St. Louis County taking back control over animal shelter
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis County is taking back control of its animal shelter.
The county’s decision to take back control of the Olivette shelter comes just two years after it signed a five-year contract with the Animal Protective Association to run it.
Questions about possible mass euthanasia swirled as the takeover loomed. The St. Louis County’s Health Director said that while that was discussed by some staff , it will not happen.
APA’s President & CEO Sarah Javier released the following statement on Friday:
“In light of this week’s Post-Dispatch article, we are deeply dismayed that a plan, or even a suggestion of mass euthanasia ever existed at DPH regarding their future operation of the County shelter. The APA does not mass euthanasia for purposes of population control. This week, County officials assured us that there will be no mass euthanasia, and the DPH spokesperson said in the article this week that such tactics will not be used.
We are also pleased that the spokesperson said that DPH intends to instead follow the operations manual we have provided to them, which includes policies, detailed procedures and critical program information.
As APA’s operation of the County shelter ends at 6 p.m. on Friday, we are continuing to use every tool we have to relocate as many animals as possible out of the County shelter before that transition. Adoption, of course, is our top priority, to give these animals the loving homes they deserve, so we are waiving adoption fees at Olivette and using all our resources to let the public know. We’re also placing animals with foster families and transferring others to our Brentwood shelter, and other shelters and rescue groups across the region.
Through our own experience of assuming operations at the County shelter in 2022, we know the challenges of taking over a full shelter. The fewer animals in the shelter at the transition back to County operations, the smoother the transition can be for them, so that’s why we’ve focused so much energy in the final weeks to move as many animals out as possible. Once again, we are asking for the public’s help to achieve this. Adopt or foster if you can, and please help us to spread the word."
There were also concerns that the county was not using volunteers, but on Thursday, it announced a volunteer program with applications open on its website.
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