Issues: Houston Is Better than BARC - Update
Improving Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care
“It’s time for BARC to become a humane
and adequately funded no-kill shelter.“
– Annise Parker
Turnaround expert and interim BARC director Gerry Fusco is making good progress at the city’s Bureau of Animal Care and Regulation (BARC). Adoptions are way up (942 live releases in November), and new staff and procedures are making life better for animals, staff and the public. Things are not perfect, and there have been glitches; but we are moving forward and should have a new permanent director soon.
If elected mayor, I will do everything within my power to make sure BARC becomes a humane and adequately funded shelter with a five or ten-year transition plan to become a no-kill shelter.
I’m sure Mr. Fusco has read the studies and talked to experts. He’s taking the best of the Mayor’s 2005 Animal Task Force (on which I chaired a committee); the Controller’s audit (which I led); the $11,000 MCV Consulting study; and no-kill shelter advocate Nathan Winograd ‘s assessment.
Ultimately, we need to form a regional or city coalition similar to the New York City mayor’s coalition that created a 10-year, no-kill transition plan and won more than $19 million in Maddie’s Fund grants. This represents the gold standard and is by far the most money out there to help animal service agencies.
Education - More emphasis needs to be given to general animal education outreach – stressing the importance of spaying and neutering as well as having a valid license for all animals. I’d like to see regular neighborhood educational “sweeps” to identify unlicensed pets and those that have not been spayed or neutered.
SNAP and Fix Houston - We must increase the city’s partnership with organizations such as SNAP and try to restart the Fix Houston initiative to dramatically increase the number of animals spayed and neutered. BARC just added funding for 4,000 more spays and neuters this year, but we have a long way to go.
“Corridor of Cruelty” - A tragic example of challenges facing BARC is the so-called Corridor of Cruelty in far northeast Houston. BARC must identify those parts of Houston known to be areas where animals are abandoned or allowed to run loose. BARC and the Health Department should perform regular educational sweeps, coordinated with rescue groups, to ensure that such areas do not become havens for stray animals. We must work closely with successful groups such as the Corridor of Cruelty rescue group so that as many animals as possible can be rehabilitated and given homes. BARC should also work with the SPCA, the county and the district attorney to target and break up dog fighting rings since they are a major source of many stray animals found in areas like the Corridor of Cruelty.
Puppy mills - More emphasis needs to be given to identifying and shutting down puppy mills.
Mayor White’s new budget increased BARC’s funding by about $600,000. Unfortunately, because of the recession and current budget constraints, it is unlikely there will be significantly more general fund dollars available for any new programs next year.
As a result, my job as mayor will be to identify ways we can do more at BARC and in the community – with pooled resources and far more volunteers motivated by a new BARC with a written transition plan to become a no-kill shelter.
- Annise Parker
