes, only gaushalas are not animal shelters!), the reasons why they are essential, how they are structured, and the issues that organizations/individuals that run animal shelters face in the present day.

What are animal shelters?

Animal shelters are for keeping, treating, and taking care of injured, stray, lost, or abandoned animals. These shelters can be government or private. Usually, they become temporary housing for cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, goats, birds, cows, etc. These are usually the common domesticated animals that frequently live in the same habitat as humans. Sometimes these animals are brought by owners who can no longer take care of them. In certain cases, these shelters also carry out the euthanization of old and sick animals. This usually happens when there is a space crunch due to the increase in the number of animals in the shelter.

Why are animal shelters essential?

Across the world, we are all aware of the ticking time bomb, which is the rising human population. However, the majority of us are blissfully ignorant of another developing issue – the problem of a rising population of pet animals.

This problem is primarily a result of uncontrolled breeding practices and irresponsibility shown by pet owners. The problem has grown to such a level that serious solutions are needed to regulate the rapidly increasing number of homeless pet animals. That is where animal shelters come in. Even though they do not directly solve the problem of homeless/unwanted pets, they do help alleviate the risks of disease or injuries from these animals who are homeless and living out on the streets to survive.

Furthermore, animal shelters provide a safe haven for these homeless animals where they can retain some semblance of a normal life by interacting and living socially with other animals. In most cases, these shelters take decent care of the health of the resident animals with proper neutralization and vaccinations.

These shelters also provide a structured platform for people who love pets to adopt animals from an animal shelter. The adoption process is much easier, shorter, and cheaper than trying to get a pet from an expensive shop. Adoption also carries a much lesser risk of disease, than trying to tame an animal surviving on the street. You also get vital information from the animal shelters about the animal’s behavior so that it can be managed well, and the necessary precautions can be taken. Often, animal shelters work closely with local communities in developing compassion for these homeless animals and educating communities on ways to save these animals.

Structure of animal shelters

An animal shelter is usually a good place for abandoned, abused, and stray animals. Most animal shelters are run from donations from animal lovers and institutions that are working in this field. An ideal animal shelter consists of a relatively cavernous outdoor and indoor space for the animals to interact freely and play around. Space is managed by competent staff with access to neutering facilities, an effective vaccination program, actively working volunteers, and clear adoption policies. Usually, well-run animal shelters will also have isolation facilities for animals showing disruptive or overly aggressive behavior.

In the perfect scenario, the shelters try to provide the animals with habitats that are as similar as possible to their natural ones. When a new animal comes to the shelter, dedicated staff is responsible for the onboarding, and the animal is cleaned and disinfected. The means of transport used to transfer the animals are also disinfected after each use. After the animal is onboarded onto the shelter, a medical assessment of the creature is done, its age, weight, and sex are estimated, the necessary vaccinations are provided, and a behavioral evaluation is also carried out. Based on the data obtained from the evaluations, a training and treatment program is designed for the animal.

The above scenario may sound very professional to you, but remember, the aforementioned process is for animal shelters functioning in a perfect scenario. Unfortunately, a lack of funds and a dearth of staff stops a number of animal shelters from functioning in the ideal case.

Common issues faced by animal shelters

Animal shelters in India face a number of issues, some of which challenge their very existence. Some of the biggest challenges include:

Lack of funding: Getting funding to run an animal shelter is a gargantuan challenge. It’s a classic supply and demand problem. There are too many shelters demanding funds and a limited supply of government funds. A majority of these shelters are run by the age-old ‘jugaad’ of pooling money from family, friends, and partners. Eventually, the lack of funding affects the staffing and the capacity of these animal shelters for providing a safe haven to homeless animals.
Lack of space: Space for an animal shelter is another major issue. With the rising numbers of homeless animals, carrying injuries and diseases, and trying to survive, it is a huge issue that deserves more attention than it gets. Unfortunately, the space and number of animal shelters are not rising proportionally with the rising population of these animals.
Lack of public awareness: There is little or no awareness of the issue of handling pets to avoid overpopulation and the ways to prevent it. People often delay or have no knowledge of when to neuter or spray their pets or take care of them. Shelters do try to organize awareness campaigns, but their numbers are too little to keep up with the rising influx of homeless animals, and the accelerating desire of people to keep animals as pets.

Which are the top animal shelters in Delhi-NCR?

There are several NGOs, individuals and organizations that run animal shelters all over the country (and the world). Some of the notable (in no particular order) shelters in and around Delhi are:

1. Friendicoes SECA