DEPARTMENT: Animal Care Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Kathy Davis
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Staff will provide a briefing to the Criminal Justice, Public Safety and Services Committee regarding the City's animal transport program.
SUMMARY:
A briefing to the Criminal Justice, Public Safety and Services Committee regarding the City's animal transport program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In FY 2012, ACS began implementing its newly revised strategic plan by incorporating the three (3) strategic priorities of: Enhanced enforcement, controlling the stray animal population, and increasing the Live Release rate. In FY 2015, ACS added a 4th strategic priority to "engage and educate the community." As evident in the drastic increase in the Live Release rate from 30% in FY 2011 to 85% in FY 2015, while maintaining an annual intake of 30,000 pets, ACS continues to improve the services it provides to the community.
A major component to ACS's ability to increase its Live Release rate is due to the rescue partnerships that were established and/or strengthened over the last few years. For example, since FY 2011, ACS increased the number of pets being rescued by 343% (from 2,995 rescues in FY 2011 to 13,260 in FY 2015). Today, the work performed by the rescue community contributed to 46% of the Department's current 85% Live Release rate.
By working with Rescue agencies, ACS is able to utilize other markets to find "Forever Homes" for the pets impounded at ACS. For example, In FY 2015 ACS worked with 120 rescue agencies. Of these organizations, five (5) rescue partners utilized a Pet Transport Program to find forever homes for the majority of the 1,565 pets they pulled from ACS. Pet Transport Programs will take rescued pets from areas of low demand and transport them to areas within the United States that have a higher level of demand for specific types of pets. The five transport agencies that are currently working ...
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