(See 2015 Final Report)
As for how it was in 2012 ...
What about Calgary?
Calgary's approach to cats, widely recognized as a "best practices model," is often cited as a "gold standard," the success generally being attributed to a "Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw" adopted there in 2006. Since then similar legislation has been argued for in other Canadian cities including Hamilton.
In 2011, during heated debates over animal bylaw changes here, Calgary was portrayed in the local media as a city with shelter cages empty, return-to-owner (RTO) rates over 50%, and remarkably few cats being euthanized. The contrast to Hamilton with shelter cages often filled beyond capacity, RTO rates less than 4%, and 50% ending up euthanized was dramatic.
Those starkly contrasting images were based on a comparison of 2010 stats from Calgary Animal Services (CAS) with those from Hamilton Animal Services (HAS).
In 2013, we (RHC) compared the 2012 stats from these two organizations and what emerged was a similar stark contrast. In Calgary, a city twice the size of Hamilton, CAS took in only 1,093 cats while Hamilton took in 3,078. CAS reported an RTO rate of 47% while the RTO rate reported by HAS was 3.9%. And, while in Calgary, CAS euthanized 218 (20% of the cats they took in) HAS euthanized 1,862 (over 47% of the cats they took in).
The problem is that this comparison, like the one widely publicized in 2011, is seriously flawed. It's based on the assumption that, because both CAS and HAS are municipally run shelters, they "do the same job." In fact, they operate very differently. In Hamilton HAS is mandated to take in all strays (and owner surrenders) while in Calgary CAS in mandated to take in only "strays" with visible ID. Another organization, the Calgary Humane Society (CHS) takes in all the rest - the strays that do not have visible ID and the owner surrenders.
When we contacted them back in 2013, both Calgary organizations provided not only detailed stats but also answers to all of our questions about how they operate and how they divide their roles. Based on that information we adjusted the 2012 comparison. And here is how it looked.
If one adds the CHS intake of 4,240 to the CAS intake of 1,093, the Calgary total becomes 5,335. It's higher, not lower than Hamilton though the per capita intake rate still remained higher in Hamilton (7.52/1000) than in Calgary (4.76/1000). The CHS RTO rate was only 5.8% but if one combines CAS and CHS numbers, the Calgary RTO becomes 14% (instead of 47%); still better than Hamilton's 3.9% but not as dramatically so. Adding the # of cats euthanized by CHS (1013) to the # euthanized by CAS (218) the Calgary total become 1,231 (24%). And, yes, that # and % still looks much better than the Hamilton 2012 total of 1,862 (47%).
What this adjusted comparison tells us is that the contrast is not as dramatic as has been (and still continues to be) portrayed.
While it is important to note these finding, it is also important to be aware that comparisons need to be kept up-to-date.
The 2012 Calgary stats reflect many changes that had been taking place in that city in preceding years. Hamilton was changing too. As the stats in our Information Section show, Intake was on the decline and, by 2013, the # and % of cats euthanized at HAS was going down. To get a sense of what is happening in Hamilton now, look at the YTD 2014 Reports at the end of these Info Pages - Intake, Inside, Discharged, Euthanized and at the Ticker-Tape at the bottom of the Home Page.
No city, including Calgary, claims to have all the answers to dealing effectively (and humanely) with their cat population. And there is no "one answer" or "one size fits all solution."
