Ask Me Anything #6: Los Angeles Animal Services - What To Do?

Budget Cuts, Public Outcry, and a Roadmap for Saving LA’s Shelters

In this sixth edition of Ask Me Anything, many Angelenos have reached out expressing outrage and heartbreak over the Mayor’s proposed budget cuts to LA Animal Services—calling them “reprehensible,” “a total disaster for the animals,” and warning they will deepen an already severe crisis.

What do you see as the underlying causes of LA Animal Services’ current decline? And what bold, practical steps can Los Angeles take—right now—to move beyond crisis management and build a truly humane, effective animal welfare system?

Answer:

The challenges facing LAAS—chronic underfunding, operational inefficiencies, and mounting public distrust—are the result of years of structural neglect and recent, steep decline. While LAAS once made remarkable progress, those gains have been eroded by persistent budget cuts, policy failures, and leadership instability. Addressing this crisis requires more than incremental fixes; it demands a transformative, systemic approach that tackles root causes head-on.

Below is a five-pillar strategy to rebuild LAAS into a nationwide model of innovation, accountability, and community-driven animal welfare.

1. Structural Reorganization for Efficiency and Transparency

Problem:

LAAS operates under an outdated municipal framework ill-suited for modern animal welfare demands, with bureaucratic inertia exacerbating inefficiencies.

Solutions:

• Transition to a Truly Empowered and Accountable Model: While LAAS already operates under a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Mayor and City Council, structural change must go beyond nominal oversight. The City should empower this Commission with real independence, a mandate for transparency, and the authority to drive innovation and operational agility. This includes appointing commissioners with proven animal welfare and nonprofit management expertise, granting LAAS greater flexibility in hiring, contracting, and fundraising, and holding leadership accountable for measurable outcomes. Only by strengthening the Commission’s role and modernizing its operational framework can LAAS overcome bureaucratic inertia and deliver humane, effective animal services for Los Angeles.

• Streamline Services: Maximize efficiency by cross-training staff, optimizing schedules, and expanding virtual services for licensing and lost/found reporting. Leverage the Reserve Animal Control Officer (RACO) volunteer program to supplement field operations and community outreach. Build neighborhood-based foster and volunteer networks so each shelter can provide all essential services and programs, minimizing redundancy despite reduced staffing.

• Adopt Zero-Based Budgeting: Require annual justification of all expenditures to eliminate legacy costs and redirect funds to high-impact programs. This approach increases accountability and transparency, ensures that every dollar directly supports LAAS’ mission, and enables the organization to adapt quickly to changing community needs. By focusing resources on what works and cutting outdated or ineffective expenses, zero-based budgeting helps build public trust and positions LAAS to deliver better outcomes for both animals and the community, even in times of fiscal constraint.

2. Financial Sustainability Through Diversified Revenue

Problem:

Reliance on volatile General Fund allocations leaves LAAS vulnerable to cyclical budget cuts.

Solution:

• Create a Dedicated Animal Welfare Fund: Levy a nominal fee on pet food sales and veterinary services in Los Angeles to generate an estimated $15–$20 million annually for animal welfare. This projection is based on the city’s large pet-owning population—about 2 million households—each spending roughly $500 per year on pet food and $300 on veterinary care, totaling $1 billion and $600 million in annual sales, respectively. Applying a 1% fee would yield approximately $16 million per year. This broad-based approach distributes the cost widely, minimizes the burden on individual households, and provides a stable, dedicated revenue stream for LA Animal Services. The City Council would oversee the creation and management of this fund, ensuring sustainable support for animal welfare and reducing reliance on unpredictable general fund allocations.

• Public-Private Endowment: Launch a $50M endowment campaign focused on partnerships with independent, mission-driven philanthropies—such as Michelson Found Animals Foundation—and select corporate sponsors committed to transparency and measurable outcomes. Structure the endowment to ensure independent oversight, accountability, and dedicated support for sustainable, high-impact animal welfare initiatives in Los Angeles.

• Fee Modernization: Adjust adoption fees, licensing fines, and service charges to reflect true costs using a flexible, data-driven approach. Maintain low or waived fees for harder-to-place animals, provide income-based waivers and discounts for low-income residents, and offer periodic fee-reduction events to encourage adoptions and voluntary licensing compliance without creating financial barriers.

3. Community-Centric Service Delivery

Problem:

Overcrowded shelters and reactive policies fail to address root causes of pet surrenders.

Solutions:

• Preventive Care Network: Partnering with 50+ local veterinary clinics to offer subsidized spay/neuter, vaccines, and pet supplies in underserved neighborhoods directly addresses the root causes of shelter overpopulation. Most animals entering shelters are unaltered and from communities with limited access to affordable veterinary care. By making preventive services widely available, LAAS can significantly reduce unwanted litters and prevent common diseases, which has been shown in other cities to lower intake rates by up to 30% within three years. This proactive investment is far more cost-effective than managing the consequences of overpopulation and illness in the shelter system.

• Neighborhood Animal Resource Teams (NART): Training community volunteers to handle low-risk animal complaints—such as loose pets or minor nuisance issues—frees up Animal Control Officers to focus on emergencies, cruelty investigations, and urgent calls. This model has proven effective in other jurisdictions, where community-based teams improve response times, increase public engagement, and reduce staff burnout. NARTs also foster stronger community relationships and empower residents to take active roles in local animal welfare, making the system more resilient and responsive.

• Foster-to-Adopt Pipeline: Expanding foster programs to manage up to 40% of the shelter population, with incentives for long-term fosters (like tax credits or free training), is a proven strategy for reducing shelter crowding and improving animal outcomes. Foster homes provide individualized care, reduce stress and illness among animals, and increase adoptability by exposing pets to home environments. Jurisdictions that have invested in robust foster networks consistently see higher live-release rates and lower euthanasia, especially during staffing shortages or intake surges. Incentivizing fosters ensures a sustainable pipeline of support, even when city resources are stretched thin.

Together, these solutions address systemic problems upstream, optimize limited staff resources, and harness community capacity to achieve better outcomes for both animals and residents.

4. Data-Driven Operations and Technology

Problem:

Siloed data systems hinder resource allocation and outcome tracking.

Solutions:

• LAAS Dashboard: A public-facing dashboard would display real-time shelter metrics—such as animal intake, euthanasia, and adoption rates—making LAAS operations transparent and accountable to the public. By incorporating AI-driven predictive analytics, the dashboard can forecast periods of potential overcrowding or resource strain, allowing staff to proactively adjust intake, outreach, or transfer strategies. This transparency builds public trust, encourages community involvement, and helps leadership make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes.

• Chameleon Management Platform: Fully leverage the Chameleon shelter management system already in place to streamline operations, reduce administrative workload, and enhance coordination among staff, field officers, and rescue partners. Prioritize targeted staff training and process improvements to ensure accurate, real-time data entry and reporting, so LAAS can maintain high standards of animal care and case management even with reduced staffing and resources.

• Geospatial Resource Allocation: Using hotspot mapping to identify areas with high rates of pet surrenders or stray intake enables LAAS to deploy mobile clinics and outreach teams where they are most needed. This targeted, data-driven approach ensures that preventive services—such as spay/neuter, vaccination, and community education—reach vulnerable neighborhoods, reducing future shelter intake. Geospatial analysis allows LAAS to allocate limited resources efficiently, maximize impact, and address the root causes of animal overpopulation in specific communities.

5. Crisis-Proofing Through Policy and Partnerships

Problem:

LAAS lacks contingency plans for disasters, economic downturns, or public health emergencies.

Solutions:

• Animal Welfare Emergency Fund: Dedicating 2% of the City’s Reserve Fund specifically for LAAS crisis response would ensure the department has immediate, reliable resources during emergencies such as wildfires, earthquakes, or pandemics. This proactive financial safeguard would allow LAAS to quickly scale up staffing, supplies, and animal care capacity when disaster strikes, protecting both animals and the community. By earmarking these funds, the City demonstrates a commitment to animal welfare as an integral part of its emergency preparedness and resilience planning.

• Regional Mutual Aid Pact: Formalizing mutual aid agreements with cities like San Diego, San Francisco, and Phoenix would enable LAAS to share critical resources—such as staff, equipment, and shelter space—during large-scale disasters or overwhelming surges in animal intake. This collaborative approach mirrors successful models in public safety and emergency management, ensuring that no single city is left to face a crisis alone. Such pacts foster regional solidarity, improve response times, and enhance the collective ability to protect animals and public health during emergencies.

• State Legislation Advocacy: Lobbying for a California Animal Welfare Stability Act would create statewide protections for animal shelters by prohibiting budget cuts exceeding 5% annually for accredited facilities. This legislative safeguard would help prevent the kind of drastic funding reductions that can cripple shelter operations, ensuring a baseline of stability and continuity in animal care regardless of economic downturns or political changes. By advocating for this law, LAAS and its supporters would help secure long-term, structural support for humane animal services across California.

Conclusion

LAAS’s crisis is the result of structural neglect—not incompetence or lack of compassion. The Mayor’s proposed 16% budget cut, combined with chronic understaffing and overcrowding, threatens to unravel years of progress and deepen public mistrust in the City’s commitment to animal welfare. Widespread public outcry underscores the urgent need for bold, systemic reform.

The current crisis demonstrates that incremental fixes are no longer sufficient. Sustainable change requires reimagining LAAS’ funding, operations, and community partnerships. By maximizing existing resources, leveraging technology, expanding preventive and community-based programs, and pursuing innovative, transparent funding strategies, Los Angeles can transform its animal services into a resilient, humane model that reflects the city’s values.

Call to Action

The path forward is clear: only decisive, structural action—supported by engaged leadership and community collaboration—will break the cycle of crisis and restore public confidence. The opportunity and responsibility to act are now.

The City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee will be holding special hearings to consider the Mayor’s 2025-26 proposed budget. If you care about the future of animal welfare in Los Angeles, make your voice heard:

• Attend and speak at the Budget and Finance Committee hearings:

  • Monday, April 28, 2025, at Los Angeles City Hall

  • Public comment will be taken in person only.

• Share your concerns, your experiences, and your vision for a humane LAAS.

• Urge Councilmembers to reject cuts that would cripple animal services and to support the strategic reforms outlined in this report.

The fate of thousands of animals—and the city’s reputation for compassion—depends on the choices made in these coming days. Stand up and be counted.

Ed Boks is a former Executive Director of the New York City, City of Los Angeles, and Maricopa County Animal Care & Control Departments, and a former Board Director of the National Animal Control Association. His work has been published in the LA Times, New York Times, Newsweek, Real Clear Policy, Sentient Media, and now on Animal Politics with Ed Boks.

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