When Katrina struck in late August 2005, the hurricane's raw force caused colossal damage to the infrastructure and capacity of animal care and control agencies in the Gulf Coast region. For that reason, even as The HSUS carried out its direct rescue and relief work, staff planners began to look ahead, with two goals in mind. The first was to help organizations in the region become fully operational as soon as possible. The second was to develop a strategy not simply to restore, but to substantially enhance, the state of animal care and control in Louisiana, Mississippi and neighboring states.
To make the latter vision a reality, The HSUS and other partners determined to focus on animal overpopulation, an intractable problem for decades in the Gulf Coast states. A substantial rise in the number of unwanted companion animals would undermine the practical work, current budgets, and long-term stability of local societies, which have a full range of responsibilities apart from animal control. To date, The HSUS has spent or allocated more than $2.8 million for spaying and neutering initiatives in the region - part of the most concentrated application of such programs in American history.
Tens of thousands of animals, domestic and feral, died during Hurricane Katrina, but a year later there is disagreement about the number of animals loose and breeding. In New Orleans, several surveys of varying thoroughness have concluded that there are several thousand stray and roaming dogs and cats in the two parishes of Orleans and Jefferson. Some animal rescue workers, on the other hand, assert that thousands more strays are present, but are so wary that they only come out from hiding in the hours when humans are least active and/or present.
Such uncertainty notwithstanding, The HSUS considers its commitment to spay/neuter work essential to ensure the success of post-Katrina recovery strategies.
"Whatever other good it accomplishes, our investment in spay/neuter initiatives helps to ensure that Gulf Coast animal organizations can return to their full range of activities without having to devote disproportionate post-Katrina resources to an unmanageable animal control challenge created by a large breeding population of dogs and cats," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO.
To effectively direct appropriate resources to the main problem areas, The HSUS will allocate some financial resources to the important tasks of determining how many dogs and cats there are in the Gulf Coast regions of Mississippi and Louisiana (not just New Orleans) and uncovering both their sterilization and health status. The HSUS is also committing funds to a survey and public education initiative targeting misconceptions and lack of public awareness concerning the benefits of spaying and neutering of animals.
Helping Humane Societies Get Back to Work
From the earliest days of the disaster, The HSUS distributed funds to a broad range of Gulf Coast organizations. Open admission shelters, limited admission shelters, rescue groups, and wildlife centers all received reimbursement or recovery funds.
"We gave our strongest support in the form of grant-and-aid packages to the Louisiana SPCA ($4.5 million) and the Humane Society of South Mississippi ($965,000), two organizations whose work will anchor the general recovery of animal protection in the stricken areas," Pacelle said. "Both are strongly committed to reducing animal numbers through spaying and neutering."
Louisiana SPCA (LA/SPCA) re-introduced its off-site adoptions program Dec. 10, 2005, and on Feb. 14, 2006, it opened the doors of its new temporary facility to the public for on-site adoptions. During a four-week period in July and August 2006, LA/SPCA hosted the Big Fix Rig at its shelter and approximately 600 domestic and feral cats (about evenly divided between males and females) were fixed.
LA/SPCA has had an active TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program since 1999, and cooperated with "Feline Frenzy," a successful project that spayed and neutered 1100 feral cats during a two-week period in late May.
LA/SPCA is offering a voucher program and is participating in one coordinated by Spay/Louisiana, which has set a target of 8090 surgeries per year for each of the next two years. In 2004, LA/SPCA spayed or neutered approximately 5,000 dogs, cats and rabbits.
The other major recipient of HSUS support, The Humane Society of South Mississippi (HSSM), moved to its new location in Gulfport on March 3, 2006, and quickly reestablished programs interrupted by Katrina. Between November 2005 and July 2006, the HSSM clinic (with just one veterinarian) performed 3,679 spay/neuter surgeries.
As a partner in a multi-pronged, multimillion dollar spay/neuter program, HSSM will be able to allocate $1.1 million to spaying and neutering work in the years ahead. HSSM has set a goal of 16,800 surgeries per year.
HSSM currently offers free spay/neuter surgeries for animals of people on government assistance, while others pay just $10. HSSM has one veterinarian working full-time on spay/neuter work, and has hired a second veterinarian to support that effort.
At a recent five-day microchip/rabies clinic, HSSM saw over 1500 animals, 59 percent of whom were unaltered. An on-site survey found that 61percent of people with unaltered pets would get their animals spayed/neutered if the service were offered for free.
The HSSM started an in-house spay/neuter clinic in 1995, and followed with spay/neuter surgery services for the public in 2000. HSSM has a policy of neutering all animals adopted from its shelter prior to their release to new homes. In 2005, its veterinary staff performed 4,225 spay/neuter surgeries.
Other Spay Neuter Initiatives
In addition to the general support The HSUS has provided for LA/SPCA, HSSM, and dozens of other organizations that provide spaying and neutering as part of their services, The HSUS has made a number of additional financial and practical commitments for spaying and neutering:
Veterinary Schools/Rural Animal Veterinary Services Partnerships
Funds Reserved: $1,600,000
The HSUS is in negotiations with the veterinary schools at Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University to build long-term, self-sustaining spay/neuter programs that draw on the approaches pioneered by The HSUS's highly successful Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) and the Humane Alliance. These programs will introduce veterinary students to ongoing pet population control measures and the delivery of veterinary services to low-income communities. For example, RAVS has an outstanding record providing spay/neuter surgery and other veterinary services for animals in disadvantaged communities. In 2005 alone, the program provided nearly $1.5 million in services, treated 42,000 animals, involved 873 veterinary students, 105 technicians, and 182 practicing veterinarians, and provided humane education in 115 communities.
The Humane Alliance has developed a model spay/neuter program that is supported by local veterinary practices and is capable of sterilizing around 5,000 animals per clinic veterinarian per year. Using the approaches developed by RAVS and the Humane Alliance, The HSUS expects that the veterinary school programs should be able to spay and neuter at least 20 animals per student team in the field each week.
In the United States, the overwhelming majority of spay/neuter surgeries are performed by private veterinarians. By exposing veterinary students to the RAVS and Humane Alliance philosophies and programs, The HSUS hopes to attract their increased participation in such efforts in the future. The next generation of veterinarians in the Gulf Coast region will play a crucial role in delivery of practical services to animals, dissemination of knowledge concerning responsible care, and effective animal population control.
Southern Animal Foundation
Grant Award: $575,000
The Southern Animal Foundation (SAF), a full-service, non-profit animal hospital with an active program to reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs in New Orleans, has received a total commitment of $575,000 from The HSUS. These funds have supported the establishment of surgical suites, an expansion of spay and neuter work, acquisition of medical and clinical supplies, and the addition of new staff. SAF recently hired two new veterinarians to conduct spay/neuter work, and is working with Louisiana State University to develop a program that allows veterinary students to assist with spay/neuter efforts, and to address health care issues at SAF's clinic.
SAF is also making more frequent use of its spay/neuter van, which has made recent visits to Washington Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana, and to Hancock County in Mississippi.
SAF has a highly active TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program, with two dozen trappers catching about 150 animals per week. SAF veterinarians can spay or neuter 50 cats a day in two surgical suites.
Since reopening its facility on Oct. 5, 2005, SAF has spayed and neutered approximately 3373 cats (1743 males, 1630 females) and 1681 dogs (907 males, 774 females). SAF has averaged close to 1000 animals a year spayed and neutered at its clinic since 2003.
Humane Alliance's Big Fix Rig
Grant Award: $200,000
Together with The ASPCA, The HSUS is paying for the Humane Alliance's Big Fix Rig's first year of operating expenses. The Rig is a 53-foot trailer fitted as a mobile stationary clinic. Its presence in the Gulf Coast region (Mississippi in May and June, Louisiana in July and August, and then back to Mississippi until early 2007) has allowed groups in both states to offer low-to-no-cost spay/neuter surgeries to residents and feral cat caregivers through the Humane Alliance's high-volume spay and neuter system. In addition to general support, The HSUS is covering the associated salary of a full-time veterinarian.
Thus far, the Big Fix has done 751 spay/neuter surgeries in Louisiana. In Mississippi, where it traveled between May 8 and June 1, the Rig sterilized 540 cats in a little more than three weeks, and distributed 1586 vouchers.
Although its capacity is much greater, the Rig's stated target for the region is 35 surgeries a day, as it depends on the participation of local veterinarians accustomed to the high-volume model, as well as the steady cooperation of volunteers to trap and bring in feral cats.
Spay/Louisiana and Mississippi SPAN are responsible for coordinating the Big Fix Rig's itinerary in their states, working with local animal organizations to schedule the surgeries and publicize the mobile spay unit's visit to each community.
Voucher Program
Grant Award: $200,000
A small part—$200,000—of The HSUS's $2.8 million commitment to spay/neuter work in the Gulf coast region will go to a separate $3.2 million joint venture with the ASPCA, PetSmart Charities, United Animal Nations, (UAN) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). This $3.2 million is supporting operation of the Big Rig, two Humane Alliance model clinics, and two voucher programs to underwrite surgeries at clinics and veterinary practices throughout the Gulf Coast states.
In Louisiana, Spay/Louisiana, which coordinates the program, has set a target goal of 8,082 surgeries by April 4, 2007. On July 9, Spay/Louisiana oversaw the debut of the Big Fix Rig, which performed 163 surgeries in its first five days. As of Aug. 22, the Big Fix was responsible for 751 surgeries.
In Mississippi, where The HSUS's contribution is being applied, Mississippi Spay and Neuter (SPAN) coordinates the voucher program, working with HSSM and other partners. Mississippi SPAN was doing 3800 surgeries per year before Katrina, and has set a goal of 4000 for the current year under the voucher program, in addition to another 4000 it expects to do above and beyond the joint venture grant. Nearly 70 veterinarians are involved in the program.
Toward a better tomorrow
Katrina's harsh pummeling of the Gulf Coast states not only brought death to thousands of animals and misery to thousands more; it also delivered a serious and damaging blow to the region's animal care and control infrastructure. At the same time, the hurricane has created an unprecedented opportunity to advance the goals of humane work in the region.
One of the tangible gains from the spaying and neutering initiative, HSUS officials expect, will be an overall improvement in the health of companion animals in the region, where heartworm and other avoidable diseases have traditionally been common.
"The HSUS is committed to encouraging individuals and families to provide regular veterinary care for their animals," said Andrew Rowan, HSUS executive vice president for operations. "The most important predictor that companion animals will stay in a home and not be abandoned is that the members of the household take their animals to a veterinarian at least once a year. Encouraging contact with veterinarians has the added benefits of producing care-givers who are more knowledgeable and animals with better health and welfare."
