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19 <br />15 <br />and burdensome for the staff to negotiate. It was decided unanimously by committee members to <br />move forward with the recommendation to institute tiered impounding fees as an excellent way to <br />encourage sterilization of dogs and cats recovered at Grange County Animal Shelter. The largest <br />educational impact on owners regarding pet sterilization in recovered animals would be made <br />with the first impoundment and return of a pet. Review of Grange County Animal Services data <br />revealed that out of 1802 cats and dogs returned to owners during 2007-2011, 1642/1802 or 93% <br />were recovered once by the owner, and 963/1802 or 53% of these animals were not sterilized. By <br />creating a tiered impoundment fee that financially favors owners of sterilized animals, shelter <br />personnel would provide financial incentives to owners to have their pets spayed or neutered (in <br />addition to the known animal health and public safety benefits). Additional financial incentives <br />to sterilize a pet include our current tiered licensing system, which financially rewards owners of <br />sterilized pets with lower annual licensing fees. Owners facing financial hardship could be <br />identified at the time of pet recovery, and a fee payment plan could be put into place. We would <br />also recommend an active referral structure be put into place that will allow our spay /neuter <br />outreach program to provide individualized, personal assistance to qualified pet owners regarding <br />low -cost spay/neuter options. The committee suggested the following tiered impoundment fees: <br />First recovery: $25 sterilized, $50 reproductive <br />Second recovery: $50 sterilized, $100 reproductive <br />Third recovery: $100 sterilized, $154 reproductive <br />4+ recoveries: $200 sterilized, $250 recovered <br />These fees are in line with local animal services organizations. <br />5. Next steps: Lynn will type up a preliminary proposal that will be presented to the ASAB at their next <br />meeting in October, 2012. Minutes were respectfully submitted by Lynn White, <br />Meeting Minutes <br />Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) <br />Task Force on the Spaying and Neutering of Recovered Stray Animals <br />Wednesday, December 19, 2012 <br />Present: Lynn White (Chair), Kris Bergstrand, Bob Marotto <br />5. The purpose of this meeting was to follow up on the discussion of the draft proposal <br />regarding spaying/neutering recovered stray animals that was presented to the ASAB on <br />October 17, 2012. ASAB members unanimously agreed with the committee's <br />recommendation that Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) require microchip placement <br />for all recovered cats and dogs at the owner's expense before the animal is returned to the <br />owner. The discussion regarding mandatory sterilization of recovered stray animals yielded <br />differing opinions. At the urging of fellow board members, additional information was <br />gathered and suggestions considered. <br />6. Additional information: Further Google searches were done to find additional information <br />regarding laws requiring mandatory sterilization of stray cats and dogs as a condition of <br />recovery by the owner. Unfortunately, no information was available regarding mandatory <br />sterilization laws or practices specifically in recovered animal populations. However, we did <br />review several articles regarding general mandatory spay/neuter laws. Briefly: <br />a. ASPCA Position Statement on Mandator Spay/Neuter Laws. This document was <br />again reviewed by the committee. The article states, "However, the ASPCA is not <br />