S. 639: An Act to provide additional funding for animal welfare and safety programming
The Homeless Animal Prevention and Care Fund, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), provides spay, neuter, and vaccination services to Massachusetts animals in need. This includes not only homeless dogs and cats but also those living with families who cannot afford these crucial health services. The Mass Animal Fund also facilitates the training of animal control officers in every city and town.
The stability of the Fund is in the most precarious place it has been in since its inception in 2012. Several months ago, due to lack of funds, a hold was placed on new owned animal voucher requests for spay/neuter vouchers. For people who submitted a voucher before this hold, there is still a years long wait list. While the monies collected via this bill would not be enough to provide services to all the families and animals in need, it would help. This bill would require administrative fines issued pursuant to Section 37 of Chapter 129 (“Enforcement actions; jurisdiction of commissioner of agriculture, district and superior courts”) to be deposited in the Massachusetts Animal Fund. We expect that this would amount to an additional $30-40,000 each year. The Fund’s voucher program spends, on average, $150 per sterilization surgery with vaccinations; this increase in funding would allow the program to help an additional 200 – 270 dogs and cats per year.
The Fund not only helps pet owners: all Massachusetts residents benefit when the number of homeless animals is reduced. Funds that would be spent housing and caring for animals in municipal animal control facilities are decreased. Research shows that intact dogs are more likely to bite than altered dogs; therefore, a reduction in dog bites is possible through spaying and neutering. Additionally, spaying and neutering helps prevent unwanted behaviors in dogs such as roaming and aggression; by decreasing these behaviors, public safety is increased.
About the Massachusetts Animal Fund
The Massachusetts Animal Fund was created by the legislature in 2012.
Animal homelessness is a problem that causes animals’ lives to be lost to euthanasia, poses a public safety concern, and costs taxpayer money to pay for services for stray, abandoned, and feral animals and their offspring. Sterilization of animals decreases not only the number of homeless and feral animals born each year, but it can also decrease unwanted behavior in owned animals, including roaming and aggression.
The Fund works towards preventing animal homelessness by:
- Offsetting costs of vaccination, spaying, and neutering of homeless cats and dogs;
- Offsetting costs of vaccination, spaying, and neutering of dogs and cats owned by low-income residents;
- Assisting with the training of animal control officers consistent with section 151C of Chapter 140.
This Fund benefits YOUR community — 86% of the Commonwealth’s municipalities participated in the program by requesting vouchers through their local animal control officer (ACO) for residents who have no other opportunity to provide their animal with sterilization or vaccination services.
As much as the Fund benefits animals, it benefits residents too, by reducing the number of homeless animals and associated costs for communities that would pick up, care for, and house them. It is estimated that for every $1 spent on spay/neuter, a community saves $3.
The authorizing language for the Massachusetts Animal Fund also established training opportunities and support for Massachusetts animal control officers (ACOs) so they can better serve their communities and provide uniform enforcement of animal control laws. The Core Competencies Training Program began in 2016 and, since then, hundreds of ACOs have been brought up to date on animal laws in Massachusetts, emergency preparedness, animal behavior and safe handling, communication, officer safety, and report writing and record keeping.
The Need
The Fund is primarily funded by the voluntary tax check off (Line 33f) on the Massachusetts resident income tax form. However, the current income from Line 33f is not enough to provide the needed services to pets and homeless animals. MSPCA-Angell works hard to get funding for the Fund included in the Massachusetts State Budget each year, by advocating in the House and Senate budgets.
The Results
To date, the Fund has disseminated funds across the Commonwealth for spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations; this includes cats/dogs in municipal care, cats/dogs owned by low-income residents, and feral cats. In addition, the Fund has helped with emergency assistance to help municipalities deal with situations such as animal hoarding, large scale abuse and neglect cases, and disease outbreak — helping thousands of additional cats and dogs in dire situations.
Learn more about the Fund on the state’s website.
