“The Five Freedoms,” animal welfare concepts that came out of agricultural reform, have been important in improving the lives of sheltered animals. But at Maddie’s InstituteSM, we believe in six freedoms, including the freedom to live.
The five freedoms, which were an important component of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, include:
- Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
By ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain health and vigor. - Freedom from Discomfort
By providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area. - Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease
By prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment. - Freedom to Express Normal Behavior
By providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind. - Freedom from Fear and Distress
By ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
To that list, we have added a sixth:
- Freedom to Live
By finding adoptive homes for all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats.
We believe animals shelters that implement programs proven to save lives – whether espoused by progressive animal shelters, animal control agencies, traditional animal welfare groups, no-kill advocacy groups, shelter medicine programs, or animal advocates – can guarantee a freedom to live to the homeless animals in their care, reserving euthanasia only for those pets who are suffering and cannot be helped.
Without life, no other freedom exists, let alone matters.
At Maddie’s Institute, all our programs, resources and educational materials are developed to give you the tools you need to save lives. That is how we honor the promise made by the founders of Maddie’s Fund® to Maddie, the dog who inspired our work: to help make this country safe for all her kind.