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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: January 28, 2010 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. .~ <br />SUBJECT: Strate is Plan for Mana ing Pet Overpopulation <br />DEPARTMENT: Animal Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Managing Pet Overpopulation; <br />A Strategic Plan for Orange County, <br />North Carolina <br />January 19, 2010, Memo Update on the <br />Community Spay/Neuter Fund <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Bob Marotto, Director, 968-2287 <br />PURPOSE: To provide the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) the opportunity to review <br />and discuss the strategic plan for managing pet overpopulation in Orange County, prepared by <br />Animal Services Staff in coordination with the Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB). <br />BACKGROUND: Animal Services staff has worked closely with the ASAB to develop <br />Managing Pet Overpopulation; AStrategic Plan for Orange County, North Carolina in <br />order to establish a fiscally responsible and humane approach to pet overpopulation in Orange <br />County. <br />This strategic plan has developed from the Community Spay Neuter Fund, created by the <br />BOCC in FY0708 and made up of a portion of the monies from the $20 licensing differential for <br />reproductive (or non-sterilized) animal registrations. The success and progress of this fund are <br />noteworthy. <br />As the attached progress report illustrates, more than 200 cats and dogs were spayed and <br />neutered in calendar year 2009. The majority of these animals were owned by low-income <br />residents of the County, who otherwise may not have had the means to spay or neuter their <br />cats or dogs. Animal Services has partnered with the Department of Social Services and <br />AnimalKind's $20 Fix to target such individuals, offering both The $20 Fix's traditional co-pay for <br />income-qualified households and "no-pay" vouchers to DSS clients. <br />With the creation of the Community Spay Neuter Fund, staff and the ASAB have worked to <br />create a strategic plan that aims to reduce the number of unwanted litters in the County over the <br />next five years (and beyond). With this strategic orientation to the root problem of pet <br />overpopulation, the number of animals being admitted, sheltered and ultimately euthanized will <br />decrease over time. <br />