Animal Shelter Statistics - 03-2008

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Animal Services Monthly Report March, 2008 Month by month there are significant changes in the numbers of cats, dogs and other animals that are sheltered at Orange County’s Animal Shelter. In very general terms, there is a significant “spread” in the number of animals that are sheltered each month, which reflect the seasonal nature of pet demographics and animal sheltering in our own and other communities. During the peak summer months, the numbers are much higher than in other months of the year. In March, for instance, 398 animals were sheltered. Whereas this is comparable to the number sheltered last March (441), it is much lower than the number sheltered this past June (733). Similarly, this March 229 animals were admitted to the shelter—a large number that equates to more than 7 animals per day over that thirty-one- day period. During the last twelve months, this was the fewest number of animals admitted, and the greatest was in June of 2007 when 488 were admitted to the shelter. Moreover, it should be underscored that the “live release rate” for a given time period is determined by the number of animals that are sheltered as well as the total number of animals that are adopted, transferred, or recovered by their owner. It may well be that there is a very high percentage of animals that are released alive in a given month but that the absolute number is lower than in other months because of the number of animals that come to the shelter. Addressing Pet Overpopulation To work toward the desideratum of ending euthanasia as a means of population control, it is thus essential to positively impact the number of animals that come into Orange County’s Animal Shelter in the course of the year. Essential to this is a community spay/neuter program for animal companions such as dogs and cats that promotes responsible pet ownership and enables all community members to spay and neuter their own pets. Developing such a program through the County’s Animal Services Department, in coordination with the Animal Services Advisory Board, remains a fundamental and realizable objective for the foreseeable future. No less essential is progressive legislation that is enforced in an effective, fair and reasonable manner. A starting point is what is sometimes referred to as “differential licensing”—that is, licensing or registration fees that are much lower for spayed and neutered animals than for intact animals. Orange County has had differential licensing for many years, and this fiscal year that differential became $5 for sterilized dogs and cats and $30 for intact dogs and cats. Other legislative options include an extra redemption fee for intact animals recovered from the Animal Shelter, which may be refunded if they are sterilized within a given time period, and permit systems that require a permit for dogs and cats that are going to be bred. Moreover, there is an overwhelming need to address the deep-seated problem of feral cats in Orange County. Month after month feral cats (as defined by their community history and/or observed behaviors in the context of the shelter) are one of the largest groups of animals euthanized. In March 31 feral cats were euthanized, and they comprised 49 5