2013 Progress Report

Your Support Helped Make a Difference!

In 2013, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals marked its tenth anniversary of saving lives, and Year Nine of our Maddie's^® Pet Rescue Project in NYC. As we moved closer to our goal of becoming a no-kill community by 2015, we continued to make significant strides in lifesaving through our key initiatives that have propelled us forward over the past decade.

Since 2003, through the efforts of our robust community collaboration and the dedication of our deeply committed partners — which include over 100 Maddie's^® Pet Partners (MPPs) and Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) — we have saved the lives of more than 250,000 cats and dogs.

2013 Progress Highlights

•  8 out of every 10 lives saved

•  More than 60,000 spay/neuter surgeries

•  More than 14,700 transfers from AC&C

•  More than 13,700 animals transported through Wheels of Hope

•  More than 250,000 lives saved since 2003!

Among the highlights of our progress in 2013:

Fewer animals are being killed.

For the tenth consecutive year since 2003, euthanasia of cats and dogs at our city shelters declined. In 2013, euthanasia at AC&C fell to an historic low of 6,124 (including euthanasia requests). Since 2003, euthanasia at AC&C has been reduced by 81 percent. In 2013, the number of cats euthanized dropped significantly (34 percent), to 3,523, down from 5,414 in 2012. In 2003, nearly 20,000 cats were euthanized. Per capita euthanasia dropped significantly in 2013 to 0.8 per 1,000 per capita — down from 1.0 per 1,000 per capita in 2012. New York City has the lowest euthanasia per capita for any major U.S. city.* Major drivers of reduced euthanasia include vigorous community spay/neuter efforts, including spay/neuter of stray and feral community cats, and transfers to AC&C's adoption partners.

Transfers continue to be our most effective tool for saving lives.

More than 14,700 dogs and cats — representing more than one-half (51 percent) of the animals entering AC&C shelters in 2013 — were transferred to partner shelters and rescue groups for adoption. Transfers from AC&C have increased by more than 166 percent, from 5,519 in 2003 to 14,732 in 2013. The Alliance's Wheels of Hope transport fleet was instrumental in many of these transfers, transporting more than 13,700 animals in 2013.

Adoptions remain strong.

In 2013, community-wide adoptions were robust, and adoptions at AC&C increased by 27 percent, to 6,104. Adoptions, transfers, and return-to-owners by community partners, which include 100-plus MPPs and AC&C, totaled more than 30,000. Alliance adoption events in 2013, including Adoptapalooza, Maddie's^® Pet Adoption Days, and Whiskers in Wonderland, yielded a significant number of adoptions. The Maddie's^® Pet Adoption Days free adoption event in NYC, sponsored by Maddie's Fund^®, resulted in 3,098 adoptions in a single weekend. Seventy shelter and rescue organizations participated in the two-day event.

More lives are being saved at Animal Care & Control of NYC.

More than 22,300 dogs and cats from AC&C were adopted, transferred to other shelters and rescue groups, or returned to their owners in 2013. Eight out of every 10 lives were saved by the community collaboration (AC&C and MPPs) in 2013, as compared with one out of three in 2003. Community-wide in 2003, only 33 percent of dogs and cats were saved. By 2013, that rate had increased to 80 percent.

Treatable dogs and cats are being saved.

Through our Mayor's Alliance Medical Fund, close to 1,000 cats and dogs received medical and related care in 2013. The Medical Fund, which is dedicated to providing treatment for sick and injured cats and dogs awaiting adoption, is supported entirely by private donations.

Spay/neuter continues to drive down euthanasia.

Reducing the number of animal births continued to contribute to our success in reducing euthanasia. Ensuring the availability of free and low-cost spay/neuter services, both for owned pets and stray and feral community cats, is critical to that success. In 2013, 60,000 free or low-cost spay/neuter surgeries were performed by non-profit organizations in NYC. The ASPCA alone provided more than 43,500 spay/neuter surgeries for owned pets, dogs and cats at shelters and rescue groups, and community cats. AC&C, the Humane Society of New York, and The Toby Project also performed a significant number of spay/neuter surgeries.

TNR is helping NYC's community cats.

As part of our continuing efforts to solve the feral cat overpopulation crisis in New York City through the humane, effective method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), the New York City Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI) of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals continued in 2013 to engage and support feral cat caretakers by providing them with information, assistance, giveaways, and TNR and specialized training, such as bottle-feeding, taming kittens, and neighborhood relations. The NYCFCI again expanded its training efforts to communities across the country interested in starting or strengthening local TNR programs. Additionally, we continued to speak with New York City Council members and other community leaders about TNR, and provided them with informational materials to help educate them and their constituents about TNR and its benefits to their communities. The New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene continued to disseminate TNR information on its website. Moreover, we increased funding for TNR in New York City through specialized grants we acquired from the ASPCA, the Petco Foundation, and a private foundation. These funds were used to pay for spay/neuter, traps, cat shelters, training, and other TNR-related expenses.

 

 

*According to the latest findings of cities studied by Animal People, the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal issues worldwide. Based on NYC Census Information and NYC Euthanasia Numbers for 2013.

Complete 2013 Progress Report