OC Animal Care Troubled by High Euthanasia Rates, Poor Leadership: Grand Jury Report

Dogs participate in an OC Animal Shelter pet food drive thru. Courtesy of the OC Animal Care

A grand jury in Orange County released a report last week on OC Animal Care in Tustin, California, stating concerns over its high euthanasia rates, poor leadership, limited staffing, lack of proper assessment of animals chosen for euthanasia, and low morale.

This is not the first time the jury has looked into the agency. Five previous reports detailed similar concerns about the shelter’s policies and animal welfare, according to the June 9 report.

The shelter’s euthanasia rates of dogs and cats relating to perceived poor or aggressive animal behavior have increased significantly over the last two years, the report said.

Another reason for higher euthanasia rates for dogs, the report found, is due to appointment-only restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which ended spontaneous visits and seeing multiple dogs at once for those interested in adopting.

According to the report, potential adoptees must now instead view animals online and reserve an appointment to see only one specified dog at a time.

The grand jury recommended the shelter return to the previous system by the end of the year.

A stray cat sits in the historical district of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“Public safety is important, however, dogs representing bite risks can be segregated, and supervised viewing is a viable option,” the report reads. “Shelter leadership said that public viewing within the kennels stresses the animals and that restricting access keeps the animals calm. However, to address that concern, dogs prone to excitability and stress can be secluded, and supervised viewing is an option.”

Margot Boyer of Yorba Linda, who adopted a chihuahua from the shelter three years ago, started an ongoing online petition in July 2022, which also calls on the shelter to go back to its previous system.

“If I had gone to the shelter under the current system I never would have seen or adopted [Chi],” Boyer said on the petition. “However, I just happened to walk by her cage, she trotted up, wagged her tail and tried to lick me, so that was that!”

Boyer’s petition has gotten more than 22,000 signatures as of June 14 and is close to attaining her goal of 25,000 total.

The report also states that cat euthanasia rates have increased after the shelter ended its “catch and release” spay and neuter program for feral cats during the pandemic citing concerns (pdf) over the legality of releasing stray cats back onto streets.

The report encourages OC Animal Care to reinstate the program to mitigate such deaths.

A spokesperson for OC Animal Care told The Epoch Times they are reviewing the grand jury’s recommendations and will respond at a later date.