MELBOURNE, Fla. – Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey announced Friday that county Animal Services has reached a good enough live-release percentage to be deemed "no-kill."
"We are very proud to announce today that we are a no-kill community," Ivey said. "We stand today as a community as a much better place with the health and well-being of our animals."
The Sheriff's Office took over Animal Services two years ago when the county's live-release rate was just 55 percent.
"There were some rough roads," the sheriff recalled.
Friday, crediting an excellent staff and community support, the sheriff said that live-release number is now 94 percent.
"This is an amazing accomplishment by an amazing team," Ivey said. "The goal that we set to get to, that we thought would probably take us five years to get to, has taken us exactly two years to get to."
The news is exciting to pet owners like Matt Gregory, who returned an adopted cat to Animal Services after it was not getting along well with his dog. Gregory said he's happy the cat will not be put to sleep.
"It gives an animal a chance to actually find a forever home," he said.
News 6 also spoke Friday to critics of the sheriff's announcement.
Terri Dyer, a member of No Kill Brevard, said the sheriff is not telling the whole story when he said Animal Services is now no-kill.
"No-kill is not about a percentage. According to the strict definition of no-kill, we are not there yet," Dyer said.
Dyer told News 6 she applauds the Sheriff's Office for increasing the live-release rate, but there are still healthy animals being killed.
"The shelter still allows for unborn kittens and puppies to be spay-aborted," said the no-kill advocate.
Dyer also accuses Animal Services of putting cats and dogs to sleep at their owner's request. She said a true no-kill shelter does not operate that way.
"The truth is, while the live-release rate has gone up, if any healthy or treatable animals are being killed, which we have documentation of, then they cannot claim to be no-kill," Dyer said.
Ivey said the new goal for Animal Services is to keep the live-release rate at its current 94 percent standing and eventually raise it even higher.