(August 21, 2008) -- L.A. City Controller Laura Chick has released a Performance Audit that concludes L.A.'s Department of Animal Services is ill-prepared to implement or enforce L.A.'s new mandatory spay and neuter law.

The last was passed earlier this year by L.A.'s City Council, and it was signed into law by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, requiring dogs and cats in L.A. to be spayed or neutered.

In a transmittal letter to L.A.'s Mayor, City Attorney and Councilmembers, Controller Chick writes in part:

"First and foremost, the Department has no plan to educate the public regarding mandatory sterilization and how they can comply. In fact, the City Council instituted a six-month grace period till the ordinance goes into effect this October to give the Department the opportunity to prepare the public. Now on the eve of its enactment, the Department has done little to promote awareness or compliance with the law," said L.A. Controller Chick.

"Though Animal Services is charged with enforcing the mandatory spay and neuter law, it does not intend to do so. Instead, the Department, as it does with the leash law and dog licensing, will rely on voluntary compliance. My recent fiscal audit shows the Department is losing out on millions of dollars by not enforcing existing laws and collecting fees and fines, such as with dog licenses," said Chick.

"Many of the problems found in my audit are traced to the fact that Animal Services lacks a well-developed strategy for carrying out their Spay and Neuter Program," concluded Chick.

The Performance Audit makes 24 recommendations for improving the spay and neuter program.

To view the entire Performance Audit, click here.

The new mandatory spay and neuter ordinance that the Los Angeles City Council passed and the Mayor signed appears to be a paper tiger. To begin with, the Department of Animal Services has no plan to educate the public and has done very little to make the public even aware of this new law. How does it expect the public to know of its existence?

Although Animal Services is charged with enforcing the law, it does not intend to do so. If not that Department, then who will do it? Instead, it states, that they will rely on "voluntary compliance". "Mandatory" and "voluntary" - now there's an oxymoron!

It is not surprising that very few veterinarian providers are responding to the City's call. Private practice is far more lucrative and the number of procedures - if the law was to be enforced effectively - would be overwhelming.

Thus, if there is no intention to educate, no intention to enforce, no intention to adequately fund and staff the Department of Animal Services, it begs the question: what was the point of doing this in the first place?

It seems that although the blame for the pet overpopulation and need to kill the large number of companion animals is still placed on owners, the Department is not willing, and the City of Los Angeles is not able to enforce the very law it enacted and which would have helped greatly to relieve this sad situation.