In July, the last month for which ACCT figures are available, the combined dog/cat live-release rate was 29.6 percent, down from 58 percent when ACCT got the city contract in January, and fully halved from a peak of 62 percent in March.
For contrast, in 2008, when the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association still had the contract, it reported a 58 percent dog/cat save rate, according to Tara Derby, who was PACCA's president.
As bad as the combined dog/cat live-release figure is, it's far worse for cats.
In January, 61 percent of cats exited live. The live-release rate peaked at 62 percent in March, but collapsed to 23 percent in July, a drop of two-thirds. The stats for dogs are not as deadly. Live-release for dogs was 55 percent in January, it peaked at 63 percent in May, but now has fallen to 52 percent.
In its request for the contract, PSPCA promised increased lifesaving of Philadelphia's sick and homeless animals. The opposite is happening. In the background I am hearing "Party Like It's 1999." We are running in reverse.
The original contract promised 68 full-time staffers. It now has 62, and six are shared with the PSPCA. It also promised transparency, and that it has provided. Instead of me relying on anonymous volunteers and staffers who put their jobs in jeopardy by talking with me, the PSPCA has posted the numbers I have reported on its Web site. That is a step forward.
But the climbing level of death is not. Instead of moving Philadelphia toward being a "no-kill" city, in which every adoptable homeless animal gets a home, we are rolling back down the hill.
"Last year at this time, animal control took in more dogs and cats, but saved more," said Garrett Elwood, founder and president of Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia.
"People don't realize that behind those numbers, there's a real animal being killed that doesn't have to be killed."
