Hi, I used to work at an animal shelter back in college.
Did they rescue mostly cats and dogs, or were there every any wildlife there as well?
Mostly cats and dogs. Have you heard of no-kill shelters?
We have a no-kill shelter in our town, of course they still have to euthanize some sick animals.
That is terrible. Such shelters should not exist! 
In the US there is no government run organization that provides oversight of the shelters.
We should pressure the government into providing protection for this.
Well, in some cases, the individual states do regulate shelters within their jurisdiction.
Oh, well at least thats something. Its important that there should be some regulation of shelters!
There is a measure that is pretty comprehensive called the Georgia Animal Protection Act of 1986