CROWLEY, La. — If you're looking to adopt a pet, you may have to look no further than Acadia Parish.
The Acadia Parish Animal Shelter is in dire need of adopters and foster families for its animals as the shelter sits at maximum capacity. Employees tell KATC that many animals are on the waiting list for euthanasia.
It's no secret stray animals are a problem in the parish, as well as in various other rural parishes across Acadiana. According to the ASPCA, each year more than 6.3 million dogs and cats, along with other household pets are surrendered to animal shelters nationwide. Out of that number, only four million find a home. This is just part of the reason your local shelters are facing issues of overpopulation.
Another major reason — a major lack of spaying and neutering and an increasing stray population. Legally speaking, the majority of U.S. states require household pets to be spayed and neutered. Those states are as follows:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
While Louisiana is on that list, according to PETA, only New Orleans has a current Spay-and-Neuter Ordinance listed. There are, however, statewide spay-and-neuter resources at either free- or low-cost, which you can find a parish-by-parish breakdown of here.
Each year, the ASPCA reports approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized in U.S. shelters. That's around 390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats. This is something that has declined from approximately 2.6 million euthanizations in 2011. Data from the ASPCA shows the decline can by attributed in part to an increase in adoptions and a number of strays being returned to their owners.
While this may be the case, Acadia Parish Animal Control employees say strays still come in every day, some even pregnant, which can pose a greater issue in itself. More often than not, staff members tell KATC they have to take matters into their own hands: adopting or temporarily fostering the pets themselves — some even doing this for multiple animals at a time.
If you'd like to help Acadia Parish Animal Control, whether through volunteering, fostering, or even adoption, you can visit its website, Facebook page, or contact coordinator Madilyn Thibodeaux at 337-458-1074.
Animal Control would also like to remind residents of the statewide leash law.
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