With a Single Bill, Albany Lawmakers Could Save Thousands of Cats and Dogs Per Year

The Shelter Animal Rescue Act would require animal control facilities to release companion animals to qualified rescues rather than kill them.

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.

Thousands of adoptable dogs and cats have been killed in New York since the Shelter Animal Rescue Act was held up by Binghamton Assembly Member Donna Lupardo (center). Photo: Office of Donna Lupardo

With work on the budget wrapped up, state lawmakers will devote the next month to the 10,000 or so individual bills that must be acted on (or not) before June 6, when the session is scheduled to end.

One of those bills – the Shelter Animal Rescue Act – would go a long way toward reducing chronic overcrowding that plagues animal control facilities across the state. It would save the lives of thousands of companion animals a year. And it wouldn’t cost the state a dime.

Simply put, SARA would prohibit New York…