TESTIMONY OF
NEAL L. COHEN, M.D.
COMMISSIONER

for the

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

before the

COMMITTEES ON HEALTH AND FINANCE
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

on

FY 2000 EXECUTIVE BUDGET

May 17, 1999

CITY HALL
NEW YORK CITY


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In meeting our public health responsibility to protect New Yorkers from animal-borne diseases and dangerous animals, the Department must also provide for the humane treatment of animals that are confiscated, lost, or abandoned. The budget for Center for Animal Care and Control, the agency with which DOH contracts to provide these services, will be increased by $2.2 million in order to improve operations in all of its five facilities, including its two adoption shelters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and its three receiving centers in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.

Last calendar year, the CACC shelters received 63,000 animals, approximately 6% fewer than in 1997. The shelters were able to increase the number of animals adopted by 8% over the previous year, and 8.5% fewer animals were euthanized. CACC is proposing to expand the newly-renovated Brooklyn facility's hours from 5 days a week to 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Additional funding will also allow CACC to increase the number of kennel attendants so as to improve the cleanliness in all shelters and increase adoption hours in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and increase the nurnber of service representatives to decrease waiting time for adoptions in Manhanan and provide additional coverage in Brooklyn and Staten Island. The additional funds will also allow CACC to improve the rescue team's response capability, examine animals more rapidly, and process paperwork more efficiently.

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