Dear Mayor Scott Nassif , Mayor Pro Tem Art Bishop, Council Member Larry Cusack, Council Member Kari Leon and Council Member Curt Emick,
Thanks for your time. I am writing to bring to your attention concerning issues regarding the Apple Valley Shelter’s practices and the urgent need for transparency and implementation of the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program.
According to the 2023 shelter report, the live release rate for cats is alarmingly low. In 2023, 2313 cats were taken to Apple Valley shelter, and out of these cats • Only 7% were adopted,
• 0.003% rescued.
• 0 cats were rescued from May 2023 till now.
Currently, Apple Valley Shelter fails to provide crucial information to the community:
1. Let's take Jan.2024 as an example, despite an intake of approximately 173 cats in Jan2024, less than 20 are listed on their website, leaving concerned citizens in the dark about the status of animals within the facility.
2. There is NO euth list of cats sent out to rescue or community.
3. Additionally, the shelter does not permit volunteers to enter and take photos or videos of the non-adoptable cats, further limiting transparency.
Therefore, we urge the city council to take immediate action to improve animal care service provided to the community by Apple Valley Animal Shelter by:
1. Disclosing all animals in its facility with photos and basic information on the website, allowing the community to track their status and facilitate rescue and adoptions.
2. Sending out daily euth lists of both cats and dogs to the community via email.
3. Allowing volunteers access to the shelter to capture photos and videos of the animals to increase their visibility and chances of adoption
4. Transparent Euthanasia Policies:
• A publicly-funded shelter should be transparent about their euthanasia policies and decision process, including clear and publicly available criteria for euthanizing animals.
This will help ensure that euthanasia is only considered as a last resort and is carried out ethically and responsibly.n.
Furthermore, we request the city council to implement the TNR program proposed in April 2023 by Mr. Doug Robertson, the Town Manager:
• The approach of impounding and euthanizing feral cats has proven ineffective in reducing cat populations, with cats continuously trapped and impounded from the same areas. The same trap and kill repeat year after year and is proved to be just a waste of money.
o Trapping and killing feral cats does not reduce the number of cats as others soon infill where they have no competition.
o TNVR, on the other hand, returns the existing cats to their territory which they will occupy without reproducing, and they prevent other unfixed cats from coming in and breeding.
• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) has been proven to be effective and adopted by counties nationwide and nearby counties including Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego • Sterilizing rather than killing community cats, is simply less expensive in the long-term, with exponential savings in terms of reducing births.
o Although costs vary somewhat, impounding, caring for, and ultimately killing an animal and disposing of his/her body costs approximately $106.00 ($66 for impoundment and $40 for killing and disposal).
o Recent estimates compiled from across the U.S. by the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs found the costs of TNVR to compare favorably with those for impoundment/lethal injection: US$20–97/cat compared to US$52–123/cat • Trapping and killing is revenue negative to the municipality in contrast to the No Kill approach which transfers costs to private philanthropy, brings in adoption revenue and other user fees, and supports local businesses.
• Surveys investigating the public's preference for managing free-roaming cats consistently indicate much stronger support for TNVR in the U.S. than trap and kill:
o Investigations show 81% of respondents indicated they prefer leaving the cat alone, compared to 14% who would opt to have the cat impounded and "put down"
We appreciate your attention to these urgent matters and look forward to positive actions from the city council to improve the welfare of animals in our community.
Sincerely,
Lisa Haut