LA City Council committee OKs temporary halt on animal breeding permits

A Los Angeles City Council committee on Wednesday, April 3, approved a temporary moratorium on breeding permits in an effort to prevent further animals from entering the city’s overpopulated shelters.

The three-member Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee passed the draft city law as part of its consent calendar in a 2-0 vote. The draft law would establish and outline details of the moratorium on breeding permits. Councilman John Lee, who sits on the committee, was absent during the vote.

Previously, city officials have said the moratorium would be lifted once shelters were at or below 75% capacity for three consecutive months, and could be automatically reinstated if shelter capacity rises above 75%.

The City Attorney’s Office submitted the draft law for consideration mid-March, and it will need approval by the committee and then the full City Council before it can be enacted.

Staycee Dains, head of the city’s Animal Department of Animal Services, had previously described the moratorium as a way to “signal to the community clearly that our shelters are not in any position to take in one more animal.”

The city has seen steadily increasing numbers of dogs, cats and rabbits at its six shelters for the last few years, and commissioners and many animal advocates from the private sector have lobbied for a halt to breeding and more robust spay-and-neuter efforts as the two most important steps toward tackling the problem.

In 2023, Dains reported the city had issued about 1,200 breeding permits, and was on pace to finish that year with about 1,800.

Also in March, at a Los Angeles Board of Animal Services meeting, board members voted to support Assembly Bill 2133, which would permit registered veterinary technicians to perform cat neutering surgeries under the direct supervision of a veterinarian.

In another move to alleviate the city’s six animal shelters, the panel of council members also passed a motion calling for the establishment of a monetary stipend to promote the fostering of shelter animals.

Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who chairs the Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee, introduced that motion in March. The motion would instruct the Department of Animal Services to report back on the city’s foster program, providing insight on the outcomes from 2023.

Both matters will now head to the full City Council for further consideration.