UPDATE: February 21, 2023
The Vermilion Parish Rabies Animal Control in Louisiana has long been struggling with overcrowding, as reported widely in local newspapers. Alley Cat Allies is trying to collaborate with the community to help, but we’re being met with resistance.
After partnering with a local group to empty out the shelter and care for and rehome over 100 animals from the parish’s shelter last June, we recently approached the parish with a letter outlining how we can help: with free spay and neuter and other needed veterinary care, new kennels, fans, bedding, and other supplies for shelter animals, training for shelter staff, and on-the-ground assistance with implementing humane programs.
In exchange, we asked that the shelter follow the latest best shelter operation practices to ensure the well-being of animals in its care. In response, members of the Police Jury said they weren’t interested.
We’ll keep you updated as we continue to reach out to this community on behalf of cats. We know Vermilion can be a better place for cats, and we are here to help.
An article in a local news outlet covered the situation, and we think it is worth the read.
Learn more about our offer to Vermilion Parish below:
Original Post
Alley Cat Allies, the global leader of the movement to protect and improve the lives of cats and kittens, is reaching out to the Vermilion Parish Police Jury with an offer of collaboration to implement lifesaving, effective programs to help the Parish’s shelter, cats and the greater community.
Alley Cat Allies Program Director Alice Burton wrote to the Police Jury in January, outlining multiple areas of collaboration and support that Alley Cat Allies is offering to Vermilion Parish.
“We know from our experience in the state that every parish in Louisiana is able to enact our humane programs,” Burton said. “Louisiana citizens are supportive of and grateful for compassionate and effective approaches to the cats who share their communities.”
In return for assistance, Alley Cat Allies is asking that the shelter and Vermilion Parish adopt best practices for shelters, as recommended by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Burton further offered to Jurors in her letter that Alley Cat Allies would provide assistance in bringing shelter operations in line with nationally recognized best practices.
Burton explained in her letter that Alley Cat Allies has been active in Louisiana for decades, helping parishes improve their policies and programs for cats, launching a statewide animal cruelty prevention initiative, and providing supplies, food and resources in the wake of hurricanes and the pandemic.
The potential initiatives outlined in the letter to the Police Jury are the extent of what Alley Cat Allies is offering at this time, and Burton and the organization continue to seek dialogue with Police Jurors on these issues.