LA County To Consider Upgrades, Relocation For 'Overcrowded' Animal Shelters

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Upgrades to outdated, overcrowded county animal shelters, including relocating facilities, is being considered by Los Angeles County officials.

County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Michael Antonovich have proposed that county staffers develop a master plan to identify the best possible locations for shelters and redesign facilities to better serve the animals.

Solis, who visited the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, says she found it filled beyond capacity. The facility handles, on average, 600 to 700 animals per day, with "some days as many as 1,000 pets," Solis said.

Solis commended the center's staff and said it is "doing as much as they can, given the limited resources."

Solis hopes the review will help "shine a light on the facility," which is said to be hard to find and sits at the end of a road that is little more than a muddy pathway in an unincorporated area of the county, near Baldwin Park.

Animal shelters in LA county were built between 38 and 68 years ago, and conditions make "animal disease control, disinfection, odor control and other environmental concerns difficult to manage," according to the proposal.

The proposal also suggests that the difficulty of adoptions there are made more difficult by limited parking and overcrowding.

Staffers have been directed by the board to report back with short- and long-term recommendations.

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