Animal advocates are urging Los Angeles city leaders to increase funding for spay and neuter voucher programs, resources they say are critical for helping residents afford pet sterilization and curb the city’s pet overpopulation crisis.
This comes as the L.A. City Council prepares to finalize the city’s 2025-26 budget. The council is holding a public hearing on amendments to Mayor Karen Bass’ budget today and is expected to take a vote tomorrow.
The unveiling of the mayor’s budget, which called for $4.8 million in cuts to Animal Services, caused an uproar among animal rescue advocates who decried a potential closure of three of the city’s six animal shelters. In response, Bass made assurances that extra money identified in the budget’s unappropriated balance would ensure that all six shelters remain open.
However, the issue of animal shelters – according to some animal advocates – has “overshadowed the dire need” to fund spay and neuter programs.
“Rather than focusing on the ‘sheltering’ of animals in L.A., our city needs to shift the focus,” says Jacquie Navratil, founder of Luxe Paws, a volunteer team that offers Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) services in Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park and downtown L.A. TNR is a process in which cats are humanely trapped, taken to the vet to be spayed or neutered, and returned to their outdoor homes.
“We’ve got to start looking at the real crisis, which is we’re allowing too many animals to breed out of control,” Navratil said. “If we really care about that dog or that cat, why are we denying them access to a medical procedure that’s going to reduce the number of animals we’re killing in shelters?”
A 2023 transparency report from Controller Kenneth Mejia revealed that pet overpopulation “continues to be a serious issue” for the city, which can be seen with the “current overcrowding” at all city shelters.
A 2024 analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that between January and September, 1,224 dogs were euthanized at the city’s six shelters, a 72% increase compared with the same period the previous year. About 1,517 cats were euthanized through September, a 17% increase from the previous year, according to the L.A. Times.
Organizations like the Community Animal Medicine Project, which provides free and low-cost spay and neuter, launched a letter-writing campaign, noting that despite the city mandating all dogs and cats over four months old be spayed or neutered, “many pet owners are not able to afford to do so.” Angelenos have submitted messages, calling spay and neuter a “humanitarian issue” that needs more funding to “help the overpopulation and homelessness of animals.”
Advocates like Marisol Ramos, who coordinates TNR services in Boyle Heights and East L.A., said TNR is only a temporary fix. The real solution, she said, is making spay and neuter easier to access.
“If the city pushed for affordable spay-neuter options [and] made that accessible, I don’t think we would be in the situation that we’re in,” Ramos said.
Currently, the city provides spay and neuter vouchers to cover sterilization costs for dogs and cats. Advocates say these rates, which have remained the same for the last 10 years, no longer cover the actual costs of sterilization surgeries.
With pressure mounting, the city’s Budget and Finance Committee on May 8 endorsed a plan that would increase the value of the vouchers, but would maintain the $4.7 million in the proposed budget to fund sterilization surgeries at the current and outdated rates. This means that fewer vouchers – at the increased value – would be available.
“Once we reach the budgeted amount, [Animal Services] will need to put a cap,” Sharon Lee, with Animal Services, told the committee. “We would need to let all of our veterinary partners know to hold off on any spay and neuter until whatever funding we get the following fiscal year.”
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, said philanthropic money or funding from the state could potentially “help us with that gap.”
“Ideally, we’d want to fully fund the spay and neuter program for the entirety of the year,” said Blumenfield. “We know that investments now in spay and neuter programs save U.S. dollars in the future.”
Zoey Knittel, the executive director for Community Animal Medicine Project, said this move is a step in the right direction as current rates “no longer align with current service costs” especially with rising veterinary salaries and drug costs.
“[It’s] a sign that our city leaders recognize the urgency and need to address the shelter overcrowding and euthanasia crisis,” Knittel said. “We hope that the full council and mayor ultimately approve these updated rates and also consider increasing the total allocation for the spay and neuter voucher program as needed.”
It’s essential, Knittel said, given that the number of veterinary clinics accepting current vouchers has decreased from 85 in 2015 to less than 30 this year. “This translates into families waiting months for an appointment at a clinic that accepts the city vouchers,” she said.
For Navratil, of Luxe Paws, it’s crucial that the city fully increase rates for spay and neuter voucher programs.
“Solutions proven to reduce the number of animals that need to be sheltered or rescued must become a priority. We can’t continue to wait for ‘the state or philanthropy’ to step up,” she said.
This is a great article about a very important topic. Spay and neuter groups like CAMP work incredibly hard to help alleviate the horrific shelter situation in LA but they need more funding to be able to continue and expand their work. Thanks for writing this!