HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-17-2011- 5fORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 17, 2011
Action Agenda
Item No. ,'~~_
SUBJECT: Special Fee for Select Cat Adoptions during Adopt a Shelter Cat Month (June)
DEPARTMENT: Animal Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S):
Average Daily Inventory - 2010
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Marotto, 968-2287
PURPOSE: To approve an adjustment to the standard adoption fees for select cats and kittens
to $50 as part of Animal Services participation in National Adopt a Shelter Cat Month this June.
BACKGROUND: June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. This annual event is sponsored by the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to increase the adoption of
cats and decrease euthanasia in community animal shelters around the country.
This event is held in June because it is the month during which the number of shelter felines
sky-rockets. Orange County is no exception to this general pattern as detailed in the attached
graphic (Average Daily Inventory- 2010). Whereas 'spring is generally regarded as the onset of
"kitten season", it is during the months of summer and fall that animal shelters are stretched to
their limit with the intake of cats, among other animals.
Animal Services staff is seeking to create an incentive for the adoption of certain cats by
reducing the adoption fee to $50 for the month of June. This is approximately half of the regular
adoption fee for cats ($96) and somewhat less than half of the regular adoption fee for kittens
($85).
Animal Shelter management will select individual cats to be available for adoption for $50 on
the basis of specific criteria. These criteria will include age as cats six (6) months of age or
older will qualify for the special fee. The criteria will also include length of stay as cats that have
been at the shelter .for three (3) weeks or longer will also qualify. In addition, a "highly
adoptable" cat may be selected for the special fee on a weekly basis (depending on shelter
population and animal flow), and to the extent possible, featured in public outreach.
This kind of approach to encourage and increase adoptions has become more common in the
field of animal sheltering in recent years. Some non-profit organizations in the nearby area
report increased revenue as a result of increased adoptions from such initiatives. Others
appear to have achieved great success in boosting adoption numbers as a result of free or
nearly-free adoptions.
It is for this reason that Animal Services has made recommendations for several adoption
incentives as part of its proposed FY 2011-12 Operating Budget. Assuming these are ultimately
approved, the Department will be able to participate in Adopt a Cat Month in the future on the
basis of the County's fee schedule. For this June, however, special authorization is needed to
create an adoption incentive for Orange County's shelter cats.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Animal Services expects the adoption incentive to be revenue neutral
and possibly even enhance adoption-related revenues. As a result of targeted and coordinated
outreach regarding Adopt A Shelter Cat Month, staff believes that cat adoptions will increase
compared to the same month in previous years. At the same time, staff is aware that there will
be some "trial and error" in this process and, accordingly, looks to learn from this experience in
order to make adoption incentives even more effective in the future.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board authorize a special
adoption fee of $50 for select cats and kittens during Adopt a Shelter Cat Month -June 2011.
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