The policies of stray pet population control in Lithuania : a study of government contractors as opposed to non-profit volunteer based organizations

Abstract

Within the thesis, the trending methods of stray pet population care and control are considered, the emphasis put on the differences between governmentally funded institutions of sanitation and the non-governmental animal shelters; significant attention paid to the implementation and overall effectiveness of both systems, with the differentiation of financial success and their effectiveness in saving animals and finding new homes. Within the framework of the thesis, the relationship between those two types of organizations is considered with an attempt to put some light on the impact they have on each other and how such dynamics enforce the evolution in the methods and planning for the future. Furthermore, the expansion of the non-governmental animal shelter policies considered with comparisons to the municipally funded policies that rely on mass extermination of stray pets. Finally, the main reasons for establishment of non-governmental shelters are examined as well as possible implementations on the legal basis in conjunction to propagating the expansion and future of such shelters. The main comparison framework has been set for two main cities in Lithuania, Vilnius and Kaunas as they are the most representative of the current situation, providing the perfect medium since the beginning of the no-kill shelter establishment that competes with the municipally contracted institutions which still control the vast majority of the stray animal population care and control market.