Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/oc-animal-care/)
Longtime animal rights activist and Laguna Woods resident Rose Tingle argues that the group charged with oversight for the OC Animal Shelter – the City Managers Association Animal Care Committee – lacks the needed expertise in animal welfare and lacks transparency. Tingle wants public oversight of animal shelters.
Why free or low cost adoption events may not be a good idea. Dr. Gardner contends that giving free animals without screening is problematic. Rather he suggests giving shelter animals, free of charge, to reputable rescue groups as a way to reduce shelter population.
With Orange County Supervisors breaking ground on Friday for a new, modern animal shelter to replace the county’s WWII-era facility, County CEO Frank Kim talks about the opportunities ahead for OC Animal Care and partners like the City of Tustin and the South Orange County Community College District.
The following is a story by the Foothills Sentry newspaper, a Voice of OC media partner covering Orange, Villa Park, Orange Park Acres, Anaheim Hills, North Tustin, Silverado Canyon, and Modjeska Canyon. This story was published in the Sentry’s June 2016 edition
The cities of Orange, Villa Park and Tustin renewed their service contracts with OC Animal Care and agreed to pay a proportional share of the costs to build a new animal shelter on the former Marine Corps Base. Under the agreements, Orange will pay $2.467 million; Villa Park, $46,000; and Tustin, $791,000. The cities’ shares of the $30 million facility were determined by historic usage and services provided. Orange County is supplying $5 million and 10 acres of land. The remaining costs will be borne by the 14 OC cities that have agreed to contribute, and signed 10-year service agreements.
Orange County Supervisors selected a designer-builder and took other actions, April 12, to begin construction on a new Orange County animal shelter this July.
Supervisor Shawn Nelson questioned whether the county’s efforts to attract corporate donations for the animal shelter, libraries and other services will put undue pressure on companies that do business with the county.
Orange County supervisors, who’ve faced years of criticism for the conditions at the county’s dilapidated World War II-era animal shelter, approved a series of contracts Tuesday to start the design and construction of a new shelter in Tustin.
As the county asks member cities to commit to a 10-year contract to help pay for a new $35 million animal shelter, Garden Grove officials are considering signing a contract with the Orange County Humane Society for shelter services.
Supervisors voted last week to pay $150,000 to a firm run by a veterinarian to review the shelter’s operations and make recommendations. The move has been met with mixed reviews from advocates.
The county’s main animal shelter is putting down more than a third of the animals that come through its doors, which advocates say is an indicator of major problems.