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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jonlyn Freeman, Independent Rescuer from New York City Cat Rescuer Alliance
5:28:49
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137 sec
Jonlyn Freeman, an independent rescuer from the New York City Cat Rescuer Alliance, advocates for increased funding for spay/neuter programs and pet pantries in NYC. She highlights the disproportionate burden of animal rescue work on residents in low-income areas with high stray cat populations.
- Compares NYC's animal shelter funding ($3 per capita) unfavorably to other major cities like Dallas ($15) and Los Angeles ($10).
- Emphasizes that underfunding shelters shifts responsibility to private citizens, leading to financial strain on rescuers in underresourced neighborhoods.
- Argues that increased spay/neuter availability correlates with decreased shelter intake, citing successful programs in Washington DC and Boston.
Jonlyn Freeman
5:28:49
I'm here to speak in support of the funding for spay neuter and the pet pantry.
5:28:53
My name is John Lynn Freeman.
5:28:55
I'm an independent rescuer in Flatbush, Brooklyn in District 40.
5:28:59
I started organizing other rescuers in the New York City Cat Rescuer Alliance because this stopped being about cats four years ago and became about the crushing burden that rescue work has become for New York City residents, particularly in the epicenters of cat overpopulation.
5:29:16
Earlier, you showed a map on that easel and I believe that was a breakdown of New York by household income.
5:29:22
What we know anecdotally from talking to rescuers across the city is that those areas that show the lowest income are also where you find a concentration of outdoor stray cats.
5:29:33
And I think you understand how unrealistic it is to expect those residents to fund, spay neuter for all of the outdoor cats in their neighborhoods.
5:29:42
If you compare funding for city animal shelters across the country, Dallas, Texas spends almost $15 per capita annually, Los Angeles just over $10 and New York City is the lowest of any large city at just under $3 per person.
5:29:59
And correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the ACC has no guaranteed baseline funding.
5:30:05
A % of its budget is discretionary and could go away completely any given year.
5:30:11
By underfunding our shelter, you put the municipal responsibility of managing our outdoor stray and abandoned pets squarely on the shoulders of private citizens in our most under resourced neighborhoods.
5:30:23
Rescuers across the city in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Jamaica, Queens, Washington Heights, South Bronx and Staten Island have overdrawn bank accounts, mounting credit card debt, no savings, spending almost as much time on GoFundMe's as they spend on rescue work because if you care then it becomes your problem to solve.
5:30:41
Council member Brennan has called this exploitation and he's absolutely right.
5:30:46
This crisis can be solved.
5:30:47
Washington DC and Boston invested in preventing an animal welfare crisis by providing adequate spay neuter programs to all residents.
5:30:56
As spay neuter availability increased, shelter intake decreased.
5:31:00
It's that simple.
5:31:02
So please support the funding for spay neuter.