Austin Animal Center reaches capacity 'crisis' From the cover
Services explained
Current situation
Sustaining services
Austin Animal Services manages the city’s East Austin shelter, animal control and protection services, and response to animals’ disease and dangerous animals. The center is comparatively one of the best- funded animal services and shelter systems among large Texas cities, with more than 120 staff and a $21 million budget that’s grown nearly 50% in 5 years. A large portion of that budget goes to salaries and day-to-day operations. Despite the increased budget, some animal groups say they're still left to care for a surge of animals in the community. “The taxpayers are paying twice. They’re paying the $21 million [Austin Animal Services budget] and they’re paying out of their own pockets,” Luna said.
The Austin Animal Center has experienced a surge in demand, cramped quarters and staffing issues; as a result, the city will bring in a third party this year to oversee changes. “We’re always in a state of overcapacity. That is a fact of life since the pandemic. We’re no different than any other shelter—with the exception of all of the other shelters in Texas [that] have lost their no-kill status,” Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland said. “That’s a whole other realm that we have to deal with that others don’t.” People are adopting much less, he said, while pet spaying and neutering dropped as a result of the pandemic. Even puppies, typically the most desired adoptions that quickly moved through the shelter, are now experiencing longer kennel stays, Bland added.
$21.06M
Austin
Population: 975,335
$15.69M Population: 2.3M
Houston
$19.94M
Dallas
Population: 1.3M
San Antonio
$28.48M
Population: 1.47M
0
$10M
$20M
$30M
Fiscal year 2023-24
SOURCES: CITIES OF AUSTIN, DALLAS, HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU 2022 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 1-YEAR ESTIMATES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Capacity constraints
Also of note
The shelter is not accepting any dogs from the community, citing its shortage of space. Capacity Average large dogs sheltered
Safety shift
Another issue officials took on this year was the rising number of animals posing risks to the community. City Council signed off on an expanded national-standard scale for measuring dog bites in February, and a policy change that could make it easier to put down dangerous animals. The change came after the number of severe biting incidents in Austin rose nearly 150% since 2018, and as hundreds of dogs with biting histories ended up leaving the city shelter or being adopted. Bland said the change won’t significantly impact capacity or the number of euthanasias performed. However, some residents are worried the practice could lead to more animals being put down.
Severe dog bites that require medical treatment or hospitalization increased.
272
302 305 281 339 328 286 355 309 278 327 315 337
Jan. Feb. March April June May Aug. Oct. July Sept. Nov. Dec.
128 131
150
120
84
68
90
53
53
44
60
30
0 100 200 300 400
0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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