Meeting Time: December 07, 2023 at 9:00am PST
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Agenda Item

1.-E. ID 23-1775 RESOLUTION - to Decrease the Animal Intake at the City of Fresno Animal Center

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    Guillermina Madrid 12 months ago

    It is unacceptable that government officials have not found a way to allocate funding and enact the proper legislation to address animal overpopulation in the city of Fresno. I live in the Tower District as well as on a property in the county. Animals are frequently dumped and left to form packs to fend for themselves in the country, on highways, and in impoverished areas. The result is that many cats and dogs die of disease, starvation, and by being hit by cars. This, in and of itself, is also a public health crisis. Grassroots organizations of citizens have done more to solve this problem through TNR and rescue groups than is being done by our own city. They are spaying, neutering, providing education, partnering with veterinarians and pet hospitals, and fostering and placing animals for adoption to combat this very serious problem that is only growing due to negligence from our city officials. Citizens are able to make more of an impact than our city officials while working full time jobs and fundraising from locals. The money is there, but it is being used for purposes that do not solve actual problems in our city. Spaying and neutering is the answer to reduce numbers so why is it that we have not seen a plan put into place to address this on a city-wide level? You wouldn't need to reduce the number of animals accepted into shelters if this was made a priority from the start through strategic planning.

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    Maritza Martinez 12 months ago

    If not the animal center then what options are there to help animals? Restricting intake is a terrible decision because what options will these animals have?

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    Nyein Win 12 months ago

    As a taxpayer, it’s inexcusable to me that Fresno doesn’t have a solid animal control department. It’s disgusting. I’m sick of the excuses that there’s no funding when $20 million was spent building a “state of the art” facility. Must have been a nice kickback involved for the board members. But there has been zero actual animal control happening. Zero public outreach or education. We, as private citizens who pay our taxes shouldn’t have to be relying on private donations of time and money to get anything done when it comes to treating animals humanely. I’m tired of hearing the excuses that there’s no money. How do we have so many stray animals here? How is that dog fighting is still even something that goes on in our city? This is why everyone thinks of us as the armpit or California.

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    Robyn Bowman 12 months ago

    Maybe the city should rethink the ridiculous raise they gave to
    the city council members and use that money towards actually helping resolve issues in Fresno such as the problem you already have with the Fresno animal center. You found millions to waste on poorly designed and implimented bike lanes but you can't find the money to increase capacity at your animal center? That's pathetic! Pandering for optics doesn't achieve anything or solve any real problems. Thank goodness for the organizations that are really helping the situation because without them the problem would be even worse.

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    Sandra Dickson 12 months ago

    TNR is the only thing that works. Yet you took the program away. There has been an explosion of kittens born because of this. It's a self created problem. If not the pound then who? What are you going to do about them? I thought that's what all this is about. The SPCA helping animals. I am open to suggestions, but this is not a good one. Making it a law you can't feed ferals is ridiculous. The cats just leave and go to surrounding neighborhoods. That is not a solution.

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    Beth mouse 12 months ago

    You need to serve these animals BETTER not worse. open your doors 6am-7pm, do a split shift of staff. Make a FREE clinics to fix your animals. Build a 2nd story. but DO NOT TURN THEM AWAY anymore...This can be fixed. Less money on 'beatifying" Fresno and more "saving" Fresno. 3rd world countries do not have this many animals running around. Start fining the ppl who leave their animals in the house when they move. BIG FINE... Fine the breeders, Fine the ppl that sell in Craigslist, at taco bell and in the Fresno Bee or leave them in a cage on the road. All the homeless ppl have pets that are breeding every day. You give them housing and tell them NO PETS. so there is another dog on the street preggers and a person with no one to talk to. THINK before you act!!! send a van, pick up the pet, fix it and give it shots. give it back to the homeless man with a food program. Less programs for immigration and more for ppl and pets who are already here for gods sake. Stop the fighting rings. I remember you used to have a note from your landlord before you could adopt. now if you have money, take the animal. so sad. NO control. Chip and register that animal before it leaves the facility. NO CA ID? NO DOG OR CAT!! Be responsible for these little critters. USE the recourses around here and ask for help. Call Oregon and see if they have a program to help us. call someone... fix all the animals for FREE.

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    Liz T 12 months ago

    I truly think you should double the size of the facility add on a second story. It would cost less in the long run then building a new facility for euthanizing half of your animals every week. Everyday I see at least six stray dogs and at least three or four hit cats. Fresno is out of control pet wise. It would be so much nicer to be able to bring these pets to your facility to be fixed get their shots and rehomed. Your facility also needs to be open from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. just simply do a split shift you would not have to hire more . Common Sense has to come in somewhere . You can't run a facility from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and expect people to come adopt the animals or volunteer.. We all work full-time jobs .

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    Lori Harkins 12 months ago

    If you decrease the animal intake, what will happen to the animals??? I know the City is overwhelmed by the stray/feral situation. It is not the animals fault! The City needs to do more to curb this situation. Fine irresponsible pet owners. Impose an up to 3% tax increase on cigarettes or something to support a new, as well as existing Shelters! These Street animals deserve compassion, love and help just as much as some of the Homeless Humans do. Where there is a will there is a way. You simply just don't give up.

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    Sabrina James 12 months ago

    Limiting or capping a service the City should be providing is something I strongly oppose. Yes the Central Valley has a huge pet overpopulation problem, that needs to be addressed by reducing the number of animals in the city, not turning a blind eye and closing doors. Expanding low cost spay & neuter programs, laws (and enforcement!) that restrict and prevent backyard breeders and increased education are just a few of the items this city should be considering. Visions of a 3rd world country with stray & hurt animals running the streets are what I envision with this resolution that is being presented. Please do the right thing for the people and the animals of this community!

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    Ann Adams 12 months ago

    I strongly oppose this. We have heard fresno animal center tell the public to go let friendly unowned kittens loose on the street to starve, be hit by cars etc. As they said they have no more room. This is unacceptable! The city animal designated center must take in all stray, unowned, homeless pets. We need free spay/ neuter for all strays and $20 or less for owned pets in order to get reproduction under control. We also need a tremendous amount of education campaigns across fresno County to educate the public on the importance of all pets being spayed/neutered, to the point that there should be fine for unfixed pets. For instance no one should be able to get back a pet at the facility that is not fixed. Other counties follow these measures and it works! Let's do what is right by these animals! Fresno can do these measures and make major improvements to get homeless pets off the streets!

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    Linzi Mathews 12 months ago

    There are already limited options and people continue to dump cats. At a minimum improve the spay/neuter program options to curb the problem. Way too many cats in the community continuing to repopulate due to limited affordable costs to alter pets.

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    Samantha Anderson 12 months ago

    Does one of the reasons for limiting the number of intakes allowed relate to the number of kittens/puppies under 2 pounds that aren’t making it out of this facility? It is heartbreaking to see so many lives cut short due to there not being enough fosters. However, what would people do with them or take them after being turned away from a shelter they know had to accept them in the past? I believe the chances of them being dropped off at the shelter and awaiting a possible foster is greater than the chances of them waiting to be saved abandoned somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There should be more advocates for foster and spay/neutering. Booklets could be made to handout, especially to those dropping animals off. Educate them on the euthanasia rates for intaking bottle/mush babies. List the horrible injuries/deaths animals succumb to everyday from being abandoned, on the streets and unaltered. What diseases they are prone to when unvaccinated. Maybe this reality check will push people further to do what needs to be done for their pets. Keep posting about the google form that fosters can fill out for them to be the first contacted about any intakes needing immediate foster. Refusing these innocent lives will only result in more on the streets, diseases running rampant and suffering. Humanely ending their lives when they had no chance to begin with is sometimes the last best option in most cases unfortunately.

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    Mayra Hernandez 12 months ago

    Don't agree.I oppose.

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    Nancy Leas 12 months ago

    What has happened to the spay and neuter campaign? It seems to me that lately we're only doing half the job of "animal control", and that half is falling on the shoulders of the few brave, tireless souls that actually get their backs into this overpopulation crisis. Why isn't there a huge educational push on the dire need to get our pets SPAYED or NEUTERED? It helped before. It's more responsible to say I've spayed/neutered than to say I've rescued. Rescue is the last important step, but folks aren't seeing the whole picture. Refusing animals is to refuse to do your due diligence. This isnt the solution.

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    Felicia Ramos 12 months ago

    I oppose fresno county animal control limiting animal intakes

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    Ruth T 12 months ago

    You built this State of Art facility to help the animals and bragged how wonderful it will be. You are nothing but liars all you did was replace the horrible SPCA that you felt did a wonderful job. Do something about the backyard breeders. There is a law that is not enforced. You gave done nothing for these poor abandoned and unwanted animals other then euthanize which you don’t have a problem doing. The Mayor and Councilman brought their show case pet to the grand opening to brag about how there are animal lovers and haven’t heard a word since regarding all of great animals that are suffering and being killed by you because if no room. You are pathetic

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    Carol Westberg 12 months ago

    What has happened to the spay and neuter campaign? It seems to me that lately we're only doing half the job of "animal control", and that half is falling on the shoulders of the few brave, tireless souls that actually get their backs into this overpopulation crisis. Why isn't there a huge educational push on the dire need to get our pets SPAYED or NEUTERED? It helped before. It's more responsible to say I've spayed/neutered than to say I've rescued. Rescue is the last important step, but folks aren't seeing the whole picture. Refusing animals is to refuse to do your due diligence. This isnt the solution.

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    Cindy Piper 12 months ago

    I oppose this action. Yes, the level of unhomed animals in shelters is overwhelming but so to is the number of unhomed animals on the street. Simply closing the doors in not an option that will address this problem. Please look to map a way out of this problem. Since the shelter is too full, reach out to rescues all over the state / Western states to take in more of our animals to clear up space. Look for a way to get regularly scheduled affordable spay/neuter services at this facility and well as possibly satellite facilities around the city / county. Bottom line, there needs to be a way to curb animal overpopulation. Create an accessible system for people to report / receive care for stray animals. Don't work in isolation, talk with related groups, agencies with interest and expertise in this area to problem solve and find solutions. Work in collaboration with the county, neighboring counties. Find a way to attract and keep full-time verterinary care at this facility and in our community. Perhaps there is a way for a menu of veterinarians to have a private practice and then work a certain number of days a month at this facility. Maybe there's a way that new veterinarians can have part of their educational debt forgived for working for a certain period of time in this type of community service. The Fresno Animal Center has such potential to serve both animals and the public in Fresno.

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    Carol Snyder 12 months ago

    I know it's a bad situation, but if these animals are not taken in the problem is only going to get worse. Thank you to TNR groups, they are trying to slow the problem down.

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    Deborah Blake 12 months ago

    We need more shelters and room for our homeless population of our fur babies. They need us more than ever we can’t abandon them let’s make more room and give them a warm roof over their heads until they can be adopted to a loving home.