WHAT WE DO
“If you leave them here, we’ll euthanize them in the morning.”
Adam, Ginger, and Naomi are three kittens found without their mother on a construction site where they were no longer welcome. Tragically, no local shelters or veterinarians would guarantee their safety, with one of them telling the rescuer, “If you leave them here, we’ll euthanize them in the morning.”
We took in Adam, Ginger, and Naomi. And we’re happy to report that all three found loving homes. On their behalf, and others like them, we’re gearing up for a busy year with legislation to mandate rescue rights, prompt and necessary veterinary care, court-appointed advocates in cruelty cases, and requiring shelters to take in but not kill animals — animals like Adam, Ginger, and Naomi.
The No Kill Advocacy Center has changed the conversation regarding what we owe shelter animals for two decades. We were the first to challenge the myths that enable shelter killing, declare No Kill animal control possible, and show shelters how. (Our director was also the first to achieve it.) And we do that in primarily four ways: legislation, litigation, advocacy, and hands-on, direct assistance to shelter directors, government officials, and shelter reformers.
We provide free consulting for shelter directors to get them to embrace the No Kill Equation and succeed in its implementation. We work closely with legislators to draft, introduce, and pass shelter reform and other forms of animal protection legislation. In addition to legislation, our litigation unit files lawsuits to protect animals and those who care about them. For example, our civil rights cases have successfully protected rescuers and volunteers who have been “fired” or banned from pounds for speaking out against inhumane and abusive treatment. And we assist rescuers and shelter advocates with the help they need to reform the shelters in their local communities.
Thanks to our work, we are closer than ever to becoming a nation where every animal finds a new beginning rather than the end of the line in their local shelter. And unlike some wealthier organizations that take donations and put them in the bank, we use every dollar given to us for immediate lifesaving impact. Indeed, the scope of our work is directly proportional to the generosity of our donors.
“Millions of healthy animals are [killed] in shelters every year. Nathan Winograd wants that reduced to zero… Winograd is helping to save thousands, even millions.”
“The voice of America’s displaced pets and the conscience of the animal sheltering industry.”
Leading the animal protection movement
The No Kill Advocacy Center was founded by Nathan Winograd in 2004 after making Tompkins County, New York the first No Kill community in America.
Nathan is an attorney, a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and corporate attorney, and has held a variety of leadership positions including director of operations for the San Francisco SPCA and executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA. Under his leadership, the San Francisco SPCA and Tompkins County SPCA were each the most successful shelters in the nation.
His work has been featured widely in such publications as Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, Huffington Post, the Atlantic, USA Today, Areo Magazine, and newspapers from all over the country. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, and other radio and television affiliates around the country. His creation of the country’s first No Kill community was named one of the Top 100 achievements in the nation by Metropolitan Home in its “Best of the Best” issue. And The Bark magazine calls him “the voice of America’s displaced pets and the conscience of the animal sheltering industry.”
As a nationally recognized speaker, writer, and most especially, chronicler of the animal protection movement, Nathan has spoken at national animal welfare conferences from coast to coast. He has spoken internationally as well, in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and has been invited to speak all over the world, including Ireland and the Czech Republic. He has also lectured on animal sheltering ethics to students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the nation’s number one ranked veterinary school, and has lectured at the UCLA School of Law on animal law issues.