February 16, 2019; Salt Lake Tribune
In Utah, a bill has been filed that would require monthly reporting by animal shelters on key statistics. Senate Bill 155 would mandate reporting on how many animals were taken in and from where, and the number of animals that died or were euthanized by the shelter during each month.
State Senator Karen Mayne (D–Salt Lake City) says that the data is needed to encourage collaboration and guide the allocation of resources toward the best possible outcomes.
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Amy Meyer of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition, which already monitors such data through the use of open-records requests, says that group supports the legislation because it will “help increase public understanding of how these shelters are operating,” and of Utah’s “daunting animal overpopulation crisis.”
Creating such a statewide database makes sense in any number of ways, especially as increasing numbers of people have become concerned about the conditions of shelters and their track records in the use of euthanasia.—Ruth McCambridge
