What is the Humane Society of Utah’s Position on _____?

We share our official positions on common animal welfare topics here.

The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) supports evidence-informed, humane management of community cats to improve cat welfare, reduce nuisance concerns, and prevent future litters. National animal welfare policy recognizes that community cats are best addressed through targeted, nonlethal strategies, including Trap-Neuter-Return/Return-to-Field rather than routine shelter impoundment, which often fails to reduce colony size in the long term.  

HSU’s approach prioritizes: 

  • Spay/neuter and vaccination at scale to stop the cycle of kittens and stabilize populations 
  • Field-friendly outcomes for unsocialized cats who are not candidates for indoor adoption 
  • Public health and neighborhood problem-solving through caregiver support, education, and practical mitigation steps 
  • Shelter capacity protection by reserving limited kennel space for animals who truly need it: owned pets, adoptable strays, and cats that are sick, injured, or orphaned 

HSU operationalizes this position through our Catnip programs, which support community cat management by: 

  • Providing accessible spay/neuter + vaccination pathways for community cats (core TNR services) 
  • Supporting humane trapping/return best practices and caregiver coordination to ensure cats are returned to appropriate outdoor locations and monitored 
  • Offering resources that reduce conflict (caretaker guidance, colony stabilization education, and referral support) 
  • Strengthening the community safety net so fewer cats and kittens enter shelters in crisis 

The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) supports a Capacity for Care approach that prioritizes animal welfare, staff and volunteer sustainability, and responsible use of community resources. 
Capacity for Care is a humane, evidence-based framework that aligns the number of animals in care with the organization’s physical space, staffing, medical capacity, and financial resources. This approach recognizes that exceeding capacity compromises animal health, increases stress and disease, extends length of stay, and has detrimental effects on overall outcomes. 

Rather than measuring success by the number of animals admitted, Capacity for Care emphasizes the quality of care provided to each animal and the effectiveness of pathways that move animals safely and efficiently to positive outcomes. 

HSU’s Capacity for Care philosophy emphasizes: 

  • Animal welfare first, ensuring each animal receives appropriate housing, enrichment, medical care, and behavioral support 
  • Strategic decision-making, prioritizing animals with the greatest need for shelter intervention 
  • Shorter lengths of stay are strongly correlated with improved health, reduced stress, and higher adoption success 
  • Staff and volunteer sustainability, recognizing that chronic overcapacity leads to burnout, safety risks, and reduced quality of care 
  • Transparency and accountability, using data to guide decisions and communicate clearly with the community about when shelter intake must be balanced with available resources 

HSU operationalizes Capacity for Care through coordinated shelter operations and community partnerships by: 

  • Monitoring real-time population metrics (housing availability, length of stay, medical capacity) 
  • Using multiple outcome pathways, including adoption, foster care, transfer, and community-based solutions, to prevent unnecessary shelter stays 
  • Prioritizing animals who are sick, injured, unsafe, or truly homeless for shelter admission 
  • Continuously evaluating policies and workflows to ensure humane standards are maintained even during periods of increased demand 

The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) opposes the routine declawing of domestic cats and supports humane, evidence-based alternatives that protect feline welfare and promote successful human-animal relationships. Declawing is the surgical amputation of the last bone of each toe and is widely recognized by veterinary and animal welfare authorities as a procedure associated with pain, behavioral risks, and often long-term complications. Declawing is medically unnecessary and does not address the underlying causes of scratching behavior. 

HSU’s position reflects current veterinary consensus that scratching is a normal, instinctive feline behavior that can be successfully managed through non-surgical means, including environmental modification, behavior support, and appropriate care. 

HSU’s approach emphasizes: 

  • Animal welfare first, recognizing that declawing can compromise a cat’s physical comfort, mobility, and behavioral well-being 
  • Prevention and education, addressing scratching behavior proactively rather than through permanent surgical intervention 
  • Evidence-based alternatives, including regular nail trims, scratching posts and surfaces, nail caps, behavior counseling, and environmental enrichment 
  • Adopter success and retention, acknowledging that declawing does not guarantee behavior resolution and may increase the risk of litter box avoidance, biting, or relinquishment 

The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) supports pre-adoption sterilization of shelter animals as a foundational best practice in humane animal welfare, population control, and responsible placement. National animal welfare organizations and large, high-volume shelters consistently recognize that sterilizing animals prior to adoption is one of the most effective strategies to prevent unintended litters, reduce future shelter intake, and protect both animal and community well-being. 

Pre-adoption sterilization ensures that animals leave the shelter: 

  • Protected from contributing to future overpopulation 
  • Medically safeguarded with appropriate perioperative care 
  • Placed responsibly, without shifting cost, access, or compliance barriers to adopters 

This approach prioritizes prevention over remediation and aligns with evidence-based sheltering practices used by leading animal welfare organizations nationwide. 

HSU’s position emphasizes: 

  • Sterilization prior to adoption is the default standard 
  • Animal welfare and public trust: ensuring adopters are not asked to navigate complex post-adoption requirements that historically lead to low compliance 
  • Recognizing that delaying sterilization disproportionately impacts adopters facing financial, transportation, or veterinary access barriers 
  • System-level population control that reduces the likelihood that animals adopted today or their offspring will enter shelters tomorrow 

HSU operationalizes this commitment through integrated shelter and clinic programs, which support pre-adoption sterilization by: 

  • Providing high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter capacity that ensures animals are altered prior to placement 
  • Aligning shelter operations and clinic services to prevent adoption delays while maintaining animal safety and recovery standards 
  • Reducing future community cat and owned-pet intake by ensuring adopted animals do not contribute to unintended litters 
  • Reinforcing a prevention-first model, where shelter intervention addresses root causes, not just downstream outcomes 

2026 Position Statement on Training 

The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) supports and exclusively utilizes evidence-based, force-free training methods grounded in positive reinforcement. In alignment with our mission to unite pets and people and advocate for companion animals’ quality of life, HSU is committed to training and behavior practices that prioritize animal welfare, build trust, and strengthen the human–animal bond. 

The animal training industry remains largely unregulated, resulting in a wide range of opinions and practices that are not always supported by science. In contrast, HSU’s training philosophy is guided by well-established principles of learning theory and animal welfare science. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that positive reinforcement-based training is both the most humane and most effective method for teaching and modifying behavior in companion animals. 

HSU’s approach emphasizes: 

  • Positive reinforcement as the foundation of all training and handling, reinforcing desired behaviors through humane, reward-based techniques. 
  • Evidence-based learning theory, drawing from decades of research in applied behavior analysis and animal welfare science. 
  • Trust and relationship-building, recognizing that animals learn best in environments free from fear, pain, or intimidation. 
  • Effectiveness and welfare are combined, ensuring training goals are met without compromising emotional or physical well-being. 

Research consistently shows that positive reinforcement training: 

  • Improves overall animal welfare 
  • Strengthens the human–animal bond 
  • Reduces fear, stress, and behavior fallout 
  • Achieves reliable, long-term behavior change 

Why HSU Does Not Use Correction-Based Training Methods 

HSU does not support the use of aversive or correction-based training methods or equipment, including but not limited to e-collars, prong collars, choke chains, and other punitive tools. Scientific research and clinical experience show that these methods carry a significant risk of negative outcomes, including: 

  • Increased aggression, directed toward handlers or others 
  • Escape and avoidance behaviors 
  • Learned helplessness, resulting in apathy and shutdown 
  • Generalization of fear to other people, environments, or situations, including the handler 

Punishment-based approaches often suppress behavior without addressing underlying causes and can escalate over time as effectiveness diminishes. This creates a cycle of increased correction rather than understanding, undermining trust and compromising welfare. HSU believes that training should increase clarity, communication, and confidence, not fear or compliance through intimidation. The relationships we aim to foster between people and their pets are rooted in mutual understanding and compassion. 

How HSU Delivers Humane, Science-Based Training 

HSU’s commitment to positive reinforcement is reflected in our professional standards and program delivery: 

  • All behavior staff are certified or working towards professional certifications. 
  • Staff participate in ongoing continuing education to stay current with evolving research and best practices in animal behavior and welfare. 
  • Training programs are designed to support long-term success, helping pets remain safely and comfortably in their homes and communities. 

HSU considers it our responsibility to provide the community with ethical, effective, and scientifically grounded training guidance, ensuring the best possible outcomes for both animals and the people who care for them. This policy applies to HSU-operated programs, staff, volunteers, contractors, and partnerships in which training or animal-handling standards are defined. It does not regulate private pet ownership practices but establishes the humane training framework under which HSU provides services, education, and professional guidance.