This story has been up to date to mirror Austin City Council’s vote on Thursday.
More aggressive dogs on the Austin Animal Center will likely be eligible for euthanasia after the City Council on Thursday authorized modifications to the shelter’s guidelines.
The Austin Animal Center euthanizes dogs for 2 predominant causes: aggression and illness. Previously, dogs that had been deemed aggressive had a proper to be rescued by companions like Austin Pets Alive. Staff will proceed to evaluate every animal on a case-by-case foundation, however some dogs could also be euthanized beneath the brand new guidelines with out being made available to rescue companions.
No greater than 5% of animals could be euthanized, per metropolis guidelines. That cap stays, even with the change.
The council’s vote got here after divided testimony from group members. Some residents stated the change would make situations safer on the Austin Animal Center for volunteers and workers who work together with animals each day. Others stated it could shield the general public from harmful dogs that find yourself again in the neighborhood by way of foster or adoption.
But there have been many individuals who opposed the change, which permits any dogs that trigger harm — together with these which might be provoked — to be eligible for euthanasia.
Sasha Aghili, who runs an area animal rescue, stated the change is unfair.
“There are many situations where a dog will be provoked to bite, and that shouldn’t mean automatic death,” Aghili stated. “Death is so final, and to decide on whether you end a life without sharing the situation with rescues and killing a dog is wrong.”
Several residents additionally known as out the shelter’s poor administration. The Austin Animal Center has handled continual capability and staffing points, which regularly means dogs are usually not getting the care they want, together with longer instances in kennels. That can result in behavioral points.
Deven Desai, who works with the Austin Animal Center, stated the change permits workers to have a extra encompassing set of pointers to assist decide if a canine is really harmful.
“We want to be able to look at the totality of circumstances before a decision is made,” Desai stated.
Along with modifications to the so-called chew scale, town additionally voted to take away a rule requiring the shelter to carry a canine for 72 hours earlier than it may be fostered, that means extra dogs could be fostered instantly.
The modifications do not go into impact immediately; Austin will pilot them for six month to gather information earlier than they’re formally carried out.
Austin Animal Center’s perspective
Last 12 months, 131 extreme chew occasions, or incidents that led to extreme accidents, had been reported. That’s up from 84 in 2021 and 128 in 2022. Since 2017, greater than 560 extreme biting incidents have been reported, according to city data.
Ahead of the vote, Don Bland, who leads town’s animal shelter, stated typically dogs with a historical past of biting or different incidents find yourself again in the neighborhood, and so they chew once more.
“We feel like we are putting dogs into the community that aren’t safe,” he advised KUT. “So we are trying to protect the public.”
The new aggression scale will transfer canine bites town at the moment would take into account average into the next stage.
During a council work session Tuesday, Council Member Leslie Pool stated she desires to see a separate chew score for dogs that attack youngsters and elderly folks.
“I was wondering if we could look at adding a category for bites to people younger than 18,” Pool stated. “And it may be that this would just not be possible or would inject complexity, but I do think that has different consequences and ramifications.”
Council members additionally stated they needed town, and its companions, to be extra clear with individuals who undertake or foster dogs which have histories of biting.
Pushback
Some animal advocates and critics imagine the change is only a manner for the Austin Animal Center to euthanize its manner out of overcapacity points — and with out correct information to help it.
Ellen Jefferson, who leads Austin Pets Alive, stated the nonprofit has not seen the identical stage of concern town has with biting. In reality, she stated, APA rescued 82 dogs with conduct points final 12 months from the Austin Animal Center, however just one was discovered to have met this new standards. And a type of dogs did not have a chew document in any respect.
Jefferson and others wish to see extra information round these extreme chew experiences, including that the shelter has been criticized for poor information protecting earlier than.
“Our concern is that the data reporting isn’t strong enough to be able to support something like this that doesn’t allow for another organization to look and say, ‘Hey, this one doesn’t fit,’” Jefferson stated. “Because if the city is just allowed to euthanize those dogs without any input then no one has the chance to help that dog.”
Chronic overcrowding
The Austin Animal Center has continual overcapacity points. Several instances over the past 12 months, the middle has reported housing dogs in non permanent kennels in workplace areas, conferences rooms and different nontraditional kennel areas on the property.
Overcrowded animal shelters is a pattern that’s being felt nationwide. Adoption charges have declined as inflation and the cost of dwelling have elevated, making it troublesome to take care of pets.
Stephanie Filer, government director for Shelter Animals Count, stated the issue has turn into extra widespread for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic, when veterinary companies and different vet applications, resembling microchipping and spay and neuter, had been shuttered or needed to pull again operations.
“So what is occurring now,” she stated, “is organizations are both having to limit or cut back animals coming in, having to handle potential overcrowding, which turns into an animal welfare difficulty and a illness management difficulty, or they’re having to make euthanasia selections that they have not needed to make since earlier than the pandemic.”
“This is a challenging subject for any city to tackle,” Jefferson said. “We support the concept of using a scientific approach to removing dogs that are truly dangerous from our community. We want the city to use accurate and carefully examined data when making life-and-death decisions.”
Correction: A earlier model of the story stated that greater than 560 extreme biting incidents have been reported to town since 2018. That quantity really refers to incidents going again to 2017.
