Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report today detailing “deplorable conditions” and “a high rate of illness” at Animal Care & Control shelters.
The report states that nearly all animals the ASPCA receives from AC&C have infections, and recounts instances of “dogs and cats being left to wallow in their own waste” and “stacked in cages and left in hallways.”
There has been a 70 percent increase in passing animals off to
rescue groups, leaving these groups to cover the costs of caring for
animals made sick at AC&C.
Stringer recommends restructuring AC&C as a non-profit,
promoting dog licensing, and building full service shelters in the
Bronx and Queens.
Volunteers reported that during Hurricane Sandy, “no one could get in touch with AC&C,” “field operations ceased,” and AC&C “all by locked its doors to new intakes from the public.”
The report quoted animal rescuer Rob Maher saying, “They are supposed to be there to help animals, but if they are not doing that, then I don’t know what the point is.”
