Animal Care and Control Sucks - Charities Going Broke

[DogPaddle]

Some of you may recall my posts about our local Animal Care and Control here:
intercardial punture without anesthetic
dead dog door stop
combining litters
euthanizing all but one mother if multiple litters come in
euthanizing any animal that displays ANY minor problem
callous attitude towards animals
poor lost animal return rate
etc

The word is getting out there about them and that is great BUT now because people don't want to turn animals into AC&C they are turning to other agencies, which might seem good on the surface. (Also AC&C has begun referring people with found animals etc to local charities so they don't have to do any work - they are on a paid contract sorta thing.) The problem has two parts.
1) AC&C does such a crappy job dealing with stray or wandering inside/outside cats that the city is really starting to have a problem with bad overpopulation.
2) With all the extra work from overpopulation, people afraid to send animals to AC&C and AC&C dumping responsibility for animals they are paid to deal with onto charities - they are swamped.

My freind works with one group and they now have an operating budget of . . . . -$563. The group my mum works with has an operating budget of . . . $200. Both groups have been refusing to take new cats for a month, they have between them over 60 kittens (that's right cute, adoptable, fuzzy KITTENS) that are in foster and are not getting placed. They are nearly to the same overcapacity with dogs. Its insane! Not only is AC&C not doing its job, it is jepordizing the charities that are trying to pick up their slack! :evil: I hate them! I really hope they're contract is yanked and we get someone else soooon!

[imported_Debbie]

WOW !!! That A C & C sounds like a NIGHTMARE !!!!! :o
Here each county or district has their own Animal Control. We also have Pet Rescue places like PAW or SPEAK that take in animals too and adopt them out for a fee......We have one place here(Animal Care Council) that only takes in cats and they have close to 400 cats !!!!! These places run on a shoe-string budget and through people/businesses donating $ and supplies.
It really is sad that more people don't neuter/spay their animals....... :(

That A C & C sounds criminal !! :evilbat:

[DogPaddle]

Sounds like you have a wayyy better AC&C. London has had city meetings to discuss the contract with the current service provider, the citizens were quite vocal. We are hopping that the contract will go to someone else with enough public pressure, when it next comes up for renewal/review.

[StarFox]

I'm curious is AC&C funded by the city?

I understand that people are basicly boycotting the agency, but if AC&C is funded by the city and/or the citys it collects dogs in then thats where the real problem is.

I'm not defending them or anything but if they are doing such a horrible job (and it sounds like they are) people realy need to start complaining to the city(s) itself.

[DogPaddle]

London has had city meetings to discuss the contract with the current service provider, the citizens were quite vocal. We are hopping that the contract will go to someone else with enough public pressure, when it next comes up for renewal/review.

Starfox - That is the point of the above mentioned city meetings. AC&C is paid for by the city by way of contract awarded to a company (in this case the lowest bidder I'm sure.) Citizens have been lobbying for a contract change for 6 months or so but the city will not do anything until the current contract comes up for renewal/review. We aren't boycotting per se we just can't use the service in good concience. AC&C doesn't could care less of course because they get the contract money whether people call them or not but there is NO WAY I could justify sending an animal there. We have been trying to point out to the city that the lowest bidder isn't a bargin if it is a service run so poorly that no one can use it. I thought their contract came up in the fall so hopefully we'll see some change soon - we desperately need it.