The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) has recently introduced a massive new initiative known as Southern Hub. This action aims to reduce the number of cats in shelters by helping them find new homes.
In this context, the MSPCA successfully flew over 150 stray cats from Florida to Massachusetts, US
Initially, these pets were collected from different shelters in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale’s Humane Society of Broward County, West Palm Beach’s Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, and Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City.
As planned, the special flight took off on August 2, 2022. For the delicate mission’s success, teams from MSPCA-Angell and the contributing shelters in Florida collaborated.
After a two hours flight, the plane touched down at the New Bedford Regional Airport at 11:30 in the morning with its precious cargo. Overall, all the feline passengers were doing great in their transport crates.
MSPCA sets up an adoption event
Once they landed, the MSPCA Boston could disseminate the cats to three other rescue centers partnering with the organization. Withal, the flight was the first of several scheduled to take place throughout the year.
According to Mike Keiley, Director of Shelters and Adoption Programs for the MSPCA-Angell, the primary aim is to help as many animals as possible as their carers, whether they live in Massachusetts or another state.
The Southern Hub program is intended to assist South Florida shelters operating at capacity due to the high number of abandoned animals.
It is actually common practice to transport cats and kittens to the state of Massachusetts, which boasts the highest rate of adoption applications in the country. Moreover, Mike Keiley told news outlet MassLive:
” Doing so allows those facilities to take in cats from the shelters struggling with high intake during peak summer months. “
Besides, there is already an adoption process in place for the kittens. On the weekend of August 6 and 7, 2022, a special event was held to help the cats find loving homes.
Mike Keiley and the rest of his crew hope many of them will be given a do-over.
Animal shelters overcrowded
Domestic animal overpopulation is a crisis that must be addressed because animal shelters are overcrowded.
According to a Best Friends Animal Society survey conducted in August, 87 percent of the 187 U.S. shelters polled are understaffed, suggesting a more significant national issue. Furthermore, there is a severe lack of veterinarians in the United States.
National Geographic notes that some rural shelters lack even a veterinarian in their county. It’s claimed that during the pandemic, several U.S. regions deemed spay and neuter services non-essential.
This categorization resulted in a backlog of animals that must be spayed or neutered before families can adopt them.