Renew LA's Commitment to Animal Welfare & Spay/Neuter
Renew LA's Commitment to Animal Welfare & Spay/Neuter
The Issue
Dear Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Nury Martinez and all of our esteemed Councilmembers,
In January of 2018, Mayor Garcetti met with the No Kill LA Coalition to "reaffirm the City’s commitment to no-kill" (lamayor.org). Today we, the animal lovers and pet guardians of Los Angeles, write to urge our City leadership to, once again, recommit to ending the euthanasia of adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals by fully funding the City's lifesaving spay/neuter subsidy program.
Spay/neuter is the law in Los Angeles. It must also be accessible to all. Low-income pet guardians seek spay/neuter to give their beloved four legged family members the greatest chance of a healthy, happy life while also seeking to remain in compliance with local law. These guardians are at greater need than ever for financial assistance to access spay/neuter surgery.
We write today to urge our City leadership not to cut the budget for Los Angeles Animal Services' spay/neuter voucher program, as was proposed in the Mayor's original revised budget (latimes.com). Since the 1960s, spay/neuter has been accepted as the single most effective and cost efficient method by which to reduce shelter relinquishments and euthanasia. Please remember that the average cost of care per animal entering a municipal shelter is often between $200 - $400. Keeping in mind that the maximum spay/neuter voucher issued by the City of Los Angeles is $75 for a cat and $125 for a dog (lacity.org) and that each unfixed dog or cat can produce up to 12 offspring every year, it is clear that for each dollar we "save" on spay/neuter in the short term, we will spend dozens more in the long run. The City would also almost definitely be forced to euthanize adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals if funding for the spay/neuter voucher program is decreased.
In addition, it is projected that the surrender of beloved family pets to Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) shelters will increase to potentially historic levels due to the economic fallout of Covid-19. LAAS' General Manager Brenda Barnette stated in an interview with the LA Times “If you want to know what keeps me up at night, it’s wondering how we’re going to accommodate all those animals who have been family members, as people start to have to surrender them” and added “We do not want to go back to the days that the shelter is so crowded that we’re having to kill animals because of lack of space” (latimes.com).
In an ASPCA survey of people seeking to relinquish pets, it was found that "when pet owners with incomes lower than $50,000 were asked which service might have helped them the most, the majority indicated free or low cost veterinary care (40%)". Additionally, an ASPCA study found that 30% of people relinquishing their beloved family pet to the shelter system would have kept their pet if they had access to low or no cost spay/neuter.
It is absolutely critical that we do everything in our power to stem the tide of cats, dogs and other companion animals that may soon enter the LA City shelter system by investing in spay/neuter now. Decades of data from across the nation illustrates that the results of our investment will be seen in reduced shelter intake, reduced cost to taxpayers and reduced euthanasia of adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals.
Sincerely,
the animal lovers and pet guardians of Los Angeles
_ _ _
Sources
lamayor.org (https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-la-has-reached-‘no-kill’-dogs-city-animal-shelters
lacity.org (http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2017/17-0659_rpt_DAS_06-23-2017.pdf
14,870
The Issue
Dear Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Nury Martinez and all of our esteemed Councilmembers,
In January of 2018, Mayor Garcetti met with the No Kill LA Coalition to "reaffirm the City’s commitment to no-kill" (lamayor.org). Today we, the animal lovers and pet guardians of Los Angeles, write to urge our City leadership to, once again, recommit to ending the euthanasia of adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals by fully funding the City's lifesaving spay/neuter subsidy program.
Spay/neuter is the law in Los Angeles. It must also be accessible to all. Low-income pet guardians seek spay/neuter to give their beloved four legged family members the greatest chance of a healthy, happy life while also seeking to remain in compliance with local law. These guardians are at greater need than ever for financial assistance to access spay/neuter surgery.
We write today to urge our City leadership not to cut the budget for Los Angeles Animal Services' spay/neuter voucher program, as was proposed in the Mayor's original revised budget (latimes.com). Since the 1960s, spay/neuter has been accepted as the single most effective and cost efficient method by which to reduce shelter relinquishments and euthanasia. Please remember that the average cost of care per animal entering a municipal shelter is often between $200 - $400. Keeping in mind that the maximum spay/neuter voucher issued by the City of Los Angeles is $75 for a cat and $125 for a dog (lacity.org) and that each unfixed dog or cat can produce up to 12 offspring every year, it is clear that for each dollar we "save" on spay/neuter in the short term, we will spend dozens more in the long run. The City would also almost definitely be forced to euthanize adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals if funding for the spay/neuter voucher program is decreased.
In addition, it is projected that the surrender of beloved family pets to Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) shelters will increase to potentially historic levels due to the economic fallout of Covid-19. LAAS' General Manager Brenda Barnette stated in an interview with the LA Times “If you want to know what keeps me up at night, it’s wondering how we’re going to accommodate all those animals who have been family members, as people start to have to surrender them” and added “We do not want to go back to the days that the shelter is so crowded that we’re having to kill animals because of lack of space” (latimes.com).
In an ASPCA survey of people seeking to relinquish pets, it was found that "when pet owners with incomes lower than $50,000 were asked which service might have helped them the most, the majority indicated free or low cost veterinary care (40%)". Additionally, an ASPCA study found that 30% of people relinquishing their beloved family pet to the shelter system would have kept their pet if they had access to low or no cost spay/neuter.
It is absolutely critical that we do everything in our power to stem the tide of cats, dogs and other companion animals that may soon enter the LA City shelter system by investing in spay/neuter now. Decades of data from across the nation illustrates that the results of our investment will be seen in reduced shelter intake, reduced cost to taxpayers and reduced euthanasia of adoptable cats, dogs and other companion animals.
Sincerely,
the animal lovers and pet guardians of Los Angeles
_ _ _
Sources
lamayor.org (https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-la-has-reached-‘no-kill’-dogs-city-animal-shelters
lacity.org (http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2017/17-0659_rpt_DAS_06-23-2017.pdf
14,870
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Petition created on May 26, 2020