Agenda - 06-12-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Animal Services Follow Up Items Requested by Commissioners on June 5, 2008 Animal Seizure and Care Deposit: District court may be petitioned to require the owner of animals seized for cruelty or neglect to post a bond on a 30 day continuing basis to cover the "reasonable expenses expected to be incurred by the animal shelter... pending the disposition of charges" (North Carolina General Statute 19A-70). The fund is kept if the owner is found guilty of animal cruelty or neglect (barring any unused amount) but it must be returned if the owner is found to be not guilty. The intent of this relatively recent statutory provision is to enable jurisdictions to cover the costs of animal by requiring a deposit for "reasonable expenses" that include "the cost of providing food, water, shelter, and care, including medical care for at least 30 days." Discussion with the Office of the County Attorney has confirmed that this intent means that the deposit is restricted to the direct costs of animal care that are necessarily incurred in the enforcement of North Carolina's animal cruelty and neglect laws. Community Spay/Neuter Fund: In FY0708, the Animal Services Advisory Board and staff proposed and the Board of County Commissioners established this fund to support and promote pet sterilization. Its justification is the deep need to have a proactive and positive program of pet population management to control the costs of animal care and control in the County and prevent the euthanasia of adoptable animals that become "surplus" or "disposable" animals. Recent experience and research suggests that area shelter admissions begin to decrease with a 6 pets per 1000 human rate of "targeted sterilization" (the spaying and neutering of animals who otherwise would remain reproductive). It is expected that by the end of its second year the County's Community Spay/Neuter Fund will be sufficient to cover the. costs of approximately three- quarters (or more) of targeted sterilization in Orange County. As staff has indicated, this fund is distinct from funds used to sterilize animals prior to their adoption from .our Shelter. Such funds come from a line item in our annual operating budget, and presently they are expended to cover the costs of spay/neuter contracts with community veterinary clinics that sterilize animals prior to their adoption from the County's Shelter. Staff expects those funds to be realigned and used to operate the in-house sterilization suite in the new Animal Services facility beginning in FY0910. A transition to in-house sterilization is expected to stabilize the availability of cost- effective sterilization services for the County. Continuing pre-adoption sterilization is required to control pet overpopulation and its associated costs in our own as well as other communities. Ap�CrJ k r - 10