Q&A
Reasons for shelter overcrowding and pet surrenders
1:16:25
·
4 min
Risa Weinstock, President and CEO of Animal Care Centers of New York City, discusses the various reasons for shelter overcrowding and pet surrenders. Financial issues and housing restrictions are identified as major factors contributing to the problem.
- About 60% of animals surrendered to ACC are not spayed or neutered
- Financial difficulties, including the cost of pet care and housing issues, are top reasons for pet surrenders
- Housing restrictions, especially in low-income housing, contribute significantly to pet surrenders
- ACC is working to provide resources such as free food and information about wellness clinics to help pet owners keep their animals
Justin Brannan
1:16:25
I guess the question is for miss Weinstock.
1:16:28
Do you I mean, just largely, do you agree with what the council is saying and what the advocates are saying that, you know, the stat you mentioned, I think it was you about nearly 60% of animals that are surrendered to AC and C are not spayed or neutered.
1:16:47
Do you agree that we've got a serious upstream problem here that we're, you know, where everyone's freaking out because the shelters are crowded and at times we had to suspend surrenders and abandonments because there was no room.
1:17:01
I think our shelters are going to continue to be packed until we figure out what we're doing to subsidize affordable veterinary care and really grow that outreach for TNR Services.
1:17:13
Do you agree with that?
Risa Weinstock
1:17:16
I agree there are multitude of reasons why we're packed, and I also believe that the data 60% of our animals that aren't Spader Newdered.
1:17:28
If that changed and it's going up, if that changed, I think that it would be a little bit of a pressure relief on the care center because we are in the position of being required by law to alter every animal before it's placed with the rescue partner or put up sent out for adoption.
Justin Brannan
1:17:54
Are there other so what are some of the other issues?
1:17:56
If that's not the the the top issue, what do you what are what would you say are some of the other reasons why the shelters are so crowded?
Risa Weinstock
1:18:05
Affordability.
1:18:06
I think as I've testified what we're seeing as the top reasons are financial, and financial's really big big number.
1:18:18
A lot of times, financial situations we can help.
1:18:23
It's food.
1:18:24
They have trouble paying.
1:18:26
The rent, the lights, the electricity.
1:18:29
We can give you a free, you know, access to free food.
1:18:33
And in return, what we do is we microchip and we license your pet and we also give you information about wellness clinics.
1:18:42
The clinic that we have coming down the pike, I think will also help tremendously because people again, it's an affordability issue.
1:18:50
People are surrendering because the cost of care is so high.
1:18:54
So if we can help you out, through some type of medical service in our clinic, that's what we're going to do.
1:19:03
Financial is a really big issue, and then also housing is falls under that umbrella.
1:19:10
There are a lot of restrictions, especially for lower income housing.
1:19:17
The the pet deposit, the restrictions on size, there was a really good article in the New York Times recently about the disparity in housing and rentals and apartments in New York City, where if you are the restrictions on low income housing are much greater in terms of pets and pets in the home than it is on other income levels.
1:19:45
And and we are seeing that.
1:19:46
We are really a social service agency at this point.
1:19:49
We are helping people try to survive, and part of that survival in this city is keeping your pet because everyone saw through the pandemic, the emotional tug, and the the value that pets offer.
1:20:02
And when a family comes in or a person comes in and says, I I just I can't handle this anymore, that's we've really we've failed that person, and so we have set our services up so that it's not all about adoption.
1:20:15
We would love to adopt every single animal out, but that's not the strategy.
1:20:19
The strategy has to be managing what is coming in.
1:20:24
And by offering these resources, I think we could start to chisel away a bit, but I think it's it really takes a lot of community, collaboration, and collaboration with counsel in the city.
Justin Brannan
1:20:37
K.
1:20:37
Just a few more, I wanna I wanna give back to the chair.
1:20:42
How just even even anecdotally, how how many times does someone surrender a pet to ACC and say it's because it's due to housing?
1:20:50
They have to move.
1:20:51
They can't afford where they're going, and the new place doesn't allow pets.
Risa Weinstock
1:20:55
It's one of the top reasons for surrender.