KC DOG BLOG

New Florida bill seeks to mandate shelter transparency

There's a new bill in Florida that was introduced this week by Senator Joe Abruzzo (Democrat, Palm Beach). The bill is SB 872, and would require all animal shelter operators in the state to compile monthly and annual reports of what happens to the dogs and cats that enter  the shelter.

Required data would include:

- Number of animals, by species, which were on hand at the beginning of the reporting period

- Number of animals, by species, that were impounded

- By owner surrender

- As strays

- brough in by animal control

-- and number of animals, by species, that were outcomed

- Transferred to another shelter or rescue group

- returned to owners

- adopted

- euthanized

- died or lost at the shelter

- and number of animals, by species, that were in the shelter at the end of the reporting period

All information is required to be posted in a timely manner both annually and monthly.

I'm a HUGE fan of this bill and hope it is able to move through the legislature. Transparency is extremely important for organizations and for the good of animals that enter shelters. Given that nearly all shelters in this country are either a) funded through taxpayer dollars or b) have tax exempt status by being a 501c3, I believe the public has a right to know how these organizations are doing (I think that many 501c3s in particular hide behind their tax exempt status and don't make the information available).

Many shelters that are succeeding in saving lives tend to make this information readily available. However, many shelters with high euthanasia rates, don't make the information public. It is my belief that in most communities if citizens are aware of the situation at their shelter they will demand better.

You can read the bill, as proposed, here.

The only thing I don't love about this bill is that I think monthly reporting may be over-kill, and that quarterly reporting would be sufficient. Otherwise, I really like this law and I think it could be emulated across the US. By forcing transparency, and making information readily available, I think we can get more public support for forcing shelter changes that are badly needed in many communities across the US.

 

Tracking Success - a case study from No Kill West Georgia

Last week, our friends over at No Kill West Georgia wrote about a new report compiled by the Georgia voters for Animal Welfare Report.  The full overview is over at their place, and worth the read.

The study was designed to really get a baseline handle on how many companion animals were killed in Georgia so they could get a baseline read on a) how big of a problem they have in shelter killing in Georgia and b) give them a baseline in order to track their success.

The study itself entailed a lot of work, and their methodology is fully covered in the report.

Meanwhile, the idea of this report shows a larger problem that I feel like needs to be addressed -- credible information and its availability to citizens.

As a part of my blog, I am routinely asking cities for animal control information -- bite stats, bite stats by breed, euthanasia stats (by species and breed), financial information and the like. And I never cease to be amazed that even when I mention state Freedom of Information requests or Sunshine Laws, that many cities still ignore the requests, or have non-existant or incomplete information.

If we are to ever make a major impact on animal control and shelters, we must demand that not only do our shelters and animal controls keep accurate information, but also make that information easily available to the public (heck, why not post it on your website?) so the public can take an active role in helping improve the situation. If as a shelter you are indeed doing things the right way, it is a great way to get the public involved in helping and sharing in your success. Many animal control departments that are making major progress are making their numbers available - -like in Charlottesville, VA and in Reno, NV. 

Maddies Fund director Rich Avanzino has a great article on Why Transperency Matters that highlights why, if we really want to reach No Kill, and improve animal control, we need to be open and honest with our information so we can all see our collective successes and failures.

So nice work by the Georgia Voters for Animal Welfare -- and may they begin to make inroads in saving the lives of animals in Georgia.