New Animal Shelters Urged in City Study

Los Angeles animal shelters are so overcrowded and in such poor condition that half should be replaced as part of a massive $250-million rebuilding that would increase the total number of shelters from six to 11, a city study has concluded.

The study by a private consultant commissioned by the city recommends that over the next decade Los Angeles double the number of animal control officers who respond to calls in the field, saying the changes are needed to save animals’ lives and provide a humane level of care.

Inadequate staffing and shelters mean that, in comparison with other cities, Los Angeles takes in only two-thirds of the dogs and half of the cats that need care, said the study by Meyer and Allen Associates.

“Right now, we can’t ensure the safety of animals kept in the public trust,” Dan Knapp, general manager of the city Animal Services Department, said Friday.

The plan “will provide us the ability to provide a life-affirming shelter for animals and to be a true safety net for animals who stray from their owners,” Knapp added.

He said city officials are drafting a plan to ask Los Angeles voters in November to approve bonds for $140 million of the work, including building five new shelters in West Los Angeles, South-Central, the North-Central area, the east San Fernando Valley and the West Valley.

In addition, existing shelters in the West Valley, East Valley, West Los Angeles and North-Central would be renovated and the Harbor shelter would be replaced.

Animal rights activists said they might support the bond measure if they could be guaranteed that other steps would be taken to improve staffing, equipment and training.

“I’m extremely concerned about the conditions in the shelters,” said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Los Angeles branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Expanding the number of shelters and providing more staff and a sufficient budget to take care of the animals would be a good step.”

Barbara Fabricante of the Valley-based Humane Task Force said, however, that the city would not have to build more shelters if it would just improve enforcement of laws meant to hold down the pet population, including the breeding of animals.

Fabricante said the conditions in city shelters today are “abominable,” because animals are mishandled and facilities are inadequate.

The study, which projected needs based on population growth over the next decade, compared Los Angeles’ shelter system with those of other cities, including Pasadena, and concluded that Los Angeles would have to double its staffing by 2010 to match the level of care provided elsewhere.

Los Angeles needs to quintuple the number of dog kennels and double the number of cat cages by 2010 to end overcrowding, the study said. Currently, shelters average three to four dogs per kennel.

Fewer animals would be euthanized if there were more cages in which to hold them longer for adoption or retrieval by owners, Knapp said.

Knapp said he agrees with the consultant’s recommendation to increase staffing, but added that the proposal to immediately increase staff by 33% to 50% is unrealistic because it takes time to hire and train new animal control officers and the budget doesn’t exist.

The report was sent this week to the City Council for consideration.

Jessica Copen, a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan, confirmed that he is considering a proposal for a November ballot measure to pay for the proposed shelter construction and renovation.