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MY LETTER TO THE CITY –
To Whom It May Concern,
According to the City’s own LA Animal Services “Woof Reports,” since December 2022:
• Intake is up 11.5%
• Deaths in care are up 39.2%
• Euthanasia is up 56.1%
• Missing / stolen / escaped are up 48.2%
City shelters are now permanently operating at over 130% capacity.
Yet the proposed FY 2025-26 budget cuts $6.4 million from LA Animal Services and removes 62 positions, a move that could close half of the city’s shelters.
In response to public outrage, Mayor Bass quietly shifted $5 million into the “Unappropriated Balance,” a reserve fund that sounds like a restoration but isn’t. This money isn’t in the LAAS operating budget—it’s just a fallback pool the City might release later.
Even if the entire $5 million were eventually unlocked, the department would still be down $1.4 million from last year—before accounting for inflation and rising costs.
It’s hush money designed to calm the public while shelters continue to drown.
Los Angeles doesn’t need financial games; it needs more kennels, more officers, and another full-service shelter to relieve chronic overcrowding.
California already ranks second highest in the nation for animal abuse risk. It also has some of the strongest animal protection laws, but they're rarely enforced. Research by the FBI and Department of Justice shows a clear link between animal cruelty and later acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and homicide. When cruelty goes unchecked, community violence rises with it.
Los Angeles calls itself a diverse and tolerant city, yet right now it tolerates cruelty most. At a public salary exceeding $230,000 a year, the Mayor should be leading the charge to strengthen enforcement and fund humane care, not presiding over cuts that deepen neglect.
We demand the Mayor:
1. Restore full funding and staffing to LA Animal Services, no cuts, no withheld funds.
2. Commit to an additional shelter to relieve capacity, and
3. Direct a Controller audit to ensure animal-welfare laws are properly enforced.
A city’s character, and its public safety, are measured by how it treats the powerless. Los Angeles can, and must, do better. Else Mayor Bass is clearly unfit to serve the community as a public official.
Sincerely,
Erin Shepardson
(Erin Shepardson is a Los Angeles–based professional committed to public service and community engagement. Her work centers on bringing practical solutions and clear communication to local issues.)
