NYC ACC KILLS: February 2025
NYC ACC exterminated 196 adoptable cats and dogs in February. They won't be forgotten.
The Scoop New York is a newsletter dedicated to companion animals and the New Yorkers who care for them, from Buffalo to Brooklyn. NYC ACC KILLS, published by TSNY, enumerates and memorializes adoptable cats and dogs who were nonetheless exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City.
Headlines from Buffalo to Brooklyn
It’s May 30, 2025. This is The Weekly Poop.
This week — today, as it happens — The Scoop New York published the NYC ACC KILLS memoriam for cats and dogs exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City in February 2025.
NYC ACC record-keeping is characteristically slipshod. There is no official digital portal for the posters and videos, produced mostly by volunteers, of animals who did not make it out of the system alive. As if.
There isn’t even a complete, publicly available list of the dead, since most of those put to death are never offered for adoption. And also because ACC and its overlords at the city health department don’t consider the lives of cats and dogs worth preserving, much less remembering or honoring. As if.
In response, The Scoop New York created NYC ACC KILLS, an evolving, interactive memorial to ACC victims compiled from volunteer reports and images, mostly from social media. Of course, subscriptions to NYC ACC KILLS will always be free.
ACC reported 76 cat and 120 dog killings in February. In a well-run, actual no-kill shelter (as opposed to pro-kill “shelters”), about 1 percent of intakes are euthanized, meaning their lives are mercifully and humanely ended to relieve severe, unremitting pain. Based on admission data, that comes to about seven cats and four dogs brought to ACC in irremediable pain in February, for a total of 11 euthanizations.
Beyond those 11 or so, ACC was no longer euthanizing, but exterminating.
It is common practice for kill pounds across the country to juice their live release rates by not counting all the animals they eliminate for space, or convenience, or spite. ACC attempts to Newspeak many of these killings — those cats and dogs put to death on the spot, never getting a chance at adoption — as “end of life services.” Reality-based advocates, by contrast, refer to them as “silent kills.”
Omitting ACC’s discretionary kills from the official toll doesn’t make those cats and dogs any less dead, but it does give huckster politicos a pants-on-fire talking point — “Ninety percent live release rate!” — that they think relieves them of oversight duties. Because for the most part, it does.
It’s a sweet set-up. The politicians get to pretend they’re doing their jobs, the higher-ups at ACC remain unmolested and well fed, and all it costs is thousands of healthy, adoptable cats and dogs a year.
These animals are not footnotes. Nor is the legion of bipedal New Yorkers who fight tooth and nail 24/7/365, for no pay, to save as many as they can. ACC sadism extends to them too, and electeds are no more sympathetic to their pleas as ACC is to a senior dog who just lost his family or a kitten hit by a car, to cite two real-life examples from February.
There was Sprite, surrendered at 12 months old due to a move. Young, sweet, rambunctious and fun, she should have been no problem for ACC, with its fat no-bid city contract, to place in a permanent home. Instead, puppy Sprite was worn down by weeks of mistreatment at the “care center,” which exterminated her after 53 days.
Here’s Mango Milo, an 8-month-old kitten surrendered to ACC because he had megacolon and his people could not afford his medical care. Volunteers said he “would benefit from a full medical workup and management of his condition,” but instead ACC killed kitten Mango Milo after two days.
Sassy and her bonded sister, Sparkles, were separated by ACC when both dogs were dumped by their people. Sparkles made it out alive, though forever without her sibling. Sassy was confused, traumatized and terrified, so ACC exterminated her after 14 days. She was 3.
Nine-year-old Nikky was admitted at ACC after his person passed away. Volunteers say he was “so amazing he earned the highest behavior score a dog can get — the coveted Level 1.” But Nikky was stressed at the “shelter,” so ACC exterminated him less than a month later.
Every animal prematurely put to death by New York City has a story. They deserve to have those stories told. Remember their stories. Say their names.
These cats and dogs knew happiness and sadness. They had hopes and fears. They had dreams.
They were here. They were alive.
They count.
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Here’s the latest New York companion animal news:
Rensselaer County residents are raising funds to build an animal shelter because in 2025 a county in metro Albany, New York — where the state government lives — does not have and has no plans to build one.
Related: The situation for homeless companion animals in Albany County itself is not much if at all better. Feel the love!
Related: The end of the current state legislative session is in sight and the bill that could prevent what happened to now-recovering Rhett Chowder from happening to other neglected pets is still sitting in Donna Lupardo’s Assembly ag committee, after having passed the Senate.
The NYC Council wants Mayor Eric Adams to include $1.5 million in the FY26 budget to distribute to rescues’ TNR programs. Drop, meet bucket.
A 6-week-old puppy accused by NYPD, the media, and elected officials of killing an infant in Queens public housing was cleared by the medical examiner. A TSNY query to NYC ACC re the puppy’s condition and whereabouts is being ignored as we type.
This is a sad and sweet and hopeful story but New Yorkers would also like to know what NYC ACC has done and is doing to *all* the Belgian Malinois and German shepherd mixes rescued from whatever the F was happening in that Queens apartment.
Supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis guested on the podcast of perennial Republican mayoral contender Curtis Sliwa to talk about animal welfare and rights in NYC and beyond.
Privately-funded Lollypop Farm in suburban Rochester is expanding as Mayor Malik Evans-funded Rochester Animal Services struggles to keep the lights on and the shit off.
Related: Details are scarce after Lollypop Farm “euthanized” a dog in Riga immediately after the dog reportedly killed his/her owner.
Related: The town of Henrietta in Monroe County will use its share of Governor Kathy Hochul’s crumbs to build its new animal shelter.
And finally, scenes from just another week for New York City’s totally-in-control-and-100-percent-humane carriage horse industry.
Adoptables
Should be beautiful in NYC on Sunday, which is good because it’s the one day ACC has deigned to hold a mobile adoption event, in Manhattan.
Nine-year-old Monkey has languished without a home in Dunkirk, in Chautauqua County, for months. He’s not looking happy but you can change all that with a trip to Lakeshore Humane Society.
Annie is a senior chihuahua with special needs. Her listing says she “loves curling up in cozy spots and is always ready for a cuddle session.” What’s better than that? Find Annie at Blind Dog Rescue Alliance—NY in Utica.
Find New York adoptables near you on Dogs in Danger and Adopt a Pet.
The Scoop New York attempts to confirm that animals are still available before we feature them in The Weekly Poop. If an animal you see here has already found a home, consider asking about other available adoptables.
Food recalls
The FDA announced one pet food recall this week:
Tetra ReptoMin 3-In-1 SELECT-A-FOOD reptile food (salmonella)
Check here for info on earlier recalls.