Evelyn Black gives treats to foster cats in her Mason home. Black, of Mason, is a leading coordinator of the “No-Kill” movement in Cincinnati. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson
Hundreds of people passionate about animal rescue will converge on Blue Ash this weekend for the second annual Great Shelters conference.
The two-day event features nationally known speakers and seminars on implementing “no-kill” shelter programs in the area.
Advocates define no-kill shelters as euthanizing fewer than 10 percent of the animals that come into shelters, and then only those animals with untreatable illnesses, injuries or behavior problems.
Conference hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 5901 Pfeiffer Road.
“Last year we introduced the concept that this is possible and that there are other shelters across the country doing this,” said conference organizer Evelyn Black of Mason. “This year we will be adding to that with more information and speakers from shelters that are actively implementing no-kill programs.”
The keynote speaker is Nathan Winograd, a Stanford-law-educated prosecutor and corporate attorney who’s considered the founder of the national no-kill shelter movement.
According to estimates from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, community shelters euthanize between three and four million animals each year. The breakdown is about 60 percent dogs and 70 percent cats.
“People don’t want millions of animals to die in their county shelters every year, and now they’re learning that it doesn’t have to be this way,” says Anita Barron, founder of Pet Alliance, the Cincinnati non-profit sponsoring the conference.
“Demand for ‘no-kill’ is coming to every community, and shelter leaders can increase their life-saving efforts exponentially through the information to be presented at this conference.”
Tickets are $30 each day, which includes lunch. Register online at greatsheltersconference.com or at the door.
