Via Jeffrey Boney, Forward Times
Hey, Houstonians… as you go about your day, have you noticed a lot more stray dogs and cats roaming around your neighborhood than usual?
The answer should be yes, and no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. There is a reason you’re witnessing such an influx of stray animals taking over the streets of the city of Houston.
Statistics show that while the COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in pet ownership, it also contributed to a massive uptick related to the breeding of animals. This rampant increase in animal breeding has led to a self-perpetuating crisis of stray animals that have infiltrated Houston area streets in an unprecedented way.
Just late October, the City of Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care—or BARC as it is more commonly referred to—informed the community that they had been operating at their 300-animal capacity limit for several months, and that they were being forced to euthanize more animals than customary because of those limited capacity issues, and because adoption and foster care numbers were at an all-time low across the city.
It is important to note that BARC is the City of Houston’s Animal Shelter and Adoption Facility and is the only city shelter in Houston that is required by law to accept every single animal that comes through its doors, regardless of breed, temperament, health conditions, or circumstances.
Fast forward to today, and BARC still finds itself facing similar challenges, which is why they launched the ‘Healthy Pets, Healthy Streets’ initiative to address the stray animal crisis at its source—by providing free spay and neutering services, as well as other programs.
On August 8th, several officials from BARC participated in a monthly roundtable discussion at the Southwest Multi-Service Center to share key insights with attendees about their ‘Healthy Pets, Healthy Streets’ initiative. The event was supported by the Houston Endowment.
The purpose of this important briefing, which was hosted and facilitated by Ethnic Media Services, was to address the ongoing crisis of stray animals affecting Houston area streets, as well as discuss the economic factors exacerbating the crisis, the public health issues involved, the safety issues surrounding the issue, and what responsible pet ownership requires.