HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-17-2009 - 4j ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: February 17, 2009
Action Agenda
Item No. 4- -
SUBJECT: Resolution Declaring February 24 as Spay Neuter Day USA •J
DEPARTMENT: Animal Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Resolution Susan Elmore, DVM, Chair, Animal
Services Advisory Board, 541-3474
Bob Marotto, Director, Animal Services
968-2287
PURPOSE: To consider a resolution declaring February 24, 2009 as "Spay Neuter Day USA" in
Orange County.
BACKGROUND: The Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) recommended at its January meeting
that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopt a resolution designating February 24, 2009
as "Spay Neuter Day USA" in Orange County. The Humane Society of the United States has
nationally designated the last Tuesday of each February as "Spay Day USA".
Spay Day was originally created in 1995 by the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) and outreach was
assumed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in 2006 when DDAL combined
operations with HSUS. Since creationist establishment participants have spayed or neutered more
than 1,418,000 animals, preventing millions of potential births and thus saving taxpayers millions of
dollars that may have otherwise been used to provide animal control, care and sheltering for these
animals.
Pet overpopulation in Orange County is a priority issue for the ASAB and Animal Services
Department. The ASAB has created a subcommittee charged with developing a strategic plan to
address pet overpopulation and has been meeting since fall of 2007, collecting information and
researching other jurisdictions in North Carolina and throughout the country. One subcommittee task
is to work with staff to formulate program plans to best utilize the funds for the Community
Spay/Neuter Fund collected from an increase in the license differential of intact and sterilized dogs
and cats.
The Animal Services Department and the Department of Social Services have also partnered with
AnimalKind's "The $20 Fix" program aimed at providing targeted spay/neuter services to low-income
2
households in Orange County. In 2008 the BOCC approved a budget of $15,000 to promote and
provide these services to residents of the County for the current fiscal year.
As a part of its Spay Neuter Day USA celebration, Animal Services will be undertaking its first major
outreach effort to the general public during the months of February and March 2009. Outreach will
consist of flyers and themed advertisements to promote the benefits of spaying and neutering pets as
well as the new opportunity for qualifying Orange County households to obtain low-cost or no-cost
surgeries for their pets. Flyers and advertisements will be paired with a media release to further
inform the public of the problem of pet overpopulation and help offer low-cost solutions to those who
may not otherwise have the means to spay and neuter their pets.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The resolution has no financial impacts. Events planned for Spay Neuter Day
USA in Orange County will involve outreach funds from the County's Community Spay/Neuter Fund
to promote "The $20 Fix" program and the benefits of spaying and neutering pets. Total funds
currently available to Animal Services to conduct Spay Neuter Day USA 2009 in Orange County are
$1,500.
RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends the Board approve the proposed resolution and
authorize the Chair to sign.
3
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SPAY NEUTER DAY USA RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, cats and dogs provide companionship to and share the homes of thousands of
individuals in Orange County; and
WHEREAS, humane societies and shelters throughout the country have to euthanize approximately
four million cats and dogs each year, although many of them are healthy and adoptable, due to lack
of critical resources such as money, space, and good adoptive homes; and
WHEREAS, the problem of pet overpopulation costs the taxpayers of Orange County hundreds of
thousands of dollars annually through animal control and sheltering programs aimed at coping with
unwanted and homeless cats and dogs; and
WHEREAS, the Animal Services Advisory Board and the Animal Services Department have made
correcting pet overpopulation a priority; and
WHEREAS, the County has established a Community Spay/Neuter Fund to address the issue of pet
overpopulation in the County; and
WHEREAS, spaying and neutering cats and dogs, among other animal companions, has been shown
to drastically reduce overpopulation; and
WHEREAS, Animal Services is working with the Department of Social Services to offer no-cost spay
and neuter surgeries to qualifying Orange County households; and
WHEREAS, Animal Services has partnered with AnimalKind to offer The $20 Fix in Orange County,
providing qualifying households the ability to have their pets spayed and neutered for $20; and
WHEREAS, spayed and neutered animals are less likely to have certain health problems or exhibit
certain undesirable behaviors that can create community-wide problems and use community
resources; and
WHEREAS, veterinarians, animal care and control organizations, national and local animal welfare
organizations, and private individuals worked together to ensure the spaying or neutering of more
than 20,000 companion animals nationally through "Spay Neuter Day USA" in 2008; and
WHEREAS, veterinarians, animal care and control organizations, national and local animal welfare
organizations, and private individuals have joined together again to advocate the spaying and
neutering of companion animals on "Spay Day USA 2009";
Now, Therefore Be It Resolved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners that February 24,
2009 is declared as "Spay Neuter Day USA." The Board of County Commissioners calls upon the
people of the County to observe the day by having their own cats or dogs spayed or neutered or by
sponsoring the spaying or neutering of another person's cat or dog.
THIS THE 17th DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2009.
Valerie P. Foushee, CHAIR
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS