The Santa Clarita City Council discussed meeting with advocates for a possible no-kill shelter for animals during their Tuesday night meeting.
During the meeting, advocates said that the Castaic Animal Shelter was insufficient in providing space for lost animals, and that a no-kill shelter would help prevent animal euthanasia caused by a lack of space or resources.
“Santa Clarita is the third largest city in Los Angeles County and it’s the fastest-growing city in the county,” said Kiza Hilton, one of the public comment speakers during the meeting. “Tens of thousands of people who reside here have pets. Based on these basic facts, we need a no-kill animal shelter built within the city’s boundaries.”
“The L.A. County Castaic Animal Shelter has done a great job of providing care for pets for decades,” Hilton added. “However, the shelter is small, and it’s located on the remote edge of Santa Clarita Valley.”
Hilton went on to add that the Castaic Animal Shelter was built when the Santa Clarita Valley was smaller and residents in some portions of the SCV would need a long travel time to get there.
The organizers during the meeting added that they had already gathered a few thousand signatures in support of founding the new program.
“‘No kill’ means that no animal will be killed for lack of space or time of stay,” said Jordan Roberts-Diem. “Animals that are deemed dangerous will still be euthanized and not sent out into the community and animals that are terminally ill or severely injured and suffering would be euthanized as well.”
In response, Councilwoman Marsha McLean said she supported the idea, but when McLean was moving to ask the council if they would want to discuss it, Mayor Laurene Weste confirmed that she and Councilman Jason Gibbs had already said they would sit down with the group of advocates.
“I’m very happy that that’s going to be happening,” said McLean. “Apparently this was brought forth some years ago to one council member and it never went forward. So, I’m happy that it’s happening now.”
