Town of Apple Valley
Town Council Public Comments
July 8, 2025
Apple Valley Town Council,
I write today to ask you to expedite turning over the Apple Valley Animal Shelter to San Bernardino County control. Apple Valley, California is known across the country for its high kill animal shelter, and the conditions in the shelter. I am located in Maryland, and I know only one thing about the town of Apple Valley, California, and that is that Apple Valley Shelter’s kill rate FAR exceeds national average. Some numbers from 2024. Nationally, the “live release rate”, which represents a favorable outcome, for cats in shelters was 86%. California’s rate was 82%. Apple Valley Animal Shelter’s rate was 21%, far fewer cats emerged alive from Apple Valley Animal Shelter, when compared to National and California shelters.
It is well known that many cats and kittens admitted to the shelter never make it to the adoption floor, are not shown in the adoptable animals section of the town’s website, and are labeled feral or diƯicult to handle. Just recently for example, two scared looking kittens, Bolt and Colt, were labeled as “feral/fractious” and it was noted that staƯ couldn’t handle the kittens. It is almost universally known in the animal control and rescue community that cats scared in an unfamiliar environment may present as feral, but when removed from an unfamiliar shelter environment and placed in a quieter environment, they do not present as feral. If the Apple Valley Animal Shelter staƯ does not know this, I would be surprised.
These two kittens, Bolt and Colt, are now with a foster who was able to handle the kittens, speak to them, and feed them a snack. One might wonder if too many cats at AVAS are labeled as “feral”, “fractious”, or impossible to handle, as a way to avoid having to provide shelter for these cats as they are oƯered for adoption. Instead, these cats and kittens are euthanized for convenience, without ever being oƯered for adoption. Other cats perish while kept in small cages along the wall in the “green rooms” or “cat receiving” area where the public is not allowed, volunteers are not allowed, and photography is not allowed. The most recent example of an unexplained cat death is Raja, #AV252206, who was found dead in his/her cage, no explanation for this has been provided to the public.
I urge Apple Valley Town Council to expedite turning AVAS over to county control, so that these cats and kittens get the protections they are aƯorded by California State law, and to help remedy the notoriety of the town of Apple Valley, which has become synonymous with the high kill rate and conditions at AVAS.
Sincerely,
Rachel Sullivan
Member of the Public