Austin Animal Center no longer required to notify APA! before spaying pregnant animals

Austin Animal Center can spay pregnant animals

Austin City Council members voted to allow the city's shelter to spay pregnant animals without contacting a rescue organization first. This is to help with overcrowding and budget issues.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin City Council voted to allow the Austin Animal Center to spay pregnant animals without contacting a rescue organization first. 

This is to help with overcrowding and budget issues. 

The backstory:

Council Member Krista Laine (District 6) brought the item forward.

"I, as council member, certainly have been a strong voice for fiscal responsibility, for finding efficiencies," she said.

Last month, Council approved a resolution that lets veterinarians decide whether to spay and neuter an animal.  

"What I simply advocate for is if we are going to spend our money to hire highly trained medical or veterinary professionals, then we allow them to use their expertise to make the judgment calls in the areas that they know the most about," Laine said.

According to Laine's office, with 163 animals born at AAC in 2023, it cost $278,893 to care for them. Between 2019–23, 690 were born in AAC.

Mayor Kirk Watson brought forward an amendment that requires AAC to notify Austin Pets Alive if an animal is late in pregnancy. That amendment passed 6 to 4 with 1 abstaining. Laine opposed the amendment. 

The other side:

Dr. Ellen Jefferson, president and CEO of Austin Pets Alive!, was opposed to the main item, but feels better about the amendment. 

"[The cases] that really, really bother us are the ones that are already having milk. They are already about to give birth. They're nesting. Those are the ones that we really feel that it's just not humane to do the procedure. So as long as those can be spared, then we feel like it's a win-win," she said. 

She says there should be better community programs in high intake areas and adds pets born in care are microchipped, spayed, neutered, and vaccinated, unlike strays coming in later. 

Austin Animal Center's new management system

The Austin Animal Center is changing the way it manages city shelters.

"The problems that exist at Austin Animal Center that are making the doors close is not because of these dogs that are already pregnant, giving birth. It is because of programs that are missing from the original no-kill implementation plan that was passed by council in 2011," Jefferson said. 

Laine says there is no intent to undermine being no-kill, and she's open to more conversations about community programs. 

"What there is, is an intent to revise any processes so that we all can work together as effectively as possible," she said.

Austin Animal Services responds

The Austin Animal Services released the following statement:

"The Austin City Council’s approval of Agenda Item #3 restores full decision-making authority for spay and neuter procedures to Austin Animal Services' veterinary staff, allowing them to act without delay or notification. This ensures animals in the City’s care receive timely, professional medical attention, supports long-term health, reduces shelter stress, and helps prevent overcrowding. Spaying and neutering as soon as animals are medically ready is a widely recognized best practice across the U.S., helping control unwanted litters and improve overall animal welfare.

"Council also approved an amendment requiring Austin Animal Services to notify Austin Pets Alive! when an animal is lactating, allowing them three hours to pick up the animal before surgery proceeds. Austin Animal Services continues to follow all Council mandates, maintain transparency, and consistently meet the City’s 90% live outcome goal. Updates to the live outcome rate calculation—excluding spaying pregnant animals and court-ordered euthanasia—ensure the metric reflects outcomes within the City’s control. All medical decisions remain guided by licensed veterinary professionals and best practices in animal welfare."

Austin Animal Services provided some clarifications Friday saying:

"The Council mandate is a 90% live outcome rate while the recommended goal is 95%. Austin Animal Services continues to meet the 90% live outcome rate at all times and has consistently met the 95% goal with very few exceptions."

"We have had restricted, managed intake for over a year due to capacity issues, but we have not closed intake. We continue to receive animals based on emergency criteria that are surrendered through the Pet Resource Center or that are picked up by Animal Protection Officers."