PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Samantha Knox, Director of Itty Bitty City Kitties on Animal Welfare in Rockaway Beach
3:02:41
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123 sec
Samantha Knox, Director of Itty Bitty City Kitties, testifies about the urgent need for affordable veterinary care and spay/neuter services in Rockaway Beach, Queens. She highlights how the lack of these services leads to pet overpopulation, animal abandonment, and severe animal welfare issues in the area.
- Rockaway Beach has a growing population with a high poverty rate and only two veterinarians, neither offering low-income assistance.
- The high cost of veterinary care (over $175 for a basic exam, over $1000 for spay/neuter) is unaffordable for many residents.
- Knox describes distressing cases of animal hoarding and cruelty resulting from the lack of affordable spay/neuter services.
- She emphasizes that individual rescuers and organizations cannot solve this problem alone and calls for city-wide support and funding.
Samantha Knox
3:02:41
My name is Samantha Knox, and I am the director of Itty Bitty City Kitties based in Rockaway Beach Queens.
3:02:46
In the last 10 years, the population in Rockaway has increased over 8% to nearly 125,000 people.
Deserie Matos
3:02:53
1 of
Samantha Knox
3:02:53
the largest population increases in Queens.
3:02:55
The median household income is $66,000, which is 14% less than the citywide median.
3:03:02
With the poverty rate in Rockaway at over 18% 14% of our population in public housing, Of that, 52% are pet parents.
3:03:11
For all of those people, there are 2 vets.
3:03:14
Neither of those vets offer any low income assistance whatsoever.
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The basic cost of an exam is over $175.
3:03:21
If you throw in Spain, neuter, it's well over a 1000, which is too much for a family who's struggling to feed their children.
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With no access to locally or city wide affordable vet care, the animal population becomes unmanageable and explodes.
3:03:33
Pets who are problematic or sick gets surrendered to an arty overburden shelter system or abandoned making more animals found on streets, parking lots, dumpsters, playgrounds are in the boardwalk.
3:03:43
It creates situations where pet parents who take in a few strays end up with more than they ask for.
3:03:47
In January, I worked a case where a former NYPD officer couldn't afford to fix her 3 cats.
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3 cats became more than a 100 and her 850 square foot bungalow.
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I worked a case with a man in broad channel a veteran who couldn't afford to sterilize his pets.
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He had so many in his small home he started to panic, and he started throwing live kittens in the trash and drowning them in Jamaica Bay.
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This is just the beginning.
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This is not the dogfight.
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This is not kittens used as live bait.
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This is not animals tied in bags found in dumpsters.
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I'm one person.
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I'm one organization, and I cannot shoulder the burden of spey and neutr for the entire peninsula of Rockaway Beach.
3:04:28
Well, the wonderful council of Monario and I have discussed options and plans for our area.
3:04:34
Neither one council member or one rescuer can enact these financial things without the help physically and financially of a city who can help us.