SAN FRANCISCO COMMISSION OF

ANIMAL CONTROL & WELFARE

Meeting Minutes June 20, 2019

 

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Present: Annemarie Fortier; Rachel Reis; Shari O’Neill; Nina Irani; Bunny Rosenberg; Russell Tenofsky; Jane Tobin; Brian Van Horn, DVM

Absent: Lisa Wayne; Officer Ryan Crockett

 

2. General Public Comment

Member of the public requested that speakers not be limited to the typical 2-3 minutes for this meeting.

 

3. Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 2019 Meeting

Meeting minutes approved

 

4. Chairperson’s and Commissioners’ Reports
   1. Commissioner Fortier reported that some seats have technically expired but are not actually expired, and has reached out to City Clerk and Rules Committee regarding this issue, but it is unknown when the meeting to appoint new commissioners will take place.

 

5. New Business
   1. SF SPCA Feral Cat Program Changes
      • Recently, SF SPCA and SF Animal Control and Welfare, in partnership, modified a long-standing feral cat program. Whereas in the past, mother cats and kittens less than two months old were captured from the wild, brought to the shelter, then returned to the wild (mother cats) or adopted (kittens). The new policy is to allow mothers and kittens to stay in the wild, until the kittens are weaned.

 

• Speakers: Dr. Cynthia Karsten, DVM, Outreach Veterinarian UC Davis; Dr. Jena Valdez, DVM, Director of Community Medicine, SF SPCA; Dr. Shari O’Neill, DVM, Chief Shelter Veterinarian, SF ACC; Maria Conlon of Give Me Shelter will speak on behalf of cat volunteers.

 

• Commissioner Tobin led the discussion, stating that the objective was to find out the reasons for the policy change and to hear from the community cat volunteers.

 

• Maria Conlon (co-director of Give Me Shelter; representing cat community of volunteers of San Francisco) and Jen Clark (SF ACC volunteer) presented regarding previous policy for supporting feral cat moms (queens) and kittens, and policy change:
  • Previous policy included minimizing human contact, releasing queens into the community after weaning, and adopting out kittens.  According to previous policy, queens benefited, as they would gain weight and receive medical treatment.   
  • In May, volunteers were told that ACC and SPCA would no longer enlist trappers for kittens under four weeks of age, because of perceived cruelty and trauma to queens, a mortality rate of 45% for kittens under four weeks of age, and the belief that queens and kittens can survive outside and be trapped after weaning.  However, there is no data comparing stress of raising kittens outdoors to theoretical increased stress of living in foster home; and mortality rates cannot be compared because mortality rate for kittens left outside is unknown. 
  • Policy change is risky because:
    • Kittens left outside are extremely vulnerable due to predation, need to move locations for safety, risk of starvation, disease, weather exposure and being run over by cars.
    • Waiting to trap is risky because moms move their kittens and cannot be located, moms can go into heat again after only two months while kittens can reproduce as young as five to six months, and kittens entering shelter after three months of age are not allowed to be socialized.
    • There is no process in place to implement the policy, including assessing the safety of the kittens outside and their location (and whether they will be in the same location after weaning).
  • Volunteers felt they were not heard by ACC/SPCA and questions are unanswered.

 

• Questions and responses regarding the volunteers’ presentation included:
  • Commissioner Tobin asked whether the long-term goal of the policy was that there be no more feral cat population; the response was affirmative. 
  • Commissioner Reis asked how the volunteers found out about the policy change; the response was through word of mouth and an email from ACC Executive Director Virginia Donahue announcing the change.
  • Commissioner Tobin asked if statistics reflecting the outcomes for these kittens were available; the response was that although general statistics are available, they are not specific to feral moms and kittens.
  • Commissioner Van Horn asked about the organizational system between Toni’s Kitty Rescue (“TKR”), Give Me Shelter (“GMS”), and volunteers, to determine the availability of foster homes; the response was that GMS does not foster (it takes in the at-risk animals from ACC that are not placed for adoption), that TKR places animals in foster care, and that although foster capacity is not tracked, there are not many circumstances where a foster is not found.
  • Commissioner Van Horn asked about general statistics for fostering and finding permanent homes outside of the shelter system; the response was that at any given time there are approximately ten foster homes available for intake and 800-1,000 kittens are fostered and adopted out per year. 

 

• Dr. Cynthia Karsten, DVM, Outreach Veterinarian UC Davis, spoke to provide clarity regarding the policy change and reported that the recommended change was made by ACC and SPCA based on the circumstances in their shelters, focusing on capacity for care.  She stated that although San Francisco is not in the same situation as other cities, resources are still limited and compromise is required.  The goal included decreasing lengths of stay at the shelters so that staff would have greater capacity to provide better care to all animals.  The new policy will be tried to see what the outcome is.    

 

• Questions and responses to Dr. Karsten’s comments included:
  • Commissioner Tobin asked what the metrics for success were and whether there was transparency about the metrics; the response was that length of stay was the main metric, as the goal of the shelter is to keep animals only for as long as needed, since time is the biggest factor for disease and behavioral and mental decline.
  • Commissioner Fortier asked for clarification that UC Davis did not impose and ACC and SPCA jointly made the decision; the response was affirmative.

 

• Dr. Jena Valdez, DVM, Director of Community Medicine, SF SPCA and Dr. Shari O’Neill, DVM, Chief Shelter Veterinarian, SF ACC, presented regarding the policy change.  Dr. O’Neill reported that the decision was not made abruptly, although rollout was unintentionally abrupt, and the process going forward was still being figured out.  Their “Community Cats & Best Practices for Care” presentation included the following:  
  • Community cats exist in the wild and as pets and include feral cats, un-socialized cats, and loosely-owned cats, which have different needs.  They can be healthy outside of shelters, are resilient, and are not a public health threat. 
  • Community cat management has evolved.  Previously, feral cats were brought into shelter, leading to a large number being euthanized as they were not adoptable.  Then Trap-Neuter-Release (“TNR”) policies came into favor and have been successful.
  • Policy change was based on welfare concerns reported by ACC staff, not budget:
    • Previous policy increased lengths of stay (to 4-6 weeks, while typical shelter stay is up to 2 weeks), resulting in increased illness, unhealthy kittens, and low standard of welfare for queens.
    • Behavior change programs (for kittens under five months) failed and kittens were not adoptable and also unable to be in the outdoors again. 
    • Shelter configurations did not allow room for normal behaviors.
    • Some queens became aggressive and would not let staff handle kittens and tried to bite and scratch, or exhibited learned helplessness and other symptoms of distress.
    • Eventually, sheltering best practices could not be followed. 
    • Some queens escaped and trapping resulted in extreme stress.
    • Fostering resulted in multiple transports that were not ideal for the cats. 
    • Competing needs of queens and kittens could not be addressed.
    • Animal Welfare Freedoms (from hunger and thirst, discomfort, pain/injury/disease, fear/distress, and euthanasia, and to express normal behavior) could not be accomplished for queens.
    • Some kittens were rejected too early or were unable to learn normal cat behaviors in shelter environment. 
    • Resulted in a high mortality rate of 45% for kittens coming into shelter under four weeks of age.
    • Mortality rate for kittens over four weeks of age entering shelter is 7-9%. 
  • Need to balance risk of shelter stay vs. outdoors, and there is no perfect solution.    
  • New policy states preference for weaning kittens to remain in place outside. Calls to ACC regarding feral cats will be logged, including locations and contact information, and shared with SPCA community outreach to keep track of changes. Common trapper pool will be used so there is consistency between shelters.  Other policies remain unchanged (orphaned kittens up to 8 weeks of age are still brought into shelter as before, as are sick and injured animals).

 

• Questions and responses to “Community Cats & Best Practices for Care” included: 
  • Commissioner Fortier asked whether future communications with volunteers would be more timely; the response was affirmative.
  • Commissioners Fortier, Tobin, and Rosenberg asked about metrics of success, noting that ACC staff anecdotes differed from volunteers’ anecdotes, lack of field metrics, and asking whether 45% mortality rate included all kittens or only community kittens. Response was that field data collection needs to begin, data collection in shelters is being improved, and mortality rate included all kittens.
  • Commissioner Van Horn asked about the issue with transporting queens to foster care; response noted difficulty of matching animals with foster parents’ skill level.
  • Commissioner Rosenberg asked if overall goal in decreasing length of stay was saving lives; response was affirmative.
  • Commissioner Reis asked whether the number of cats represented by the mortality rate was known and whether stakeholders were involved in decision change; response was that number of cats was unknown and core group of volunteers were involved beginning in February.
  • Commissioner Tenofsky noted that shelters greatly rely on rescue community for this policy, and it is problematic that they were not involved, yet are being forced to rely on the decision. 
  • Commissioner Reis commented on loss of trust from community and need for relationship building, community centered approach, and data gathering before making a policy change.
  • Commissioner Irani asked whether shelters would consider delaying policy change until necessary data could be gathered, and about possibility of fosters taking on initial stage of care with shelters’ support, including notification of volunteers regarding feral cat calls.  Response was that even if initial care was foster home only, animals’ pathway after impound into shelters was still problematic, and that calls would continue to go to shelter volunteers (policy was never to notify rescue volunteers).
  • Commissioner Tobin asked who is responsible for feral cat community’s well-being and livelihood, expressed concern about missed opportunities (to spay queens and prevent kittens from becoming feral) during weaning period, and commented on imbalance when shelters are not tracking cats in the field. Response was that shelters can only track cats that come into shelter, that TNR was leading to a decrease in feral cat intake, and that policy would be tried and adjusted as needed.
  • Commissioner Tenofsky asked if shelters would commit to involving rescue community on the policy change, and if new ACC shelter included space for queens and kittens. Response was that rescue community was engaged on three occasions and that not reaching agreement did not mean community was not heard, and new shelter did not include space for feral cats.
  • Commissioner Rosenberg asked for clear success metrics; response was that metrics included time in foster, length of stay, waits for service, illness rates, and outcomes.

 

• Twenty-five members of the public commented on the policy change, including that:
  • The outside feral cat population needs to be counted and tracked.
  • The mortality rate under the previous “Mamas from the Streets” initiative (utilizing the SPCA feral cat nursery) was approximately 2%. The policy change will lead to a much higher mortality rate.
  • Serious welfare concerns for queens and kittens left outside during the weaning period include illness, injury, and predation from coyotes and raccoons, and there is concern that queens and kittens will procreate before TNR teams locate them. 
  • The vast majority of fostered queens are able to nurse and care for their kittens and behave calmly under foster care.
  • A major concern is that volunteers are no longer notified when shelters receive calls about kittens found outside, and even with the new policy, there are no calls to volunteers about the status of weaned kittens. 
  • Two volunteers were directed by shelter representatives not to bring concerns to the Commission, noting lack of Commission jurisdiction or oversight over ACC and SPCA.  One volunteer reported that no data or information was given during their meetings with shelter representatives, and that a picture used in shelters’ presentation was misleading because the queen and kittens pictured were healthy, and all survived. This raised ethical concerns. 
  • The community should act compassionately and come together to work for the animals’ common good.  
  • TKR has capacity for care and hopes that ACC will use it as a resource.
  • Feral cats are not wild and they are not wildlife, and they can be socialized. Kittens socialized at critically young ages lead to increased chances for longevity.

 

• Commissioners’ plan of action will be to write letter urging ACC and SPCA to revisit the policy change and will focus on the decision-making process, communication process, and collection of data and metrics for success.  Commissioners Tobin and Van Horn will work on drafting letter and then will send to SPCA, ACC, and rescue groups.

 

6. Old Business
   1. Review of City Charter Establishing Commission on Animal Control and Welfare
      • According to the City Charter, the Commission was established by Health Code Sec. 41.1 in 1973. It was last revised in 1999. The Commission was never assigned an Administrator. This is created problems with the management and administration of the Commission. The Commissioners will discuss this issue and propose remedies. 

      • Commissioner Fortier noted that one issue is that the platform can only be used with PC. 
      • Commissioner Tobin, as back-up secretary, volunteered to upload audio.  
      • Commissioner Reis volunteered to upload meeting minutes and supporting documents. 

 

2. Revision to San Francisco’s Pet Tethering Ordinance
   • Commissioner Irani reported that Oakland ACC lacks tethering call data, shared testimonial from New Orleans ACC suggesting positive results after passing prohibition on unattended tethering, and suggested alternative questions to consider instead of searching for data from comparable cities, which may not exist. These include considering how many animals need to be affected before action is recommended, whether this issue presents an opportunity to be at the forefront of change, and discussing past ordinances and the reasoning behind them.  Suggested inviting members of the public and community organizations to attend upcoming meeting to provide input.
   • Commissioner Fortier noted that changes could be based on invoking the spirit of St. Francis and the kind of city we want to be.
   • Sally Stephens from SF Dog shared concern about dogs tethered to parking meters and offered the assistance of SF Dog on this issue.
   • Commissioner Van Horn commented on clients whose tethered dogs were stolen and their reluctance to speak on record about the thefts, and that if anyone would go on record it could be a public awareness piece.

 

7. General Public Comment
   • Member of the public comments on letter to Senator Scott Weiner about use of firecrackers in the city and their negative effect on animals and the climate, and bringing awareness to the welfare of lower profile animals, such as aquatic animals.

 

8. Items to be put on Calendar for Future Commission Meetings
   1. Review of City Charter Establishing Commission on Animal Control and Welfare
   2. Revision to San Francisco’s Pet Tethering Ordinance
   3. ACC and SPCA Feral Mother Cat and Kitten Management Policy

 

9. Adjournment (approx. 9:30 p.m.)