Position Statement: Animal Care Standards for non-profits performing animal rescue and rehoming activities, informal rescue groups, non-profit governmentally run shelters.

Endorsed By: Straw For Dogs, Alaska SPCA, Friends of Pets, AK Rural Veterinary Outreach, Anchorage Pets Lost and Found, Polar Pug Rescue and Friends, Kitty and K-9 Connection, Emergency Preparedness for Animals In Alaska and the community at large.

A signed copy can be found here.

We are a diverse group of animal care professionals and are putting forth this statement to share known best practices with the public, and public officials, and request that basic animal care standards are adopted and enforced in our community.

Standards of care are widely recognized by such agencies as the National Animal Control Association (NACA), the American Society of for the Prevention of Animals (ASPCA), and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). These agencies have collaborated on a preamble (forward) that provides input on why the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Shelter Guidelines were developed, how they would be used and how they would impact the animal welfare community, which is now incorporated into the body of the Guidelines.

Animals under the care of professional organizations and businesses such as private and public funded rescues, boarding clinics, and shelters should be evaluated by what is known as the Five Freedoms:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst by ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain full health and vigor.

2. Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.

3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.

4. Freedom to express normal behavior by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animals own kind.

5. Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

The state of Alaska has hosted many workshops regarding minimal animal care standards. Our elected officials should consider such basic requirements essential to our community and move to get minimum care standards enacted without delay.

We, the undersigned, advocate for minimum animal care standards in our community and we support immediate action to ensure that such standards are being met for each animal under the care of a rescue or shelter, whether in a boarding kennel or private foster home.

Straw For Dogs, Alaska SPCA, Friends of Pets, AK Rural Veterinary Outreach, Anchorage Pets Lost and Found, Polar Pug Rescue and Friends and the community at large.