The county’s response to a grand jury’s report expressing concerns about OC Animal Care’s management and animal welfare practices, agreed some of the shelter’s policies and procedures needed updating, however it disagreed the current adoption model has restricted public access to the kennels.
Prompted by public criticism of the shelter, the Orange County Grand Jury released a report in June on its review of shelter operations and policies that expressed concern with excessive euthanasia rates, staffing levels and policies for stray cats and assessing animal behavior. It is the sixth time a grand jury has looked into the department’s operations and cited similar findings.
The grand jury also recommended OC Animal Care open access to the shelter’s kennels to maximize opportunities for the public to wander and find their future pet. The county’s response says changes to the model aren’t warranted because, though “ucescorted access” is restricted, “all adoptable animals have always been accessible to the public through online viewing and in-person visits.”
The shelter has limited visitors walking among the kennels since the pandemic, citing that it helps with not stressing the animals and preventing bites. Instead, it has largely relied on a system where potential adopters pick animals that catch their eye from an online list and the animal is brought up for a meet-and-greet.
But at least some on the OC Board of Supervisors, which signed off this week on the county’s response letter back to the grand jury, said there may be room for improvement.
Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he would like to see a more relaxed visitation cycle, adding that a hybrid program would give county staff the metrics to determine which visitation style is more effective.
The former Santa Ana mayor said his city had “10,000 families in households that were not connected to the internet, so it makes it extremely difficult for them to schedule…
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