Animal Advocates Question County’s Progress as Shelters Remain Over Capacity

Riverside County Animal Services says it’s making steady progress toward becoming a “no-kill” shelter system — but not everyone agrees the county is on the right track.At Thursday’s Coachella Valley Animal Campus Commission meeting, officials announced that the county’s shelters have reached an 82 percent save rate, moving closer to the 90 percent benchmark that defines “no-kill” status.But the milestone comes amid a mounting challenge: shelters are currently 230 percent over capacity.Animal Services Director Mary Martin said the department is taking several steps to address overcrowding before considering new construction or expansion. Those steps include hiring 30 new employees, extending shelter hours to make adoptions more accessible, and partnering with PetSmart to increase off-site adoptions.“Once we try those things — and if we’ve done everything there is to do and we’re still struggling for space — then we’re going to have to do something,” Martin said during the…..

Story continues

TRENDING NOW

LATEST LOCAL NEWS