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Los Angeles animals urgently need your voice.
This week, the City Council Budget Committee will make critical decisions that will directly impact overcrowding and suffering at LA shelters. We need advocates, and community members to contact the five Finance and Budget Committee members before Friday’s vote and show up to speak at City Council hearings on May 20.
Our priorities are clear: the City must increase the proposed spay/neuter funding by at least $1 million. This investment would support 10,000–13,000 additional surgeries annually and is one of the only real solutions to the shelter overcrowding crisis.
Without expanded spay/neuter access:
- Shelter overcrowding will worsen
- Roaming and abandoned animal populations will continue to grow
- Intake pressure on already overwhelmed shelters will increase
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Increased bites as neutered dogs are three times less likely to bite than intact dogs, according to studies
At the same time, the City must RESTORE the slashed funding for:
- Animal Food budget: Increase from the proposed $0 to $200,000
- Medical Supplies funding: Increase from the proposed $48,968 to $388,591
- Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) Restore $1.53 Million for the final year of the contract. The program is one of the only ways shelter dogs get enrichment and structured time out of kennels.
Food, medicine, and humane care are not optional budget line items, they are the bare minimum required to meet the City’s legal and statutory obligations to animals in its custody. Denying shelter animals adequate food, medical treatment, and basic enrichment during an overcrowding crisis is inhumane and unacceptable.
“The shelter overcrowding crisis is not a mystery, it is a policy failure. Year after year, City leaders allow conditions to worsen by underfunding LA Animal Services and neglecting proven solutions like spay and neuter,” said Dr. Gary Michelson, founder and co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies & Michelson Center for Public Policy.
“The Los Angeles Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Task Force was created in 2005, but defunded in 2021. Since then, animal abuse crimes have too often been committed in plain sight with little fear of consequences. Animal cruelty is not an isolated issue, it is well documented to be linked to domestic violence, child abuse, and other violent crimes against people," said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of Social Compassion in Legislation.
"It is beyond past due for the City to restore this critical unit. The proposed budget already includes more than 500 new LAPD positions, and we are urging Los Angeles to dedicate positions to reestablishing a dedicated Animal Cruelty Task Force. Protecting animals from torture and abuse must once again be treated as a serious public safety priority. Los Angeles cannot claim to value public safety while allowing animal cruelty crimes to go unchecked.”
ACT NOW!
You can watch the Budget hearing on May 15th at 1pm
at this YouTube Link.
Submit written comment at LACouncilComment.com and reference Council File 26-0600.
And/or call each of the Budget Committee Members to voice your concerns:
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