Orange County Register

So, over the past two days we’ve discussed:

• County of Orange’s $49,000 contract with West Coast Rendering, the firm that picks up 23,000 animal carcasses (roadkill, euthanized dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.), c00ks them up, and recycles them into protein meal that’s sold overseas. (Read the original post here.)

• The Orange County Grand Jury’s report saying that the county could have saved $21 million over an eight-year period if it had a mandatory spay/neuter law. “The most cost-effective and humane long-term method to reduce animal overpopulation,” the grand jury says, “is to spay and neuter pets.” (Read the second post here.)

The Orange County Board of Supervisors has until Sept. 2 to respond to the grand jury. And? So?

DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH

“Another nanny state regulation,” says Mario Mainero, chief of staff for Chairman John Moorlach. “We are not in favor of mandatory spay/neuter at this time. We ought to trust our citizens to take care of their own pets, and there are ways to encourage that. We think that market forces are a better way than government mandate.”

Market forces? The Watchdog has been pondering. Spay your cat, get a toaster?

Says Vice Chair Pat Bates: “I continue to remain opposed to a mandatory program. I prefer an approach that motivates pet owners to voluntarily spay/neuter their pets through education and incentive. Moreover, I believe in the provision of compassionate treatment for animals by their owners as well as the public agencies responsible for animal control. ”

BUT DON’T GIVE UP

Supervisor Chris Norby is keeping an open mind. “I think it’s something we could look at,” he says, “but I don’t know how we’d enforce it.”

The problem for Norby - appreciate the history teacher mind at work here - is, how do you determine if someone owns a particular pet? “If someone adopts a cat off the street gives the cat milk, do they own that cat? Are they responsible for spaying and neutering it? There are different responsibilities with cats than with dogs,” he notes.

Traded phone calls but did not connect with Supervisor Bill Campbell’s office. No response from  Supervisor Janet Nguyen.

THE CRYSTAL BALL SAYS….

This “NO GOVERNMENT MANDATES!” thing runs verrrry deep in Orange County, even if said mandate would save money and (pet) lives.

On June 10 - a week after the grand jury report was released - the supes added $150,000 in new money for: 

• a pilot voluntary spay and neuter voucher program,  
• a pilot trap-neuter-release program (which fixes feral cats so they don’t make more feral cats)
• and a communal cat facility.

The communal kitty digs would hold up to 15 cats at a time, significantly reducing stress, says shelter spokesman Ryan Drabek.  The money is split evenly between the three projects, at $50,000 each. Bates said she requested the pilot programs.

So this is how the winds are blowing. Want to share your thoughts with the supervisors as they compose their response to the grand jury? Contact the Big Cheeses below:

• Chairman John Moorlach: district2@ocgov.com
• Vice Chair Pat Bates: PatBates@ocgov.com
• Supervisor Bill Campbell: Bill.Campbell@ocgov.com
• Supervisor Chris Norby: Chris.Norby@ocgov.com
• Supervisor Janet Nguyen: Janet.Nguyen@ocgov.com

As The Watchdog is fond of saying, the people get the government they deserve.

Tomorrow we’ll consider some ideas, shy of mandatory spay/neuter, for reducing the number of animals killed at the shelter.

Want more Watchdog? Go back to the blog’s main page here.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.