Dear Supervisor Mandelman:

Animal shelters embracing the regressive policy detailed in Bill Hamilton’s report continue to cite the approval of “renowned” organizations and “experts,” such as Kate Hurley, DVM, a former academic at UC Davis. She supported the “humane euthanasia” of feral cats but then retracted that policy after it was shown to be ineffective. The current impound policies at ACC are likewise flawed and not in the best interest of the City’s animals. Those policies should also be retracted. The opinions of such influencers are not necessarily the “gold standard” of animal welfare. The future will reflect this, at which point they will back-pedal again.

ACC’s leadership cites HSUS, the ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society and others to justify their policies. These organizations have come under intense scrutiny from independent animal welfare experts over the years and have been found seriously wanting.

ACC expects the public to do their job without providing support and resources. For example, one of ACC’s animal control officers recently rescued a kitten from a drainpipe but then released the kitten to the same dangerous situation unaltered. This means a nonprofit rescue group must go in and attempt to retrap the kitten. With mistakes like this a population explosion of cats will occur and will become untenable. ACC offers NO resources for spay/neuter, low-cost or otherwise, for lost and unclaimed pets. This is not the responsibility of the public when you have an open-admission, taxpayer-funded shelter.

I continually field calls from the public on found cats whom ACC has declined. One of our volunteers found a friendly cat who was refused by ACC. The burden was placed on the finder to check for a microchip and follow through in locating the owner. The cat was eventually reunited with her owner, but ACC’s abandonment of responsibility is simply unacceptable. In other cases members of the public are told to release the cat, limiting reunification with its owner and allowing unaltered cats to procreate. Most finders don’t have the time and resources to search for owners, and even if they did they may live in housing where where pets are not permitted.

I was also informed by an ACC volunteer that they have few adult cats for adoption, mostly kittens at this point. Last winter they had as few as three cats available for adoption. So it’s not a space issue.

My thoughts come from my perspective in dealing with the public seeking assistance on a daily basis. ACC denied them service, and they had nowhere else to turn.

Sincerely,

Lana Bajsel Director,

Give me Shelter Cat Rescue