TRAPS. Overview of Current Practices Current Challenges Proposal and Vote

Transcription

1 TRAPS Overview of Current Practices Current Challenges Proposal and Vote

2 The current trap rental/loaner procedure has been in effect for at least 31 years with no substantial revisions. After a collective and collaborative internal review of processes between leadership staff of the ACAC shelter and Enforcement team, we have come to a recommendation that will streamline services, re-focus services based on mission and enhance some service delivery to citizens.

3 The current procedure is as follows: Citizen calls police dispatch for either a wildlife or a stray feline problem. o If either species is identified as sick/injured an ACO responds to the case location o If the call is for healthy wildlife or an un-contained healthy feline, the citizen is referred to the shelter for trap availability. Citizen calls shelter to inquire if trap is available. If available then they must visit the shelter to borrow/rent the trap. o If there is not one available then they are provided with options (i.e. buy own and AC will service, seek out a private business to provide trapping services, continue to call AC for trap availability; once trap is available we will place name on trap and hold for 24 hours for pick up by citizen). Traps can be used for trapping wildlife or companion animals with no use restrictions currently) o If trap is available they are told about the check deposit fee and explanation that they will need to set the trap and return it within two weeks. Citizen comes to VBACAC and requests to rent or borrow trap o The citizen leaves a $50 check deposit and signs a loan agreement which details when the trap is due back (two weeks) o Check deposit and loan agreement are filed in a file cabinet with the check stapled to the document. There is no accountability in terms of financials for the acceptance of the check When citizen returns trap, check is returned to citizen If trap is not returned within allotted time, we attempt to contact citizen to recoup trap rather than deposit check. The $50.00, if deposited, would not fully cover the cost to purchase another trap due to shipping costs. (Trap cost for a standard cat/raccoon sized trap is approximately $ $70.00 depending on shipping). Citizens can purchase a single trap from a local establishment (i.e. Lowes/Home Depot) for approximately $

4 Rental Frequency In 2015 there were approximately 90 instances of traps being rented / loaned to citizens. This averages to roughly 7-8 per month. Rentals/loaners from the shelter accounted for 62% of the trap output in 2015 and were rented for nuisance healthy wildlife and stray cats. Clerks report that calls for traps are divided between healthy raccoons and feral/stray cat concerns primarily.

5 What are others doing? Other localities practices: Research of other localities produced the following results: Local business competition/trappers/rental agencies: There are 21 individual persons identified on the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website as trappers of nuisance wildlife for the Virginia Beach area Chesapeake Animal Control o Loans traps for cats and dogs only ($35.00 deposit) o Does not offer traps for wildlife Portsmouth Animal Control o Does not offer traps for wildlife or companion animal trapping Portsmouth Humane Society o Refers citizen to PETA for feral cat trapping according to website o Refers to Game and Inland Fisheries for nuisance wildlife according to website o Does not offer traps for wildlife or companion animal trapping; when you call the shelter they refer to spayhr.org VBSPCA o Does not offer traps for wildlife or companion animal trapping Norfolk SPCA o Does not offer traps for wildlife animal trapping; may offer traps for cats if intention is TNR Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center/Norfolk Animal Control o Loans traps, based on City Code, to citizens for a refundable deposit of $50. Code does not specify use of trap per species. Additionally when initiating a google search for Hampton roads wildlife trapper or critter control several companies surface No local humane trap rental business have been identified Humane traps can be purchased by citizens locally at home improvement type businesses for approximately $50. Animal Control Officers service privately owned traps including all sick/injured wildlife, healthy wildlife up to 6 per residence and trapped companion animals Cost approximations of private businesses o ZooPro Depends on kind of animal and situation. Estimates most calls are between $200 - $500 which includes full service 10day period trapping and repair of associated property damage. They do not charge per animal trapped but set the price to solve the problem. o Animal Crackers - $125 service fee for a 10 day trapping period. Once animals are caught there is a removal fee per animal removed. Fox: $100 Raccoons, feral cats, opossum: $50 Squirrels: $40 Rats: $25 o Acme Depends on kind of animal and situation. Estimate most calls are between $250 - $400 (would not elaborate further). Company can do repairs and clean-up at additional cost. o Critter Control No feral cats. Service call is $149 including inspection of premises. Once animals are caught there is a removal fee per animal removed. Raccoon/Opossum: $50 Squirrel: $40 Rats: $25

6 Trap accountability is challenging Citizens historically do not heed the trap rental agreement Trap rental does not support the shelter s mission, goals or objectives Summary Trap rental for healthy wildlife is in conflict with recommendations by the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Trap rental competes with local businesses that sell traps and/or sell trapping services Trap deposit does not cover the cost of trap replacement Damage to traps is high As services diminish related to servicing trapped healthy wildlife, trap replacement costs could similarly diminish if rental were not a continued service Finance does not support the process Legal has concerns over current practice, recommends referral to private business or Unit oversight of trapping process in lieu of current lending practices There is no City of Virginia Beach code that references collecting fees for this service; there is no requirement to provide the service There is only one other locality (Norfolk) that provides this service; their requirement is based on City code Chesapeake provides traps but not for the trapping of healthy wildlife

7 This new process, if approved will increase trap accountability, limit liability to the city, provide an enhanced and desired service to citizens thereby reducing complaints and shift the process where it best fits the mission. ACAC Recommendation/Proposal: It is ACAC s and Animal Enforcement s collective recommendation/proposal that the following occur: All Lending/renting of traps will cease via the shelter office No traps will be loaned with a fee collection No traps will be loaned for healthy wildlife Calls for healthy wildlife problems will be referred as follows: o will be referred to a private trapper or o or citizen can purchase own trap which ACOs will service o ACOs will continue to respond to up to 6 healthy wildlife calls for service from a residence (this service will not change and will be for either a City or a private trap) Calls for stray cat problems will be referred to a shelter clerk to gather more information/filter calls o Clerks will forward appropriate cat concern calls to enforcement who will respond to the citizens address and deliver a trap for use if they deem appropriate. Officer responds to private address with a cat problem and does the following: o Has responsible party sign trap agreement which will indicate the home owner s responsibility for setting the trap, caring for any animals caught and notifying dispatch when an animal needs retrieved. No fee will be collected. o If any negligence is proven that caused damage to the trap the responsible party will be billed the cost of the trap (we expect this to be rare occurrence) this will be agreed upon via humane trap agreement and billing will occur via the City Treasurer s billing system (this mechanism is already in place at Animal Control) o Enforcement Team follow-up on traps that are left residences. We will continue to house a limited amount of traps therefore immediate response to a cat problem may not always occur (this is no change from current practice). Enforcement will reserve an adequate amount of traps for emergent situations and will reserve some specifically for healthy cat concerns. Property owners will still be provided with the option to purchase their own trap; private traps will continue to be serviced by ACOs.

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