Animal welfare issues discussed during Animal Foundation meeting

In the meeting, The Animal Foundation CEO Hilarie Grey, Chief Development and Marketing Officer Terran Daryl Sprague and Chief Operating Officer Terran Tull met with members of the public to provide an update on the shelter’s overall progress, but also to hear from the public.

“I’m just looking for a little transparency to the community on the euthanasia here,” said Las Vegas resident Sandra Stevens, 70, during public comment.

Sprague said that the shelter’s goal was to have zero healthy and/or treatable animals euthanized by 2020 and that the shelter reached that goal. However, now, it would be impossible for the shelter, at its size, to have zero animals euthanized, Sprague said during the meeting.

The Animal Foundation, a shelter that is funded by North Las Vegas, Las Vegas and Clark County, aimed to have no-kill status by 2020, the Review-Journal previously reported.

However, that goal was untenable after the pandemic, Sprague said. After the pandemic, the shelter faced an increase in surrendered animals, Grey said during the meeting.

Euthanasia rates at the shelter nearly doubled in 2022.

“While we did see an increase in Humane Euthanasia, we also saw increases in adoption and transfer outcomes,” said an Animal Foundation spokesperson in an email to the Review-Journal in March 2023.

Calls for oversight

The shelter faced two audits by Clark County and the City of Las Vegas in 2023.

The shelter was also sued by No Kill Las Vegas, a local advocacy group, who alleged unsanitary conditions, overcrowding and inadequate medical care in September 2023. At the time, an Animal Foundation spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Many speakers on Saturday also called for the now-defunct Animal Advisory Committee to be revived.

The committee, which would have a panel of experts selected by Las Vegas council members and the mayor, would oversee animal-related issues, according to accompanying documents for a Las Vegas City Council meeting agenda item.

Some of those issues would be illegal breeding, landlords doubling up on pet fees and overseeing The Animal Foundation, Councilwoman Victoria Seaman said Saturday.

The item proposed the committee meet with the City Council four times a year to provide updates.

Bringing back the Animal Advisory Committee was an item sponsored by Seaman at the Las Vegas City Council meeting on Wednesday. At the meeting, the item was pushed back and would be considered at a February meeting.

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley did not comment at the Wednesday meeting on why the item was delayed, but at the Recommending Committee meeting on Monday, Berkley spoke.

“I applaud your activism and support it,” Berkley said to Seaman during Monday’s meeting.

“I don’t have an opinion one way or another on an advisory committee,” Berkley said. “I think this is very important for me to get a handle on and see what’s actually going on in the Animal Foundation. I’ve asked the city to give me a deep dive briefing.”

Berkley also said she wanted to consult with officials from North Las Vegas and Clark County first.

“The advisory council, it’s the only way that we know that things are being done properly,” said Las Vegas resident Patricia Reid, 69, on Saturday.

“There used to be an animal advisory committee,” said Las Vegas resident Monica Flores, 32. “The rescues are really upset about (the item being delayed), just because, they’re all drowning right now. They need help right now,” Flores said, referring to local animal rescue organizations.

Others made comments about preventing overcrowding.

“We need to enforce our backyard breeder laws,” said Gina Greisen, president of Nevada Voters for Animals.

“We wouldn’t need to warehouse animals and have more shelters, things that are needed for animals, if we actually prevented litters from being born,” Greisen continued.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X or @annievong.bsky.social.