The city euthanized 14,083 animals in the year ending June 2015, about 25 percent of those brought into the city’s six shelters, Los Angeles city Controller Ron Galperin said Thursday.
About 7,800 of the animals put to death were cats, he said. About 3,800 dogs and 2,300 other animals such as rabbits and snakes also were euthanized, according to an audit conducted by Galperin’s office.
Galperin delivered the numbers at a news conference at the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter, which he said has the highest euthanization rate of all the city’s shelters.
The South Los Angeles shelter has a 36.6 percent euthanization rate, compared with 14 percent at the West Los Angeles shelter and 19 percent at the West Valley shelter, Galperin said.
In the most recent year, 1,834 dogs and 2,194 cats were euthanized at the South Los Angeles, he said.
“It’s a troubling disparity,” Galperin said, noting that this is despite the South Los Angeles shelter being the “newest, most advanced of all the shelters we have in the city,” and also being a “very well-run one.”
Galperin said city officials set a goal 10 years ago of becoming a no kill city, which has led to some improvement, with the city now euthanizing “half as many animals” as before.
At one point more than a decade ago, the city was euthanizing about 30,000 animals a year, Galperin said.
But even with the improvement, “14,083 lives is too many lost,” Galperin said.
He recommended the city create a ” believable and consistent plan for what it means to become a no kill city.” He also suggested that the city keep a more transparent and detailed record of animals killed.
Galperin said some animals are euthanized because of age, or because they are suffering from medical conditions that can not be fixed, but some are still being killed due to lack of space.
“A lack of space should never be a reason to euthanize,” he said.
Dogs have the highest chance of being killed because of the lack of space at a “staggering 26 percent,” he said.
Meanwhile, neo-natal kittens who require a large amount of care and attention are typically the category with the highest euthanization rate.
Galperin said 4,250 cats younger than eight weeks old were killed in the recent year from 2013-2014.
In addition to the other recommendations, Galperin also urged the public today to look into adopting their next pet from a city shelter.
The data from the audit is available at Galperin’s online “ControlPanelLA” system at here .
— City News Service