LA City Council Backtracks on Critical Spay & Neuter Program
Reversal undermines progress on overcrowding and prevention
LOS ANGELES–The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-0 to exclude shelter animal spay & neuter providers and the Citywide Cat Program from increased coverage newly offered through the City’s Spay and Neuter Voucher Program—an unexpected reversal of their recent vote to expand access to the free voucher.
Excluding on-site providers for shelter animals from the updated voucher is likely to create service bottlenecks at Los Angeles Animal Services clinics, resulting in longer shelter stays and delayed adoptions for animals awaiting these procedures.
The following is a statement from Dr. Gary K. Michelson, Founder & Co-Chair of Michelson Center for Public Policy:
“The overcrowding of our shelters is a direct consequence of the city’s failure to provide basic services to families and their pets. Without widely accessible and affordable spay & neuter, unwanted litters flood our shelters, and stay there, because they cannot be adopted until they are sterilized. By excluding proven spay and neuter providers from the voucher program, the City Council has created a bottleneck that will deepen the crisis and leave animals waiting in overcrowded kennels. Los Angeles taxpayers and the animals sentenced to die in our shelters deserve better. We shouldn’t be paying for a pound of cure because we neglected to provide the ounce of prevention.”
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The Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP) is a 501(c)(4) organization advancing legislative change through strategic collaboration with policymakers, advocacy organizations, and civic leaders. Focused on education, equity, justice, medical research, and animal welfare, MCPP complements the work of Michelson Philanthropies through bold, effective advocacy. Learn more at www.michelsonpolicy.org.
