Orange County NC Website
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 21, 2017 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 6-c <br /> SUBJECT: Resolution Acknowledging February 28, 2017 as Spay Neuter Day USA in <br /> Orange County, North Carolina <br /> DEPARTMENT: Animal Services <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Spay Neuter Day Resolution Bob Marotto, Director, Animal Services, <br /> 2016 Annual Community Spay/Neuter Report 919.968.2287 <br /> Sarah Fallin, Program Coordinator, <br /> Animal Services, 919.942.7387, <br /> ext. 224 <br /> Maureane Hoffman, Chair, Animal <br /> Services Advisory Board, 919.286.6925 <br /> PURPOSE: To officially resolve that February 28, 2017 is "Spay Neuter Day USA" in Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: Animal Services staff and the Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) recommend <br /> that the BOCC adopt a resolution designating February 28, 2017 as "Spay Neuter Day USA" in <br /> Orange County. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has nationally designated the last <br /> Tuesday of each February as "International Spay Day". <br /> In Orange County, the issue of pet overpopulation is a priority. Animal Services staff and the ASAB <br /> prepared a five-year strategic plan on the basis of best practices in the field of animal welfare and <br /> public policy: Managing Pet Overpopulation: A Strategic Plan for Orange County, North <br /> Carolina. Fundamental to this plan is targeting spays and neuters in our county to decrease the rate <br /> of reproduction of dogs and cats, thereby containing the number of animals that must be sheltered <br /> and the costs of caring for those animals. <br /> The final stage of this plan addresses the presence of and concerns raised by free-roaming cats in <br /> Orange County. Accordingly, staff and the ASAB recently prepared a plan called Managing Free- <br /> Roaming Cats in Orange County, North Carolina. A spay neuter campaign for sterilizing free- <br /> roaming cats will be kicked off in the coming years. <br /> Significant developments for calendar year 2016 include: <br /> • Spaying and neutering a total of 327 cats and dogs on the basis of the partnership between <br /> Animal Services and AnimalKind; <br /> • Spaying and neutering 304 dogs and cats belonging to clients of Orange County's Department <br /> of Social Services (DSS) on a "no pay" basis; <br />