The action comes just weeks after the Pasadena City Council enacted a mandatory spay-neuter ordinance (details below) which produced sharply polarized public testimony and correspondence and ended with two split Council votes enacting the measure (second reading approval Oct. 27.)

A day later during Q & A at an Oct. 28 Long Beach public meeting (at which LB Animal Care Services Manager Ted Stevens announced he was hiring an Adoption Rehoming Coordinator), Mayor Garcia mentioned that a Councilmember he didn't identify planned to agendize an item in November on what he called a mandatory spay-neuter item [drawing applause from a number of audience members] but provided no details on exactly what would be proposed or whether he supports it.

The Lowenthal-Price-Mungo memo agendizing the item for Council discussion and voted direction on November 18 states in pertinent part:

[Lowenthal-Price-Mungo memo text]...With ongoing support from City Council, city management and a passionate animal care community, Animal Care .Services (ACS) has made significant strides to care for and manage our City's owned and free-roaming animal populations. Our common goal is to reduce the number of animals euthanized every year by increasing responsible pet ownership, return-to-owner rates, pet adoptions and spay/neuter services. To this end, legislative actions taken by City Council in 2007 and 2009 resulted in the expansion of low-cost spay & neuter services, volunteer and enforcement programs, mobile clinics, microchipping, cat licensing and creation of a full-time Licensed Veterinarian position, which has improved the health and adoption rates of animals in the Village. Such initiatives had a dramatic impact on our animal population in 2013, as the total number of animals impounded and euthanized were the lowest in 25 years, return-to-owner numbers were the highest in 6 years and the percentage of dogs and cats finding homes jumped by more than 25%. [Attached staff reports detail previous actions taken/results.]

DISCUSSION:

Even with the good work of our ACS and community partners, more pro-active measures can and should be taken to reduce pet overpopulation and irresponsible pet ownership. To illustrate this point, ACS impounded approximately 4,440 dogs in 2013, which works out to be 12 dogs per day, seven days per week. Of that total, approximately 1 in 4 were puppies and a vast majority was unaltered. Of the dogs impounded, 60% were either returned to their owner, adopted or transferred to rescues.

Currently, owners may obtain a permit for their unaltered dog, but only in cases of medical exclusions (certified by a veterinarian that the dog cannot be safely altered) or for an AKC Certified show dog (must show proof). Dog owners who choose to keep illegally unaltered pets increase the risk of accidental litters when their dog gets out of the yard or mates with another dog in the yard. Another notable segment of animals impounded by ACS are those coming from illegal backyard breeding that have been dumped in our city's parks or on our streets. Tragically, some female pit bulls are bred for only one litter before being dumped by their owner in favor of a younger female in the litter.

By requiring dogs to be spayed/neutered, the City of Long Beach is sending a clear message to its residents that irresponsible ownership will not be tolerated, and we are providing Animal Care Services Bureau with another effective tool for motivating dog owners. We believe the ordinance will decrease the "give-aways" of unplanned litters to family members, friends and neighbors. Abandonment, strays and ferals will also decrease. Not to mention the health benefits for dogs in receiving veterinarian attention and females in particular, by reducing their risk of mammary and ovarian cancer, infection and stress. Lastly, ACS will have more kennel and cattery space, which will allow them to house animals longer for potential adoption.

In 2010, City Council adopted an ordinance requiring cats to be licensed, adding another tool for ACS to use in addressing the large number of cats impounded each year. The prevailing wisdom being that cats are just as important to their owners as dogs to theirs, so each should be treated with the same value and appreciation by ACS and our municipal code. However, in our current municipal code, we require cats to be spayed/neutered, but not dogs. If the predominant numbers of impounded dogs are unaltered, it makes sense for the City to mandate alteration while expanding its partnerships and role in providing low-cost spay/neuter services to its residents.

In 2013, ACS and its partners provided vouchers or performed alterations for over 3,000 animals. This does not include the number of animals spayed or neutered at standard cost in one of 23 local veterinary hospitals/clinics. To be sure, Long Beach is extremely fortunate to have several passionate and dedicated partners and veterinarians working to reduce euthanasia and pet overpopulation - among them are Friends of Long Beach Animals, who fund and distribute vouchers and Fix Long Beach, who offer free spay/neuter services in their mobile unit. It is also worth noting that the City expects to have its own clinic at the ACS Village open in the near future. The cost of a spay/neuter procedure can range from ($40 - $500) at a veterinarian hospital/clinic. Vouchers from Friends of Long Beach Animals cover the entire cost of the procedure at their contracted clinic for residents requiring financial assistance. Using funding from Hope 4 Paws, ACS and other groups, Fix Long Beach provides free spay/neuter services to residents. ACS also provides $30 vouchers to assist with the cost of spay/neuter procedures at several local clinics.

We encourage the City Manager to identify additional revenue sources, donors and grants to expand the already successful low-cost spay/neuter voucher program. However, we also believe that proper veterinary care such as check ups and spay/neuter are functions of responsible pet ownership and should be factored into an individual's decision to own a pet. There are lessons to be learned from other municipalities and our own animal care community, so we would like staff to include them in their research and recommendations.

FISCAL IMPACT:

No immediate fiscal impact. Costs for implementation and enforcement will be included in staff's recommendations.

Judging by experiences elsewhere, word of the proposal is likely to produce polarized responses. Long Beach is home to several long-time grassroots spay-neuter advocacy groups (including Friends of Long Beach Animals), and word of the coming City Council proposal brought early support from veteran Long Beach animal advocate Deborah Turner. In a mass emailing over the weekend (prior to release of the specific proposed text), Ms. Turner wrote:

Mandatory spay/neuter law goes to the core of the pet overpopulation issue; the intentional and unintentional breeding of pets. It targets the irresponsible pet guardians and back-yard breeders that add to countless numbers of homeless animals that enter our shelters and live on the streets. No community can adopt their way out of a people-made problem costing local taxpayers millions of dollars. Mandatory law is the tool for decreasing the flow of homeless animals. It reduces animal abandonment, hoarding, euthanasia, neglect and cruelty.

Santa Cruz, California implemented a very successful mandatory spay/neuter law that decreased their shelter euthanasia rate by over 60% and decreased dog-bites by over 30%. Several other cities are having the same success. Pasadena currently passed their mandatory law. Local mandatory spay/neuter laws are the future and common-sense approach in drastically eradicating the needless tragedy of pet over population.

However the American Kennel Club, organized dog clubs and fancier groups and others intent on retaining their animals intact strongly oppose mandatory spay-neuter laws. On learning of the City of Pasadena was ocnsidering a mandatory spay-neuter ordinance, the AKC marshaled its resources in opposition. To view the group's organized internet advocacy, see this link, which advised opponents in pertinent part:

[October AKC text re proposed Pasadena ordinance].

...The American Kennel Club opposes mandatory spay/neuter as ineffective because it fails to address the underlying issue of irresponsible ownership. California state law already provides for the sterilization of animals adopted from shelters and mandates that the license fee for intact animals be at least double that of sterilized animals. The mandatory sterilization requirements proposed in this ordinance will merely punish those who are responsible owners and breeders, and the irresponsible owners who are not complying with current laws are likely to continue their behavior...

Many communities that have implemented mandatory spay/neuter policies have found them to be ineffective and expensive. For example, after Dallas, Texas enacted MSN policies in 2008, it experienced a 22 percent increase in animal control costs and an overall decrease in licensing compliance. MSN laws often result in owners either ignoring animal control laws entirely, or relinquishing their pets to the public shelter to be cared for at the taxpayers’ expense rather than to pay for expensive sterilization surgery or breeder permits. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), some owners also opt to avoid rabies vaccinations and other general veterinary care in order to hide their lack of compliance with MSN laws...

The text of the Pasadena spay-neuter ordinance can be viewed at this link Following sharply polarized public testimony, the Pasadena City Council approved the ordinance on split votes: 5-3 on first reading (Oct. 6) and 5-2 on second reading (Oct. 27.)

Developing in Long Beach...with further to follow on LBREPORT.com.