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Volunteer Network
No-kill Dog & Cat Society in Japan
Kanagawa prefecture has successfully ended killing of dogs since 2014 and of cats since 2015!
There are some areas in Japan where local governments and volunteers have worked together to end killing of dogs and cats. In these areas, no more dogs and cats are culled. One of successful areas is Kanagawa Prefecture.
On April 17, 2017, we visited the Kanagwa Animal Shelter. The shelter turned from the kill-shelter to no-kill shelter! Here are major 3 findings:
1. Administrativ action to save all dogs and cats
-The governor of Kanagawa and local governments act on the premise that Kanagawa will never kill any dogs and cats (except euthanasia as terminal care).
-Kanagawa banned the incinerator at the shelter in 2015.
-The shelter provides medical care for all injured dogs and cats that used to be culled.
-The shelter also offers surgical castration and microchip implantation to all dogs and cats.
(Kanagwa prefecture supports half of the cost.)
-Kanagwa prohibits the shelter from sending dogs and cats to science laboratories.
2. Transparency and simplification of administrative system
-Volunteers can have access to the shelter anytime on weekday to check the dogs and cats.
(In Tokyo, volunteers must make an appointment to visit the shelter.)
-The shelter is ready to accept dogs and cats from volunteers, but NEVER accepts animals from breeders and pet shops.
-Kanagwa enacted the law that all breeders and pet shop must complete strict registration under supervision of the shelter.
-Foster-parents can have the information about all dogs and cats at the shelter via website. They can directly adopt dogs and cats from the shelter. (Strict registration and ID verification are necessary.)
3. Collaborative relationships between the shelter and volunteers
-The shelter and volunteers regularly hold meetings for adoption events.
-The shelter always supervises the dogs and cats that volunteers, breeders and pet shops have. Buying / selling animals between volunteers is prohibited.
-If the foster-parents can no longer have pets for some reasons (illness, deceased, moving, etc), volunteers and shelter temporarily accept the pets and look for new foster-parents.
-The local government and volunteers are now working together to build new no-kill shelter. Kanagwa financially supports this project. The volunteers also donate money.
This success story indicates that we can end killing of dogs and cats if we build collaborative relationships between local government and volunteers. It's true the shelter can accept some dogs and cats, but the shelter has a capacity limit. After all, volunteers and citizens will need to become foster-parents.
It is our duty and responsibility to save all dogs and cats.
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