Mayor and City Council Candidate Survey
Houston, Texas Municipal Election 2015
Candidates’ views on the state of
Houston’s sheltering system
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
Introduction
Houston Voters For Companion Animals is an initiative to increase the Save Rate of companion
animals at Houston’s taxpayer funded animal control facility/shelter i.e. BARC. The purpose of
this survey is to understand the stances and intentions of the candidates running for mayoral
and city council positions regarding animal welfare issues generally and related to Houston
becoming a No Kill community.
Definition of a No Kill community:
A No Kill community is a community in which all healthy and treatable shelter pets are saved,
including at Open Admission facilities like BARC. The only animals euthanized are those who
are irremediably sick or injured and suffering or who pose a genuine danger to the public. The
benchmark to be recognized as a No Kill community is the ability to save all healthy and
treatable pets (generally 90% to 100% of all animals) over a period of at least 1 year. There are
currently hundreds of shelters/communities who are saving 90% or more of all shelter pets.
For instance:
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Roughly 1,000,000 people live in communities saving between 98% and 99% of dogs
and cats in their shelters.
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About 9,000,000 people live in communities saving between 90% and 99% of dogs and
cats in their shelters.
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Over 40,000,000 people live in communities saving at least 80% of dogs and cats in
their shelters. (See Saving90.org)
Those No Kill communities have very little in common other than a commitment to save the lives
of shelter pets, while saving money in the process. These communities have achieved their life
saving successes by rigorously implementing the No Kill Equation, which is a suite of fiscallyresponsible, humane, 21st century animal sheltering programs that have been proven to work.
The programs of the No Kill Equation or No Kill model of sheltering are:
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Rescue Partnerships
Volunteers
Foster Care
Trap, Neuter, Release
Pet Retention
Comprehensive Adoption Program
Public Relations/Community Involvement
Medical & Behavior Prevention & Rehabilitation
High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay & Neuter
Proactive Redemption
Hard-working, Compassionate Shelter Director
Every candidate is being asked to complete this survey. Candidates’ responses will be
compiled as part of a voting guide that will be distributed to Houston voters in preparation for the
November 2015 election.
As part of an awareness campaign by Houston Voters For Companion Animals, candidates’
responses will also be rated, and then released to the media and posted on some or all of our
websites and social media sites. Responses, as well as non-responses, will be reported.
Thank you for your participation in this opportunity for the voters to get to know you better.
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
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The survey is composed of 13 questions. Candidates are encouraged to respond in writing with
enough detail to adequately represent the candidates’ view of the current state of BARC, and
his or her views on how BARC should operate in coming years.
Survey Questions
1.
Since 2009, BARC leadership has known about the life-saving programs of the No Kill
Equation which is being used, across the country, to save all healthy and treatable
shelter pets. Despite this knowledge, BARC killed more than 10,000 pets in 2014 alone.
Are you satisfied with the amount of progress that has been made to date?
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, are you committed to
supporting/enforcing the recommendations in international No Kill expert, Nathan
Winograd’s, 2009 assessment of BARC? (Winograd’s assessment can be found here:
http://bit.ly/1M0vmk2)
Response:
Yes, to the extent that these recommendations are effective and workable for
Houston.
2.
The Houston area is home to five shelters/pounds that together, kill approximately
80,000 pets every year. According to the most currently available statistics, these
shelters/pounds have the following Save Rates:
1) Houston’s animal control (BARC) - 61%;
2) Citizens for Animal Protection - 48%
3) The Houston SPCA - 35%;
4) Harris County animal control - 15%; and
5) Houston Humane Society - 11%;
If the issue were to come before you, will you commit to making “No Kill” the official
policy of Houston and support any laws or policy changes necessary to achieve this
goal?
Response:
Implementing a no-kill policy should be the ultimate goal for Houston’s animal
control. As mayor, I will champion policies in pursuit of that goal.
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
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3.
BARC is currently open to the public for adoptions on weekdays during hours when most
adults are working (Open: Tues, Wed and Fri 12:00 to 5:30). And BARC is open to the
public only 5 ½ hours each Saturday and Sunday. BARC fails to run a comprehensive
adoption program, including frequent and ongoing off-site adoptions in highly visible,
high traffic locations, extensive marketing of at-risk animals, public-friendly adoption
hours and mobile adoptions.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, would you support a review and
restructuring of the BARC’s adoption program to include the elements mentioned
above? (This would mean different, family friendly hours of operation as opposed to
more hours of operation).
Response:
Yes, budget permitting.
4.
People frequently surrender animals to shelters when they perceive they cannot feed,
train or medically care for them.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, would you support programs which have
been proven to keep pets in their homes and out of shelters, such as surrender
counseling, a pet food bank, pet behavior assistance, and distribution of heartworm
preventative?
Response:
Yes.
5.
For years, BARC has consistently returned only 7% of animals to their rightful owners.
Conversely, some No Kill communities are able to return upwards of 60% of animals to
their owners who want them back. If BARC implemented the same Return to Owner
program as other successful communities, it could free up 8,100 kennels per year and
save the city $972,000 per year.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, would you support an internal review, and
if necessary, a restructuring of the City’s Return to Owner program?
Response:
Yes, I support an internal review. I will take very seriously any recommendations
resulting from that review.
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
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6.
Many dog breeds are being banned in many of the rental housing markets in Houston.
This makes finding appropriate housing very difficult for owners of these dogs, despite
high levels of owner responsibility and great dog temperaments and training. This slows
adoptions of these breeds and forces many owners to surrender their pets to shelters or
abandon them.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, what steps would you take to find
solutions to this problem, in working with the apartment associations and property
managers in Houston?
Response:
The city has the tools to encourage or discourage a wide variety of behaviors
through incentive funding, tax incentives, and similar initiatives. I would be
willing to explore how best to incentivize rental owners to voluntarily welcome
pets in their properties.
7.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, would you support the implementation of
performance standards that tie BARC leadership’s performance, particularly with regard
to the number of live releases, to salary increments or continued employment at BARC?
If not, please explain why not.
Response:
City policy already requires annual evaluations based on performance. I would
support ensuring that the relevant performance measures are truly reflective of
BARC’s overall effectiveness.
8.
Considering that BARC killed over 10,000 pets in 2014, how would you rate the
performance of BARC leadership?
Do you believe that it is time for different leadership at BARC? If not, what do you see
as the most powerful opportunity for improvement open to BARC?
Response:
The improvements to BARC have been impressive since it was put into the
Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department. The 80% live-release rate
reported recently is a substantial improvement over previous years, and is the
direct result of the hard work by the department’s employees with adoption events
around the city and work with rescue groups that foster pets and transport them
to Colorado for adoption. Providing low-cost spaying and neutering, along with
educating the public about its importance, has also made a difference. As mayor, I
want to see this good work continued and expanded. I will be an advocate for
education about spaying and neutering. I will work until they all have a forever
home.
9.
If elected, or re-elected, what do you envision as the role of the Houston Animal Shelter
Advisory Committee in providing oversight for BARC?
What kind of person will you appoint to the Committee as the terms of current members
expire?
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Would you consider appointing No Kill advocates as members to provide an alternative
viewpoint to others already on the committee?
Response:
I have twin goals for appointments to city departments: I want these positions to
be filled by the most qualified persons and I want them to reflect the diversity of
our city. No Kill advocates represent an important point of view with respect to
animal welfare issues. I would certainly consider adding a qualified no-kill
advocate to the committee.
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
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10.
BARC is required to release its Save Rate information (i.e. intake and outcome records)
to the public as required under the Public Information Act (PIA). However, 3 kill shelters
in Houston are not required, under the PIA, to release this information to the public [i.e.
Houston SPCA, Houston Humane Society and Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP)].
These shelters have refused to be open with the donating public by releasing their intake
and outcome records. Houstonians donate many millions of dollars to these facilities,
under the assumption that they are No Kill shelters. Yet, these facilities are killing tens
of thousands of shelter pets every year and are able to hide this information from the
donating public.
If elected or re-elected to Houston city council, would you support a city mandate that all
animal shelters in Houston publish statistics, on their websites, regarding the numbers
and types of animals that each shelter takes in and euthanizes? (Note: some states,
such as Colorado, already mandate that all shelters and rescue groups must provide
their statistics to the state so that it is available to the public).
If so, why do you feel this important? If not, why not?
Response:
Yes. Transparency of operations has always been a key governing value for me
and I will continue that commitment as mayor.
11.
In 2010, Austin’s city council created ordinances based the Companion Animal
Protection Act (CAPA) which, among other things, mandated that Austin’s animal control
facility save at least 90% of all animals; a Save Rate that Austin has met or exceeded
every year since the ordinances were passed. Rockwall, Texas passed a version of
CAPA in 2011 and subsequently saved 97%. The states of California and Delaware
have passed similar versions of CAPA and saw an increase in Save Rates.
Considering the lifesaving successes after passing CAPA, if elected or re-elected to
Houston city council, would you support the implementation of CAPA, or some parts
thereof, in Houston? (A model version of CAPA can be found at
http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/?page_id=51)
Response:
Yes, I would support implementing CAPA measures to the extent that they are
effective and workable for Houston.
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12.
Would you be willing to meet with representatives of Houston Voters For Companion
Animals and/or No Kill Houston to discuss your views of the improvements that must be
made at BARC in order for Houston to make substantive increases in the number of
animals that are saved from death at BARC?
Response:
Yes.
13.
Would you be willing to participate in a public Candidate Forum/Town Hall, involving all
willing candidates, on the current state of BARC and Houston sheltering issues?
Response:
Yes.
Thank you for responding to this survey. If you have any questions regarding this survey,
please contact HoustonVotersForCompanionAnimals@yahoo.com.
You may be email your completed survey form to:
HoustonVotersForCompanionAnimals@yahoo.com.
Houston Voters For Companion Animals
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