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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1973)
T^ie executive director of the Lane Humane Society is quite blunt about the animal papulation problem. “I’m not going to pick any bones about it,” says Everett McVicker, “We put 24,000 or more animals to sleep each year. We do it every hour of every day. It’s a dirty job. It’s not fun put ting animals to sleep. And if people don't get their animals spayed, it’s their own damn fault.” McVicker says the Lane Countv animal population ex By BOB GALVIN Of the Emerald plosion is creating some serious problems for the Humane Society’. He says the Humane Society will have to be enlarged and that he would like ttHiave an extra set of kennels to put stray animals in, keeping the gift animals which the public brings to the society separate, mainly for disease control. McVicker says he must keep the stray animals separated from the gift animals because he doesn’t know what diseases they may have. With the amount of kennels the Humane Society has now, Mc Vicker says they are handling more strays and holding them longer. The society has to hold county unlicensed strays for a minimum of four days, and on the sixth day McVicker says the stray is put to sleep if nobody in the community has shown an interest in it. As more strays are brought to the Humane Society, the gift animals are being crowded out, which causes McVicker to question the philosophy of the Society. “A Humane Society is a home for homeless animals, we take them in but twenty four hours “The money we want from the county is just to meet our operational demands out here,” he says. But enlargement plans complex is completed, however, McVicker says the problem of a growing society with more animals to take care of will still 'If your animal isn ’t spayed, 24,000 deaths are your fault ’ Photo by Nick Lacy later we re {Hitting them to sleep. It’s just not fair,” says McVicker, who concluded that enlargement of the Humane Society would solve a big part of the stray animal overpopulation. have not been earned out due to a lack of funds, so, the society has applied to a foundation to get necessary funds to build the new kennel, he says. When the new Humane Society remain. There is “a dire need” for an animal shelter on the coast, he says, and hopes the Humane Society can function with the county so that an animal shelter can be built on the coast to take care of the stray animals. According to McVicker, the county commissioners and the budget committee have refused to give the Humane Society any funds for its expansion. This will cause McVicker to cut back on operation costs at the Humane Society. He says both he and the em ployes will not receive a raise this vear as a result, and pointed to increased fuel costs, gas costs for vehicles and rising food costs for the pets as the main reasons for the cut-back The Humane Society receives large amounts of money through donations and through the society’s sendees which include sale of animals, cemetary burials, private cremations and picking up sick and injured animals for people who dispose of them, he says. The Humane Society might take in nearly $50,000 a year for these services but it needs more money to adequately cover them, he adds. “We need animal control in this county,” says McVicker. “Money has to come from the general county fund in order to do an adequate animal control program.” McVicker speaks of a great community misunderstanding about the Humane Society and Lane County Dog Control. He says, many people think the society is part of Dog Control and vice versa. “Both agencies want to clarify that they are separate agencies. Dog Control is under the Office of Public Safety and the Humane Society is under the supervision of the county,” VMcVicker says. (Continued on Page 14) oi Oregon general catalog 1973-74 now available at the coop and the erb memorial union
