Toronto Animals Are In Serious Trouble

Toronto City Council is very seriously considering scrapping Toronto Animal Services ('TAS') and privatizing the services. Why should you care? It's important we all understand the repercussions if this goes through.

WHAT EXACTLY DOES TAS DO?
* TAS is a city service responsible for enforcing animal-related bylaws in Toronto.
* Pick up injured animals and provide either veterinary care or humane euthanasia
* Pick up dead wild/domestic animals
* Accept surrendered or stray animals and shelter them; if a dog or cat is deemed available for adoption, they are spayed/neutered, microchipped, dewormed, treated for fleas, vaccinated and licensed
* Run four animal shelters that adopt out animals In 2010, just ONE of these shelters adopted out:
391 dogs
287 small animals
1029 cats
* Provide low-cost euthanasia to the public
* Reunite lost pets with owners
* Deal with animal-related complaints
* Work with local rescues to place certain animals in a more appropriate environment
* Operate a free spay/neuter clinic for cats
* Provide Dog Bite Prevention programs to elementary schools
* Respond to animal-related complaints such as dog bites

SO WHY SHOULDN'T TORONTO CONTRACT OUT ANIMAL SERVICES?
* There is no accountability when a private company runs animal services.

* A for-profit company has very different motivations than a city shelter or private rescue. It is ALWAYS cheaper to euthanize animals than to shelter them, provide vet care and adopt them out. It is also ALWAYS cheaper to euthanize them improperly, causing pain and fear. If a shelter provides proper care, veterinary services and community outreach, it cannot be a for-profit model.

* Contracting animal services out to a for-profit company has lead to disaster in Montreal. There, the city had an agreement with a private pound, Berger-Blanc, and recently footage of horrific abuse and neglect.
Read about the horrors at Berger-Blanc here (a CBC news report - graphic in nature):
http://www.facebook.com/l/RAQA3PwfWAQCd4k6pNQWa1ukhnV5TKHTGBeZdOJNT7W36Tw/www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/04/20/montreal-animal-pound-euthanasia.html

The Montreal SPCA's reaction:
http://www.facebook.com/l/_AQDa-MRkAQB9UBzOOzD-cXNXWF-VIIhj_CeLSCIHJsGjMQ/www.spcamontreal.com/media1.php?lg=en&%3Bid=83

You can see the documentary yourself here (very graphic - be prepared):
http://www.facebook.com/l/FAQCkVP7TAQCjVUrKhNq7iCoQYWsnAKEv9u97XTBzr-Btyg/www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5NmSTakew4

Note that at Berger Blanc:
- Euthanasia was done improperly, in the cheapest way possible.
- Very few adoptions occurred.
- Very few lost animals were reunited with owners.
- Veterinary care was not provided.
- Employees administered injections rather than veterinary technicians.

* Now many Montreal citizens want the city to take over animal control - but once it's been contracted out, the city won't have the resources or ability to take on that huge responsibility! That's why we have to keep TAS public while we still have the chance!

CAN YOU HELP TODAY?

* Write to your city councillor and let them know that TAS is important to you SEE HERE FOR YOUR CITY COUNCILLOR: http://www.facebook.com/l/aAQCxL1TGAQDubpXmTWUYOtb1PoHrjHl40pWUhTcEfEM6XA/app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp
* Spread the word to your friends, families and neighbours!
Below is the contact to get on the agenda for the September 19th meeting in Committee Room 1 Toronto City Hall. We need as many people as possible to attend but of the folks who speak, the only ones who will carry any weight will be city residents.

Specifically, we really need people who live in the Wards of the following Councillors. These guys sit on the Executive Committee and are closely allied with Mayor Ford and his brother Doug.

Paul Ainslie Ward 43 - Phone: 416-392-4008 Fax: 416-392-4006 councillor_ainslie@toronto.ca
Michelle Berardinetti Ward 35- Phone: 416-392-0213 Fax: 416-392-7394 councillor_berardinetti@toronto.ca
Mike Del Grande Ward 39 - Phone: 416-392-1374 Fax: 416-392-7431 councillor_delgrande@toronto.ca
Rob Ford (Mayor and Chair) - Phone: 416-397-FORD (3673)mayor_ford@toronto.ca
Doug Holyday Ward 3- Phone: 416-392-4002 Fax: 416-392-4004 councillor_holyday@toronto.ca
Norman Kelly Ward 40 - Phone: 416-392-4047 Fax: 416-696-4172 councillor_kelly@toronto.ca
Giorgio Mammoliti Ward 7 - Phone: 416-395-6401 Fax: 416-696-4218 councillor_mammoliti@toronto.ca
Peter Milczyn Ward 5- Phone: 416-392-4040 Fax: 416-392-4127 councillor_milczyn@toronto.ca
Denzil Minnan-Wong Ward 34 - Phone: 416-397-9256 Fax: 416-397-4100 councillor_minnan-wong@toronto.ca
Cesar Palacio Ward 17 - Phone: 416-392-7011 Fax: 416-392-0212 councillor_palacio@toronto.ca
Jaye Robinson Ward 25 - Phone: 416-395-6408 Fax: 416-395-6439 councillor_robinson@toronto.ca
David Shiner Ward 24 - Phone: 416-395-6413 Fax: 416-397-9290 councillor_shiner@toronto.ca
Michael Thompson Ward 37 - Phone: 416-397-9274 Fax: 416-397-9280 councillor_thompson@toronto.ca


To sign up to speak contact:
Secretariat Contact Frances Pritchard
10th floor, West Tower, City Hall
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

email: exc@toronto.ca
phone: 416-392-6627
fax: 416-392-1879

What KPMG Recommended:

Even though the licensing of cats and dogs brought in $660,000 above the actual cost of the programme and despite the fact that at least 72% of the donations which totalled $253,000 in 2010 came in when licenses were renewed, KPMG is recommending that the current licensing be abandoned and the City consider a lift-time microchip programme. The lifetime micro-chip sounds like a good idea but what KPMG and Council fail to take into account is that in order for the programme to work, the City still needs to keep a data base and still update the database and that will cost money but less money will be coming in.

Consider reducing service level (response time) for Emergency Animal Rescue and Care by increasing service response time.
This would mean that injured animals would be left for up to 2 hours without pick up and animals left in hot cars would also not be attended to quickly. On this point I think the City is very vulnerable.

Consider requiring owners wishing to surrender animals to deliver them to the shelter. The City picks up animals from the elderly, poor and physically disadvantaged persons. This part of the programme is really small, and would not result in much cost savings.

Consider outsourcing some or all of animal care and enforcement delivery. This is really the crux of the discussion – to outsource TAS. The good thing is that there is really no-one to outsource TAS to. The THS appears at this point not to want the contract and I cannot imagine that the OSPCA would want it either (although I guess anything is possible). So in this case we need to fight on two fronts – opposing the contracting out of the service and cuts that would be so severe, TAS would essentially be crippled.

This url takes you to the motions from the Licensing Committee meeting on Monday:

http://www.facebook.com/l/MAQCtlfc0AQAubGzEV9dkSeaW-n4DqHULgyYgjQ_7w0M_WA/app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2011.LS6.1

Committee Decision
The Licensing and Standards Committee:

1. Recommends that the Executive Committee consider the opportunities contained in Appendix A, Part 2 of the KPMG Standing Committee Summary for the Licensing and Standards Committee.



Decision Advice and Other Information
The Licensing and Standards Committee:

1. Requested the City Manger to review the List of Opportunities in Appendix A, Part 2, to ensure service efficiencies are maximized to meet the 2012 budget targets and multi-year service and financial planning objectives and report directly to the Executive Committee on September 19, 2011.

2. Requested that the City Manager include the following in his report to the Executive Committee meeting on September 19, 2011:

a. Any opportunities for further integration of By-law Enforcement.

b. The possibility of expanding animal licensing in Toronto.

c. The possibility of updating the online licensing system.

d. The possibility of maximizing online donations to Toronto Animal Services.

e. The possibility of establishing an animal services sub-committee of the Licensing and Standards Committee.

f. The feasibility of requiring micro-chipping of dogs and cats as a requirement of licensing.
g. A review of pet licensing options, including the option of a lifetime licensing system to replace the current annual licensing fee, with micro-chipping dogs and cats as a requirement.

The most problematic motion (see below) from made by Frances Nunziata. The motion was defeated because Gloria Lindsay-Luby was not present and we one other Councillor voted to defeat the motion. However, if this motion is brought up to the Exec Committee on the 19th of September, it is very likely that it would pass.


1b - Motion to Amend Item (Additional) moved by Councillor Frances Nunziata (Lost)
That the City Manager include the following in his report to the Executive Committee meeting on September 19, 2011:

1. Reducing the role of Animal Services where other organizations provide shelter and adoption services. The OSPCA and affiliated Humane Society already take in all animals, even chickens. This would allow animal control officers to enforce the by-law and respond to calls. Any strays or animals picked up can be dropped off at the nearest OSPCA/Humane Society while the City would retain the licensing.