New York City Stiffs Animal Care and Control, Animals Pay the Price

Snow removal isn't the only policy that needs revamping in the Big Apple. Michelle Hodkin wrote a blog chronicling the allegations of neglect at New York City Animal Care and Control that had been brought to light by ABC News. So did Francis Battista at Best Friends Animal Society. How did NYC get to the point where bloggers are focusing on the filthy cages and the neglected pets entrusted to the city's care? It might have something to do with budget cuts, courtesy of the New York City Department of Health, to the tune of $1.5 million. Ouch.

New York City is downright miserly when it comes to funding for Animal Care and Control. It allocates one of the lowest per capita rates in the nation for animal control — 85 cents per resident. National animal control recommendations suggest 4 to 7 dollars per capita to provide appropriate animal services.

The Shelter Reform Action Committee acts as a watchdog for AC&C's mismanagement, calling NYC to the carpet for the abysmal treatment of the city's homeless pets. But it isn't easy, since AC&C acts more like a city agency than the independent animal welfare organization its supposed to be.

The AC&C was set up as an independent, nonprofit organization that contracts with the city to handle animal control. However, of the seven board members, three are city commissioners, and the other four are appointed by the mayor, who can fire them at will. Apparently because of this, the board turns deaf ears to the desperate calls, whines, barks, and meows for change.

Elizabeth Hess wrote a scathing article about the harsh realities at the AC&C in 1998, with descriptions similar to what ABC News found: "Dogs sit in their own feces ... Sick dogs and cats often go untreated." Over ten years later, things are still in disarray. Because of the lack of funding, healthy puppies, dogs, cats and kittens are dying.

Due to the latest round of budget cuts, the AC&C has terminated their Lost & Found system, so they will no longer help reunite owners with their lost pets, and reduced their field operations, leaving strays and abandoned animals to fend for themselves in the city streets. The Shelter Reform Action Committee notes that these were supposed to be "mandatory" services in the AC&C's contract with the city.

In an open letter to Animal Care & Control and the Department of Health, SRAC wrote that "with the increasing budget cuts imposed by the DOH, the AC&C is constantly facing impossible choices: which services to reduce or eliminate, and which employees to lay off." They are particularly concerned with the fact that AC&C has cut their services picking up strays. "We cannot solve the AC&C's overcrowding problem by leaving animals to die in the streets."

Other organizations are trying to help the city's animals with spay/neuter outreach. The Mayor's Alliance  provides funding for spays and neuters for pets of low income owners, and the ASPCA's mobile spay/neuter vans perform surgery in low income areas. The vans were booked solid at Pet Bull Palloza sponsored by Best Friends Animal Society, the Mayor's Alliance and the ASPCA last fall.

While more spays and neuters are great, they don't do a thing for the clowder of cats and packs of dogs housed at AC&C. These pets need adequate funding for food, veterinary care, and, of course, clean cages. The lost and abandoned animals of the city need to be brought in from the cold.

Join the Shelter Reform Action Committee in calling on New York City officials to restore funding to AC&C.

Photo Credit: Best Friends Animal Society