The Austin Animal Services Office is in early stages of developing its future bond package. The complete package for all participating city departments will be presented to voters in 2026. In the meantime, the department is working through a process that will determine how its bond requests take shape. Each department participating in the bond […]
Animal Advisory Commission
The Animal Advisory Commission advises the Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court on Texas Health and Safety Code compliance regarding animal shelters and on animal welfare policies.
Posted inAustin
Austin Animal Services Office releases fiscal year statistical report and waives adoption fees
Due to consistent overcrowding, the Austin Animal Center has waived adoption fees for the foreseeable future. Numbers from the Austin Animal Services Office’s statistical report for Fiscal Year 2025 show a continued need for adoptions. Austin Animal Services Office released a statistical report spanning the months of October 2024 through January 2025. In total, the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Animal Services Office releases strategic plan draft
The city’s Animal Services Office released a draft of its 2025-2030 strategic plan on Jan. 8. Enumerated in the draft is the office’s vision “to provide services and resources that allow people and animals to thrive in the city of Austin.” The Animal Advisory Commission was presented the strategic plan at its regular meeting on […]
Posted inAustin
Critical volunteer hours for the Austin Animal Center are not being tallied
According to the Austin Animal Center website, there are about 100,000 free-roaming cats in Austin. That number is a conservative estimate, noting that cats can be impregnated as young as 5 months old and have one to three litters a year, with three to five kittens in a litter. The Animal Advisory Commission heard public […]
Posted inEnvironment
Commission brands glue traps ‘ineffective and gruesome,’ votes to recommend a ban
The Austin Animal Advisory Commission unanimously voted Monday to recommend that the city of Austin ban the purchase and use of glue traps in all city-owned and city-managed facilities. The commission’s recommendation was rooted in concerns about the inhumane and unsanitary nature of the traps. They noted that the traps indiscriminately and inhumanely target wildlife, […]
Posted inAustin
Animal Advisory Commission considers banning glue traps in Austin
Bats are under attack by glue traps used in the city, advocates for Austin’s bats say. “I would love to see glue traps banned from being sold and used in Austin,” says Austin Bat Refuge’s executive director, Dianne Odegard. The Animal Advisory Commission discussed Austin’s use of glue traps as a form of pest control […]
Posted inAustin
Intake at animal center continues to outpace adoptions
Animal intake at the Austin Animal Center continues to surpass the number of adoptions, according to a presentation at an Animal Advisory Commission meeting Monday. In July, the center took in 932 animals while 769 animals were adopted, according to the presentation from the Animal Services Office. Animal intake dropped from June, which saw […]
Posted inCity Hall
Officials update Animal Advisory Commission on strategic plan process
City officials updated the Animal Advisory Commission last week on the strategic plan for the Animal Services Office as the city works to improve the relationship between the Austin Animal Center and key stakeholders, including the commission. Assistant City Manager Stephanie Hayden-Howard said officials held a planning meeting on June 25 that was attended by […]
Posted inAustin
Animal Advisory Commission wants pets allowed in cooling centers
The Animal Advisory Commission is urging the city to allow pets inside designated cooling centers as summer heats up. The commission unanimously passed a recommendation that urges the city to identify “a number of cooling centers throughout the City of Austin that persons with companion animals may go to for relief during times of intense […]
Posted inCity Hall
Animal Advisory commissioners examine threats of ‘euthanizing for space’ at city shelter
At their most recent meeting, members of the Animal Advisory Commission questioned whether the city’s new strategy for finding homes for difficult-to-place dogs is working as intended. The shelter’s urgent placement list, which was introduced in March, is designed to highlight the most at-risk residents at the shelter in hopes of placing them in homes. […]
Posted inCity Hall
Commission approves creation of Finder to Foster working group
The Animal Advisory Commission at its regular meeting Jan. 8 voted to officially create the Finder to Foster working group. Commissioner Paige Nilson explained at the commission’s Dec. 11 meeting that city code currently mandates that when an animal is admitted to the shelter, it must be held for three days. “And city legal is […]
Posted inParks
Commission discusses spike in animals leaving shelter without being spayed or neutered
The Animal Advisory Commission at its regular meeting Jan. 8 pondered an unexpected rise in the number of animals leaving the shelter without being spayed or neutered. In an overview of monthly reports, Jason Garza of the Animal Services Department told commissioners that the Austin Animal Center took in 681 animals in December, and the […]