San Francisco Commission of
Animal Control & Welfare

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

2. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.

3. Approval of Draft Minutes from the January 13, 2011 Meeting
[Discussion/Action Item]

4. Chairperson’s report and opening remarks
[Discussion Item]

5. New Business
A) Discussion and Possible Action to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors to alert them to the high death rate of Western gulls in the Pier 94 wetlands areas on property of the Port of San Francisco. The death rate was discussed at the October 2010 Commission meeting. This problem has been documented for several years and despite attempts by CA Fish and Game and by the Port of San Francisco to discover the cause, little progress has been made. Recent statistics and documented comparison death rates to other areas will be available at the meeting. The draft of a letter is attached at the end of the agenda. [Discussion/Action Item] [Commissioner Hemphill]

B) Discussion and possible action to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors asking them to: hold a hearing on the proposed new Dog Management Plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA); to oppose the adoption of the proposed Plan because of its deleterious impact on the health and well-being of dogs in San Francisco; and to ask that the GGNRA develop a new Plan that provides a level of recreational open space, including off-leash access, appropriate to serve the needs of Bay Area residents. Last month, the GGNRA released a 2,000+-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a new Dog Management Plan (copies available at the SF Main Library or at http://tinyurl.com/4ckcsb9) that considers whether dogs can be on or off leash, or forbidden altogether, at 21 sites in the GGNRA. The proposed plan will drastically reduce (cutting by ¾) the amount of open space currently available for off-leash recreation in the GGNRA in San Francisco, which includes Fort Funston, Ocean Beach, Lands End, and Crissy Field. Many of the areas lost to off-leash will not be available to people with dogs even on leash, but will have dogs banned from them entirely. If this open space is lost to off-leash recreation, it will have a deleterious impact on the health and well-being of dogs (and their people) in San Francisco. [Discussion/Action Item] [Commissioner Stephens]

C) Discussion only of how the Commission can better communicate with the public. The issue is complicated by the Commission’s lack of staff and budget. How can we improve our communications with the public? Should we have email? Does regular mail and voicemail work for us? How can the Commission make it easier for people to contact us, especially to introduce issues they might like for the Commission to consider? [Discussion only] [Commissioner Hemphill]

6. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.

7. Items to be put on the Calendar for Future Commission Meetings
[Discussion Item]

8. Closing Review of Task Allotments and Next Steps
[Discussion Item]

9. Adjournment

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Disability Access: Room 408 is wheelchair accessible. The closest accessible BART Station is Civic Center, three blocks from City Hall. Accessible MUNI lines serving this location are: #42 Downtown Loop, the #71 Haight/Noriega, the F Line to Market and Van Ness, and the Metro stations at Van Ness and Market and at Civic Center. For more information about MUNI accessible services, call 923-6142.

There is accessible parking at the following locations: two (2) designated blue curb spaces on the southwest corner of McAllister Street at Van Ness Avenue; the Performing Arts Garage (entrance on Grove Street between Franklin and Gough Streets), and at Civic Center Plaza Garage.

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Attention: Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance (SF Administrative Code 16.520 - 16.534) to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the Ethics Commission at 1390 Market Street, #701, San Francisco, CA 94102, telephone (415) 554-9510; fax (415) 703-0121 and web site http://www.sfethics.org

Documents for Public Inspection: Any documents related to an item on this agenda that are distributed to the Commission in advance of the meeting are available for public inspection and copying at the Government Information Center, 5th Floor, SF Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St (at Grove), open seven days a week. They are also available on the Commission website: http://www.sfgov.org/awcc.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
ITEM 5A
Animal Control and Welfare Commission
2/10/11



Draft of Letter to be Sent to Board of Supervisors About High Death Rate of Western Gulls at Pier 94:


Dear Supervisor --------------,

The Animal Control and Welfare Commission met on February 10, 2011 and voted to alert you regarding the unusually high death rate of Western Gulls in the area of Pier 94. The Western Gull is an omnivorous bird that eats fish and also scavenges carrion if it is available.
The district surrounding Pier 94 is an industrial area whose businesses recycle rubble, garbage and carrion. The area attracts hungry gulls who roost along the shore, their native habitat.
 
But for many years, some birds have been found with greased feathers and broken limbs and many have been discovered dead or dying. Necropsies have found Cholera, Salmonella, Aspergillosis and rodenticides in their system. Although businesses in this area have said that they have changed their practices, using snap traps for rodents rather than rodenticides, and washing trucks that have carried animal waste, as well as covering trucks, 10% of dead or captured gulls are still found greased and the death rate at Pier 94 continues to rise. It’s routine to see numerous gulls foraging in the unloading yard of the animal rendering plant on Amador St.

Fish and Game has been working on this issue without resolution as has the Port of San Francisco. There needs to be a stronger push to solve this mystery of Western Gull deaths. If this death rate were occurring in domestic dogs or cats, the problem would have had more attention and focus than the wild birds have received. We feel that more needs to be done. One possibility would be to contact Fish and Wildlife. And, in human terms, whatever is killing the birds represents a dangerous condition and could also potentially be harmful to humans.


Thank you for your help.