Dear Friends of the Louisiana SPCA,
For over 60 years the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been contracted to provide animal control services to the City of New Orleans. Animal control is an important municipal responsibility, and the LA/SPCA is proud of the quality of services and humane care we have been given the opportunity to provide to the citizens and animals of Orleans Parish. The LA/SPCA Board of Directors has decided it would be a disservice to the animals of this community to attempt to provide animal control for the amount proposed by the city. Consequently, we will not submit a proposal to perform animal control services for 2011 as invited to by the City.
I want to thank all of you for your support during the budget process. It is because of your voice the New Orleans City Council added $200,000 to the Mayor’s proposed $1.5 million budget. But, after careful analysis, the funding is significantly less than we needed to continue. It is irresponsible of us as animal welfare advocates to reduce the level of services and quality of care that our citizens and animals expect and deserve in order to work within that allocation.
The mission of the Louisiana SPCA has always been, and will continue to be, advocating for the welfare of animals in this region. The LA/SPCA will continue to provide emergency services through December 31, 2010 when the current animal control contract expires.
In 2011, the Louisiana SPCA will take this opportunity to focus more on our humane mission and programs such as cruelty investigations, humane education, disaster preparedness, spay/neuter and adoptions. As always, we remain committed to the people and animals of New Orleans and our region. We will continue to keep you updated as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Ana Zorrilla
Chief Executive Officer
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