The kill rate at the aging
Orange County animal shelter has plummeted over the past five years, sparing
the lives of thousands of stray and abandoned dogs, cats and other animals.
Back in 2010 – when the
recession was in full force and home foreclosures hit an all-time high – 15,093
animals entered the shelter but didn’t get out alive, according to county
statistics. The overall kill rate was 50 percent, meaning one of every two
animals was put down.
By 2014, the number of animals
euthanized had plunged by nearly half – to 8,132 – and the overall kill rate
had dropped to 33 percent, meaning one of every three animals was put down.
That’s nearly 7,000 fewer dead animals.
The total number of animals
taken in at the creaky 70-plus-year-old Orange facility was down more
than 20 percent as well.
“Our numbers continued to move
in a very positive direction,” said Katie Ingram, administrative manager for OC
Animal Care, the branch of county government that runs the shelter for 18
cities and the county’s unincorporated areas, licenses dogs and handles
enforcement of animal-related laws.
She credited an improving economy,
greater acceptance of voluntary spaying and neutering, stronger partnerships
with rescue groups, the tremendous reach of social media to help find homes for
adoptable pets, and a novel program to spay or neuter feral cats, then release
them where they were found, with the improving picture.
Animal activists lauded the
progress but insisted it’s not enough.
“In order to change any result,
the direct cause must be addressed,” said Jean Bland, an activist in Laguna
Hills. “So I absolutely believe a mandatory spay-and-neuter policy, that
includes a truly low-cost option for those who qualify financially, is
essential for the county of Orange.”
Sharon Cody, former Mission
Viejo councilwoman and passionate animal activist, agrees.
“This is great news, that the
O.C. shelter is both receiving fewer animals and euthanizing fewer of them,”
Cody said. “A mandatory spay-and-neuter ordinance would absolutely reduce
further the number of pets impounded.”
Mandatory spay-neuter laws
require dog and cat owners to have their animals’ reproductive systems
neutralized, usually with exceptions for show dogs and the like. People who
refuse to have their pets “fixed” can be subject to fines and other penalties.
PROGRESS IN L.A.
Los Angeles adopted a mandatory
spay-neuter law in 2008 – the same year the Orange County grand jury urged the
Board of Supervisors to do the same. O.C. rejected the idea as too “nanny
state” after some dog enthusiasts denounced the idea as an attack on their pets
and as the first step toward outlawing animal ownership entirely.
Nanny or no, the policy appears
to be having its intended effect in Los Angeles:
• In 2010, the kill rate for
dogs and cats was 40 percent, and 21,784 were euthanized, according to L.A.
city statistics.
• By 2014, the kill rate for
dogs and cats had plunged to 24 percent, with 8,239 animals euthanized. O.C.
put down 6,621 dogs and cats that year – not much fewer than L.A., though
L.A.’s program is much larger.
An aggressive, but voluntary,
spay-neuter program adopted in the Live-Free-or-Die state of New Hampshire saw
euthanasia rates drop 70 percent, by targeting low-income pet owners and
offering free or nearly free spay/neuter procedures, officials have said.
In Santa Cruz, a mandatory
spay-neuter law resulted in dramatic reductions. Within a decade, the intake of
stray animals had plummeted 61 percent, and the kill rate dropped by nearly
half.
Several bills to make spaying
and neutering mandatory have been introduced in California over the years, and
all of them came to a dead end. Opponents have little faith in these numbers
and say the costs of mandatory spay-neuter can more than double the cost of
animal control.
‘GOING TO THE DOGS’
That’s not, however, the
conclusion that the grand jury embraced.
“The most cost-effective and
humane long-term method to reduce animal overpopulation is to spay and neuter
pets,” the grand jury said in its 2008 report, “Is Orange County Going to the
Dogs?”
“The main reason that the
county shelter is full and many animals are euthanized is that pet owners, in
many cases, have allowed their animals to reproduce beyond the owner’s ability
to take care of the offspring,” it continued. “The grand jury determined that
there should be some form of mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for all Orange
County cities and the unincorporated areas. This would reduce the animal
population, save taxpayers money and lower the number of pets being
euthanized.”
In its required response,
county supervisors said, “This recommendation will not be implemented because
it is not warranted or is not reasonable.”
Activists hope that, after all
these years, supervisors might reconsider. All five members have been replaced
since then.
“Of course you will have some
people who use the tired term ‘nanny state,’ but to me that sounds like when
teenagers are going through the rebellious stage and ‘you can’t tell them what
to do,’” animal rights supporter Rose Tingle said.
Refining how animal
control works is high on the county’s agenda in the wake of a critical
examination by the county’s performance auditor. That report made dozens of
recommendations on how to improve operations, and its new director,
veterinarian Jennifer Hawkins, is eager to get to work.
“We’re at an old facility, but
we’re trying to be as proactive and creative as we can,” Animal Care’s Ingram
said. “Spaying and neutering, and responsible pet ownership, are the priority
messages.”
The county has partnered with
foundations to help offer free and low-cost spay-and-neuter. The next sessions
are slated for Friday and May 22. More information is at ocpetinfo.com.
“It sure is an important
message,” Ingram said. “If we can get it ingrained in our community, we’d see
even greater impact on the numbers of animals that are euthanized.”
May
11, 2015
The
Orange County Register
By Ted Sforza, Staff Writer
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