{"id":926467,"date":"2026-07-10T22:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/926467\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T22:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:41:14","slug":"can-a-14-2-million-partnership-help-fix-las-struggling-animal-shelters-daily-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/926467\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a $14.2 million partnership help fix LA\u2019s struggling animal shelters? \u2013 Daily News"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of overcrowded shelters<\/a>, rising euthanisia rates and criticism over conditions inside the Los Angeles city animal shelters<\/a>, two of the nation\u2019s largest animal welfare organizations are betting they can help change the system \u2014 not by working around it, but from within.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles City Council on July 1 approved a $14.2-million partnership with The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Best Friends Animal Society that will fund 23 new positions at L.A. Animal Services and embed outside consultants inside the city department. Supporters describe it as a first-of-its-kind collaboration<\/a> with one of the largest municipal shelters systems in the country.<\/p>\n

The grant is meant to improve care at the city\u2019s six shelters, speed adoptions and rescue placements for the roughly 50,000 animals that pass through them each year, and provide additional support for shelter staff. But it also raises a larger question: Can philanthropy help stabilize a struggling public shelter system without replacing the city\u2019s own responsibility to fund it?<\/p>\n

The investment comes at a pivotal moment for L.A. Animal Services, which has faced years of scrutiny over overcrowding, staffing shortages and euthanasia rates. In April, Mayor Karen Bass appointed Gabrielle Amster<\/a>, a longtime animal welfare executive, as the department\u2019s new general manager after nearly two years of instability at the top.<\/p>\n