HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-15-2011 - 3cORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: February 15, 2011
Action Agenda
Item No. ~ - G
SUBJECT: Resolution Declaring February 22, 2011 as Spay Neuter Day USA in Orange
County and Community Spay and Neuter Program Presentation
DEPARTMENT: Animal Services
PUBLIC HEARING:
No
ATTACHMENT(S):
Spay Neuter Day Resolution
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Marotto, Director, Animal Services,
968-2287
Sarah Fallin, Program Director, Animal
Services, 942-7387, ext. 224
Kristine Bergstrand, DVM, Chair, Animal
Services Advisory Board, 928-6311
PURPOSE: To approve a resolution declaring February 22, 2011 as "Spay Neuter Day USA" in
Orange County and to receive an overview and update on the County's Community Spay and Neuter
Program.
BACKGROUND: Animal Services staff and the Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) have
recommended that the BOCC adopt a resolution designating February 22, 2011 as "Spay Neuter
Day" in Orange County. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has nationally designated
the last Tuesday of each February as "Spay Day USA."
Spay Day USA was originally created in 1995 by the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL), and in 2006,
HSUS assumed responsibility for Spay Day USA when DDAL combined its operations with HSUS.
Since the creation of Spay Day USA, participants have spayed or neutered more than one million
animals, preventing millions of potential births. As a result, millions of taxpayer dollars have been
saved that may have otherwise been needed to provide animal control, care and sheltering for the
offspring of these animals.
In Orange County, pet overpopulation is a priority issue. In a work session held in January of last
year, the BOCC received and discussed Managing Pet Overpopulation: AStrategic Plan for
Orange County, North Carolina (see http~//www co orange nc us/animalservices/spaVneuter.asp).
Working closely together, Animal Services staff and the ASAB prepared this five-year strategic plan
on the basis of best practices in the field of animal welfare and public policy. Fundamental to this
plan is targeting spay and neuter in the County to decrease the rate of reproduction of dogs and cats
and thereby contain the number of animals that must be sheltered and the costs of caring for those
animals.
2
Since the creation of the County's Community Spay and Neuter Fund, Animal Services staff has
worked with the ASAB to begin to establish a proactive and cost-effective spay and neuter program.
Significant developments in this area in calendar year 2010 included:
• Spaying and neutering a total of 383 cats and dogs through Orange County's The $20 FIX, a
partnership of Animal Services and AnimalKind;
• Spaying and neutering 249 dogs and cats belonging to clients of the Department of Social
Service (DSS) on a "no pay" basis through Orange County's The $20 FIX program;
• Reducing the number of animals admitted to Orange County's Animal Services Center from
4,036 in 2009 to 3,613 in 2010 as a result, in part, of ongoing efforts to target spay and neuter
efforts towards pets that otherwise would not be sterilized; and
• Being recognized for creating an innovative partnership-based program and invited to
participate in "What's Happening with Spay/Neuter in the Tar Heel State," a symposium that
will be held this spring in conjunction with a national Summit for Spay and Neuter Industry
Professionals.
These and highlights of other recent efforts will be discussed at the meeting in a brief power point
presentation prepared to update the BOCC on the County's Community Spay and Neuter Fund. The
presentation will also provide additional detail on the partnership between Animal Services, DSS and
AnimalKind (The $20 Fix).
As part of the "Spay Neuter Day" celebration this year, Animal Services will again work with Pet
Overpopulation Patrol-NC (POP-NC) to spay or neuter up to 30 cats and or dogs from families who
receive service from DSS. The intent of the event is to sterilize these animals before they have the
opportunity to procreate and add to the number of "surplus" pets that that enter the County's Animal
Services Center during the summer months when the animal shelter population peaks.
In addition, Animal Services will continue ongoing outreach efforts. Outreach will consist of themed
advertisements to promote the benefits of spaying and neutering pets as well as the opportunity for
qualifying Orange County households to obtain low-cost or no-cost surgeries for their dogs and cats.
These will be paired with a media release to further inform the public of the problem of pet
overpopulation and help offer effective and low-cost solutions to County residents who may not
otherwise have the means to spay and neuter their pets.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Neither the presentation nor the resolution have any financial impact. Events
and outreach in conjunction with this year's Spay Neuter Day USA will involve budgeted expenditures
from the County's Community Spay and Neuter Fund. POP-NC sterilization services will be
obtained via an annual agreement that that includes several spay and neuter events such as Spay
Neuter Day USA.
The FY 2010-11 operating budget for the Community Spay and Neuter Fund is $33,500. These
funds primarily come from the $20 differential cost for licenses for a reproductive cat or dog versus a
spayed or neutered cat or dog. So far this year the County has also reimbursed $5,214 from the
North Carolina Spay and Neuter Reimbursement Program.
As of June 30, 2010, the fund balance for the Community Spay and Neuter Program account was
$51,881. These funds accrued from the licensing differential, donations and state reimbursements
as targeted spay and neuter efforts were tested in Orange County. In coming years, the funds will be
used to support the $20 Fix on an expanding and sustained basis as well as to support other efforts
detailed in the County's Managing Pet Overpopulation: AStrategic Plan for Orange County,
North Carolina.
RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends the Board adopt the proposed resolution,
authorize the Chair to sign the resolution, and provide staff with comments on the presentation.
,DES-ao~1--~~a
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
2011 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, 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, 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, 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 the
lack of critical resources such as money, space, and good adoptive homes; and
WHEREAS, the Animal Services Advisory Board and the Animal Services Department have made
correcting pet overpopulation a priority, and prepared Managing Pet Overpopulation: A Strategic
Plan for Orange County, 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 has partnered with AnimalKind and the Department of Social Services
to offer "low cost" and "no cost" spay and neuter through The $20 Fix in Orange County; and
WHEREAS, veterinarians, animal care and control organizations, national and local animal welfare
organizations, and private citizens work together each year to ensure the spaying or neutering of
thousands of companion animals through "Spay Neuter Day USA'; and
WHEREAS, veterinarians, animal care and control organizations, national and local animal welfare
organizations, and private citizens have joined together again this year to advocate and support the
spaying and neutering of companion animals on "Spay Day USA 2011."
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners
declare that February 22, 2011 as "Spay Neuter Day USA" and call upon the people of Orange
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 15th DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2011.
Bernadette Pelissier, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners