NY City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's June 25, 2002 Letter
to Mayor Bloomberg re CACC

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June 25, 2002

The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor, City of New York
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

I am writing to voice my concerns regarding the operations of the Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC) in its capacity as the provider of animal care and control services for New York City. As you know, the humane treatment of animals is a grave concern to a great number of our constituents. Repeated reports of abuse and neglect in CACC shelters call into question the fitness of the CACC, as it is currently operated, to provide those services for this city.

The Council has always taken the city's policies and practices regarding the care and control of stray animals seriously. In 1997, the Council issued a report on the operations of the CACC which indicated, among other things, mismanagement, low adoption levels, high euthanasia rates and instances of abuse and neglect. Comptroller Thompson's audit, released five years later, reiterates the Council's findings.

It is critical that the operations of the CACC be carefully reviewed to ensure that city animal care and control are done humanely and efficiently. A review of the efficacy of the CACC's operations is particularly timely, given your administration's interest in amending the Animal Shelters and Sterilization Act to reduce operating hours and delay the construction of full service shelters in the Bronx and Queens.

I look forward to working with you to address how the city can improve the operations of the CACC.

Sincerely,

GIFFORD MILLER
Speaker

AGM:jm
#3533

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