Let’s start with basic terms. First, “Animal Control” is the jurisdiction’s obligation
to protect the public from the nuisance, disease and danger of unwanted, mostly
domestic animals. Statutes regarding
Animal Welfare make legal determinations about animal cruelty resulting from
neglect or abuse. Animal Advocacy, by
contrast, assumes that animals’ well-being is the collective moral obligation
of the community in which they reside.
Once understood, we can see these terms in operation. Built to house 100 animals over 20 years ago,
the current county shelter ‘s primary if not sole purpose was to serve the
county’s animal control obligation. Quickly
the demand on the facility rose to over 200 unwanted animals, brought in by
officers or surrendered by citizens, who wait 5 days for someone to claim them. Before FOTAS, over 90% were euthanized,
bagged up, and shipped to the landfill.
This 5,000 square foot
facility, with no lobby, no quarantine area or infirmary, no surgical facility,
no kitchen or break room, no cat area, no
HVAC, serves all 110 square miles of Aiken County, minus the
cities of Aiken and North Augusta with their own animal control. The facility never pretended to address
community concerns about animal welfare or animal advocacy, nor can it
effectively address the 5,400 unwanted animals that continue to arrive each year.
FOTAS and the County have been working together for nearly
two years to determine the best way to provide our Animal Services Department
and our community with an adequate animal shelter. Plans are finally under way as our euthanasia
rate balks above 70%.
Last month County Council designated 4.4 acres of
county-owned land as the site for a new Aiken County Animal Shelter. The lovely parcel sits on the southwest
corner of May Royal and Wire Road.
The May Royal parcel was one of four potential sites
considered: a shell and 5 acres in the Willow Run Industrial Park for $695k;
the current Aiken SPCA for $650k; and, the current county shelter site.
FOTAS contracted a nationally recognized shelter expert to
evaluate all of the options for the county.
His assessment concluded that the most cost-effective option to provide
an adequate shelter, one that could serve our county population, was to build new
on county-owned land.
Last week, a committee of
FOTAS and County representatives interviewed four finalists in a search for
shelter design experts. In accordance
with the MOU signed last June, FOTAS will pay for the shovel-ready design, and
no public funds will be spent until site work begins, if the county moves
expeditiously.
Aiken County is already seeking ways to optimize its
contractor services for the shelter project as it advances our new county
complex; for instance, there is saleable timber on both sites.
This innovative public-private partnership will set new
standards for merging animal control, welfare and advocacy in programs for and
by our animal-loving county. This is our
one opportunity to get this right, and if we do, it will serve us all well for
decades into the future.
FOTAS Volunteers work with
the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.
For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on
line at www.fotasaiken.org
Aiken County Animal Shelter: “By the Numbers”
Yearly Adoptions July 2006 to June 2011
Adoptions
|
Cats
|
Dogs
|
Total
|
FY07
|
88
|
366
|
454
|
FY08
|
95
|
546
|
641
|
FY09
|
163
|
467
|
630
|
FY10
|
185
|
530
|
715
|
FY11
|
142
|
620
|
762
|
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