October 2002 The Embattled Center for Animal Care and Control By Beth Gould

 

The embattled New York City animal shelter system, the Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC), experienced a major setback when Mayor Bloomberg recently announced the city’s budget cuts. City-run shelters will no longer be open 24 hours a day to accept homeless animals, further jeopardizing the lives of these already neglected city creatures. Regarding this budget-trimming decision, the Mayor commented, “We have to do a lot of things, and not having the shelters open at three in the morning is one of the least painful sacrifices that we are going to have to make.”

This announcement comes in the wake of the Comptroller’s report on shelter conditions dated June 6, 2002, which states, “[The] CACC does not provide humane conditions for all of the animals in its shelters and has not made aggressive efforts to increase adoptions of homeless animals.” It would seem, based on the findings of the Comptroller’s office, that the reduction in operating hours is not the greatest challenge facing the city’s animal shelters. But the reduction is symbolic of the lack of care and compassion that have long characterized the city government’s treatment of these helpless animals.

To understand these budget cuts, it is informative to look at some of the numbers. During the calendar year 2000, the CACC, which is part of the Department of Health, had a total budget of approximately $8.3 million. This money is used to maintain five animal facilities and an administrative office in Manhattan. The CACC also brought in an additional $206,117 in independent donations. Based on the estimated population of NYC and the CACC’s budget, each resident spent about $1 to support the city’s animal shelters in 2000. The Humane Society of the U.S. recommends that per capita spending should be closer to $3 yearly to properly run shelters in urban areas. The status of animals in NYC is clear when comparing the $8.3 million it spends on shelter care with the budgetary allocations to other programs. The City spends over $262 million on libraries, over $231 million to pay District Attorneys, over $4 billion on police and fire protection, over $864 on correction facilities, and over $38 million on the office of the Mayor. This is not to say that these agencies are not vitally important to the city, but the small amount allocated to the care of unwanted animals stands in stark contrast.

In the year 2000, 60,877 animals came into CACC-run shelters, a total comprised of 55,376 cats and dogs, and 5,501 other animals. Of these 60,877 animals, 14,270 were adopted, 677 were returned to their human guardians, and 41,203 were euthanized. These dismal statistics, coupled with the Comptroller’s findings that the animals housed in these shelters are given little or no exercise, and are often exposed to neglect and cruelty, is in direct contradiction to the CACC’s contract with the City, which states: “Care of animals at the shelters shall include feeding, boarding (including bedding and cleaning of cages), watering, exercising, and provision for immediate first aid as required, including but not limited to isolation of sick animals as necessary” (Jan.1, 1995). This should be cause for alarm not only for animal advocates, but for all people concerned with the needless suffering of innocent creatures. It is imperative that our local government realize that not only should shelter hours be maintained, but also that many New Yorkers believe the needs of non-human animals are important enough to merit a re-evaluation of the actions and priorities of both of the CACC and the City’s budget.

What You Can Do
In light of the current track record of the CACC, which kills two thirds of the animals in its care, budget cuts will ensure that the homeless animals of New York City will be neglected even more than they are now. Please call Mayor Bloomberg’s office and tell him that a comprehensive re-evaluation of the CACC is necessary to protect New York City’s animals, and that budget cuts are not the answer. Contact: (212) 788-9600 or www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html. Contact the Shelter Reform Action Committee to find out about efforts to reform the CACC, and how you can help (www.ShelterReform.org).

To read the Comptroller’s Audit Report on the CACC, and to find out more about the budget of the City of New York visit www.comptroller.nyc.gov. To find out more about the animals pictured on this page, and many deserving others, call the CACC at (212) 722-3620 or visit www.petfinder.org.