6/24/25 LA City Council Naively Votes to Waive Fees for Pet Adoption

The justification for removing adoption & redemption fees is each day an animal is in the shelter it costs more than could be recouped by adoption fees.

However, no parallel proposal has been made to reduce the "pet market" and "breeders" which some suggest are recklessly placing pets into unsuitable environments, either the physical home or family. The revolving door of these pets from breeder to naive adoptee to shelter and back again to shelter and another naive adoptee is not addressed in the proposal.

Item 12 (24-344)   ARTS, PARKS, LIBRARIES, AND COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT COMMITTEE REPORT and ORDINANCE FIRST CONSIDERATION relative to amending the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) to authorize the General Manager, Department of Animal Services, to waive adoption and redemption fees for dogs, cats and other animals.

Fiscal Impact Statement:

• None submitted by the City Attorney.
• Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this report.
• Community Impact Statement: Yes
  • For:  P.I.C.O. Neighborhood Council
  • Elysian Valley Riverside Neighborhood Council

URGENCY CLAUSE – 12 VOTES REQUIRED ON SECOND READING

6/10/25 Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee, after providing an opportunity for public comment, moved to approve the Ordinance. This matter is now forwarded to the Council for its consideration.

 5/13/25 City Attorney report relative to draft Ordinance deleting Los Angeles Municipal Code Chapter V, Article 3, Section 53.11(o) and adding Section 53.12(j) to authorize the General Manager, Department of Animal Services, to waive adoption and redemption fees for dogs, cats and other animals, subject to guidelines established by the Board of Animal Services Commissioners (Board), for the purpose of encouraging and promoting animal adoptions and redemptions.  The draft ordinance specifies that the General Manager is not authorized to waive the spay and neuter prepayment fee required under LAMC Section 53.11(j) and Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 5.199(i)(2) because this fee is mandated under state law (see California Food and Agriculture Code Sections 30503 (b) and 31751.3(B)).

11/6/24 -  Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this report

10/25/24 - ... While these fees pose a potential financial hardship for Angelenos, they also end up draining the Department's resources far more significantly than they would be able to recoup with the payment of the fee. It costs approximately $45 per day for LAAS to care for one dog, and the cost to adopt a dog goes up to $122. This means that if a dog had as little as a 3-day stay in the shelter, the adoption fee would not even cover the cost of its basic care.

... A simple solution to reuniting more families and increasing positive outcomes for our shelter animals would be for fees to be waived in certain circumstances, but under the existing municipal code, the General Manager only has limited authority to do so. Currently, while the General Manager is able to reduce adoption fees by up to 50%, - and then, only for events or times approved in advance by the City Council - they are not able to fully waive any types of fees that LAAS charges. Allowing the General Manager the flexibility to waive fees could greatly alleviate the bottleneck of animals leaving our shelters and thereby decompressing our population.

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