GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – The Humane Society of South Mississippi is facing a major crisis. Right now, the Gulfport shelter is overwhelmed with homeless pets, forcing the shelter into 149 animals over capacity.
Since June 1, the shelter has taken in 180 animals, averaging 25 new animals per day. Yet the shelter has only been able to find homes for 63 since the same date. This leaves the already overwhelmed shelter, only designed to hold 325 animals, struggling to house these pets and entirely out of space.
Friday, in a call-out to the community, the Humane Society shared an email stressing the severity of the situation. They relayed that they are doing all they can, between lowering costs of spaying and neutering, building extra space in the shelter, recruiting new foster parents, hosting adoption specials, and reaching out to northern and national transport partners. However, they still need the public’s help. And they need it now.
“Foster. Adopt. Spay and Neuter… We must take a collective responsibility approach and hold ourselves accountable for the welfare of pets in our community,“ the email said.
Modifications have been made to increase adoption rates and the available space at the shelter, yet the numbers keep piling up.
“While we are in the process of renovating our warehouse to house an additional 20 large dogs, we simply cannot continue taking in animals at this rate without them leaving the shelter. Housing shelter pets in black wire crates is certainly not the ideal situation, but this is the sad reality of a capacity crisis and has been the on-going issue this year that our staff has been dealing with daily,” HSSM said.
The shelter is still struggling with the intake of 128 animals from hoarding and seizure cases in March 2022. In their care are still 21 of the 70 animals acquired from a Pass Christian hoarding situation.
For more information about the Humane Society of South Mississippi or how you can adopt, visit their website or call 228-863-3354.
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