Community Services Department Operations Services Item: CS

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Community Services Department Operations Services Item: CS"

Constance Marshall
5 years ago
Views:

1 Community Services Department Item: CS June 12, 2014 To: From: Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair Community Services Committee Glenn Simmonds, Director Request for Update on the Spay/Neuter Initiative Please find attached the minutes from the meeting held on May 14, 2014 discussing Spay/Neuter Clinics. The meeting was well attended and very informative. Great strides have been made to advance access to a Spay/Neuter Clinic with a commitment to continue to monitor the need in Durham Region. A collaborative approach involving interested residents and advocacy groups, Spay Neuter Durham and Spay Neuter Initiatives, Durham and Toronto Humane Societies, veterinarians, and Durham municipalities is proving successful. Staff has been in contact with the Toronto Humane Society and Ontario Veterinary Medical Association in order to foster stronger relations and gather greater insight. The Durham and Toronto Humane Societies anticipate the Spay/Neuter Clinic transport model for Durham Region residents will be in place for October Glenn Simmonds, Director Attachment

2 Present Proposed Spay/Neuter Clinic for Durham Region Meeting Overview May 14, :00pm Civic Auditorium, Meeting Room 4 Jag Sharma, Commissioner, Community Services Bill Slute- Parks and Environmental Services Kathy Noordman- Animal Services Brad Rosnak- Parks and Environmental Services Councillor Doug Sanders Councillor Bob Chapman Duncan Anderson - Municipality of Clarington Phil Nichols, Director, Operations, Toronto Humane Society Makyla Smith, Toronto Humane Society Dr. Mark Coleman, Taunton Veterinary Clinic Dr. Melissa Callbeck, Callbeck Animal Hospital John Stevens, Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Barb North- Spay Neuter Durham (SND) Renee Cotton- SND Penny Tracy- SND Annetta Wange, SND Heather Thomas- Spay Neuter Initiatives (SNI) Linda Power- SNI Andrea Maenza- SNI Absent Jamie Hall, Toronto Humane Society Anne Greentree, Municipality of Clarington Lindsey Narraway, City of Pickering Barbara Steinoff, Toronto Humane Society Vickie McWhirter, Scugog Animal Control Wendy Benns, Uxbridge Animal Control Background Bill Slute chaired the meeting. Bill provided a brief update on the previous meeting. 81

3 Durham Region Municipality Input Clarington has this outstanding item. There was no update from the Town of Pickering as Lindsey Narraway was unable to attend. SND has not consulted with any other municipalities. Do not have a legal entity at this point. Low Cost spay neuter program (DR SNAP) Mark Coleman, DVM, Taunton Road Animal Hospital spoke regarding a spay/neuter program in Durham Region. Dr. Coleman has set up the DR SNAP program for spay/neuter of cats geared to low income. Every vet in Durham Region is participating in this program. The Town of Whitby and Clarington support this program. Service Oshawa will be launching this program May 26. Dr. Coleman voiced concerns regarding potential loss of income for veterinarians in Durham Region if a new spay neuter clinic were to open. Mark answered the question as to whether the program supported feral cats, or dogs. Mark explained that this program is strictly for cats. Reduced costs are available for cats requiring vaccines. Currently there are 46 vet clinics in Durham region. The cost for a neuter is $80.00 and spay is $ The average cost of neuter in Ontario is approximately $ and $ for spay. SND and SNI asked Mark if he had knowledge that their groups were already looking into this and if so, why they were not contacted for support. Mark indicated that he is willing to work with both of these groups, which could result in an expansion and possible improvements to the program. Melissa Callbeck, DVM, Callbeck Animal Hospital spoke regarding spay/neuter of feral cats and the safety aspect of it for both her employees and her. She indicated that a special facility would be in order to spay/neuter feral cats such as the existing facility at THS. HSDR/THS Update Phil Nichols gave a brief update on the spay/neuter transport system to be run out of HSDR. Toronto Humane (THS) is putting plans together to have the program up and running for October. The model program is based on the Humane Alliance system. The surgeries will be on Sundays and Mondays with a 1-hour travelling time. Tags and collars will be used as identification. Carriers will be tagged. The proposed timeframe will be drop off at seven AM and pick up at 4 5 and 5-6 PM 82

4 Public transportation to the Durham Humane Society is available with a 5-6 minute walk to the shelter on Wentworth Street. A feline focus service of two days a week was identified as the main concern. The transport system will be comprised of three subsidized appointments per day at the rate of $35, two free TNR appointments and the remainder at the regular cost of $70. Phil indicated at 9 10 % of the cats in the spay/neuter program at THS are from Durham Region with 6 7% directly from Oshawa. Dr. Coleman had questions regarding post-op care. THS surgeries can contact the vet on staff. Dr. Coleman covers fees for his clients should they require a visit to the Emergency Clinic after hours. Dr. Coleman asked THS for the mortality rates. THS has had zero mortality rates after spay/neuter surgery. Their complication rate is under 3%. Linda Power questioned the transporting of animals to Toronto, and questioned if there were any plans for other communities other than Durham Region. Phil explained that this is a pilot project. If it is successful, they will expand to the GTA. The ultimate goal is working towards lowering euthanasia rates Bill Slute explained that this was a short-term solution and a balanced approach for short term and long-term gains is required. Jag Sharma asked if the program at THS program was successful, where the location for the expansion would be. Jag noted that there are different options to review as the program grows to support the goal and diversity of public needs. Phil Nichols indicated that he could not speculate at this time, however noted that Oshawa and surrounding is an area in need. Land is available at Durham Humane should an expansion be in the future. Bob Chapman asked the cost for equipment for one operating room. Duncan Anderson indicated the cost would be approximately $100,000. Grants are available from Pet Smart for this. Councillor Sanders spoke to the need to get a commitment from a Veterinarian for the proposed spay neuter clinic. A transportation method was better than no method. Cat Overpopulation Task Force, OVMA John Stevens, Manager of Government & External Relations at Ontario Veterinary Medical Association spoke to this matter. John spoke briefly on a document prepared by CFHS/FSCAA Cats in Canada. An electronic summary is attached. 83

5 Status of 919 Farewell Jag Sharma spoke to the availability of 919 Farewell. He advised that the City did not know how much space would be available and that Animal Services requires some of the space as well. Funding Opportunities The main concerns from the SND and SNI groups were that they require a location in order to fund raise. Next Steps Meet in September. Date and location TBD 84

Proposed Research and Public Consultation Framework: Banning the Resale of Cats and Dogs in Pet Stores

Proposed Research and Public Consultation Framework: Banning the Resale of Cats and Dogs in Pet Stores Public Report To: From: Report Number: Corporate Services Committee Jacqueline Long, Interim Commissioner, Corporate Services Department and H.R. CORP-15-72 Date of Report: June 10, 2015 Date of Meeting: