Los Angeles City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez has announced a motion aimed at establishing a moratorium on issuing breeding licenses to address overpopulation in the city’s six animal shelters. The motion, co-introduced by Councilwoman Traci Park, also directs the Department of Animal Services, also known as L.A. Animal Services, to provide data on the number and cost of breeding permits issued last year, along with analyses of other cities that have banned the issuance of breeding permits.
“It is unacceptable for the city to continue issuing breeding permits while thousands of animals are suffering from overcrowded conditions in our animal shelters,” stated Hernandez. “Halting the issuance of breeding permits is an immediate step the city can take to reduce the strain on the system.”
City animal shelters are currently facing an extreme overcrowding crisis, resulting in dire and inhumane conditions for the animals in Animal Services’ care. Several factors have contributed to this crisis, including a lack of pet-friendly rental units and insufficient rates of pet spaying and neutering.
Despite the current conditions, there are few barriers for the public to obtain a breeding permit. As of July 31, LAAS has issued over 1,100 breeding permits for this year alone. The high rates of permitted and unpermitted breeding significantly impact the inflow and outflow of animals from the city’s shelter system, further straining the system.
“We must act now to alleviate the burden on our overflowing animal shelters,” said Park. “While it’s not the sole solution, every effort counts in creating relief at our shelters and ensuring every animal finds a home.”
Councilwoman Hernandez has announced a special Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee meeting on September 27 at 8:30 a.m. in Council Chambers to address LAAS’ animal shelter crisis and determine the necessary steps to immediately protect the health and wellbeing of the animals in its care.
The motion was introduced shortly after Staycee Dains, general manager of LAAS, presented a plan to address the overall status of the city’s six shelters. Dains called on Angelenos to help with overcrowding by adopting shelter animals. According to Dains, the city has issued approximately 1,200 breeding permits so far this year, with an estimated total of 1,800 by the end of the year. She emphasized the need for criteria to obtain a breeding permit, rather than simply paying a fee.
“When our shelters are over capacity, we should not be issuing breeding permits. It goes against what we’re trying to achieve,” said Dains, who assumed the position of GM at LAAS this summer.
“We should only consider issuing a breeding permit when our shelters are at or below 50% capacity. Anything else would exacerbate the problem,” she added.
Addressing breeding permits is just one aspect of LAAS’ plans to improve the animal shelters and provide better care to the animals and caretakers. The department is also actively promoting the adoption of shelter animals and ensuring their health through vaccination, microchipping, spaying/neutering, flea treatment, and other necessary care before they are placed in new homes.
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