Kill Rates Scrutinized At Riverside County Animal Shelters

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved formation of a committee to monitor the Riverside County Department of Animal Services and coordinate with administrators and outside organizations to find solutions to the department's challenges, including how to lower its kill rate.

"There are ongoing concerns around the adoption process, data and funding," Supervisor Manuel Perez said ahead of the 5-0 vote for implementation of the Ad Hoc Committee for Continuous Improvement of Animal Services. "It's important that we shed light on and provide information. There are a lot of concerns that have been brought up, and they will be addressed by this committee."

Along with Perez, Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez will serve on the panel, whose members intend to join in a community meeting set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, 72-050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms.

Two Coachella Valley residents spoke prior to the board vote on the committee, and neither of them believed the endeavor would instigate the changes required to significantly improve Department of Animal Services' operations.

"I've been involved with the animal control issue for years and years," Brad Anderson told the board. "I don't think the ad hoc committee will add to anything. It'll probably make things worse. The board as a whole needs to be involved in the complex issue of killing animals in Riverside County."

Tiffany LoBue said the issue of reducing the county's high kill rate and increasing adoptions has been on the front burner for her and other activists "for three years now."

"You decided to do something about this after ... the community was up in arms," LoBue told the board. "The ad hoc committee will only further kick the can down the road. The community has already done the lion's share of the work that is under the Department of Animal Services' purview."

She said activists have repeatedly emphasized what she characterized as the "abject failure" of the department to accelerate adoption rates and reduce kills.

"The time is now to make big changes," LoBue said.

Perez said the committee will work to demonstrate that the reform issue is not an "us versus them" matter for the county.

"It's important that we all understand we have a role and to take that on," he said.

Activists claim the county has the highest rate of euthanasia for sheltered pets in the United States. In 2023, only 51% of cats impounded were adopted out or relocated to rescue organizations; the rest were euthanized.

LoBue and others have appeared before the board on multiple occasions to complain about the hurdles people face trying to adopt a pet, the lack of promotional efforts online featuring available pets and the excessive kill rates.

In his and Gutierrez's proposal for the ad hoc committee, Perez noted the Department of Animal Services has made headway expanding shelter space, especially with the reopening last year of the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, and in saving more pets through mobile spay/neuter programs, expanded partnerships with nonprofits and increased staffing.

"Despite making real progress, achieving and maintaining a 90% release rate — commonly referred to as 'No Kill' — has been difficult to attain," the supervisors wrote in documents posted to the board agenda.

The chief focus of the new committee will include assessing how the department conducts business and how operations might be streamlined and improved by setting goals and developing an action plan.

Input will be sought from "community members, animal advocacy groups, city partners and elected officials to address concerns," the supervisors said.

The committee will also seek to evaluate departmental data and work to verify its accuracy and determine how it can be more "readily available for public scrutiny."