Concerns about Kansas City Animal Control Operations

There is a lot of controversy regarding animal control operations in Kansas City. Animal control in Kansas City has gone back and forth between public and private operations, and it could be changing again soon.

Animal control services are one of the prime municipal services ripe for privatization, either with for-profit veterinarians or (more commonly) non-profit animal welfare groups. For example, many of the cities on the Kansas side of the state line have contracted with Great Plains SPCA for shelter operations.

Kansas City has gone through a series of privatization efforts for both its animal shelter and animal control operations, as have many other cities and counties. Kansas City first outsourced its animal shelter to a private vet in 2009. The private operator saved taxpayers $175,000 and improved adoption rates at the same time. However, complaints regarding alleged animal abuse caused the city to terminate the contract in 2011 and briefly go back to city operation. Next, Kansas City turned over its animal shelter to KC Pet Project in 2012, and that privatization effort led to tax savings of $40,000 and a significant reduction in euthanasia for the animals. Later, in 2019, when Kansas City contracted with the same non-profit for animal control operations (e.g., capturing stray animals), city employees opposed it on familiar grounds:

City workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 500 worry about the loss of jobs and pensions if the city of Kansas City, Missouri, follows through with its plan to privatize the Animal Control Division.

Recently the operations of the shelter have been questioned due to a dispute between the non-profits that operate it. It seems the city will be retaking control of the shelter. Animal control operations are also apparently coming back under city control. Admittedly, one can see how capturing potentially dangerous animals is more of a police-like assignment than running adoptions from a shelter. I am not sure most volunteers are going to be enthusiastic about dealing with a wild, rabid pit bull.

Complaints about animal abuse, poor conditions, and more in animal shelters are common. As I said in a previous blog post, jails are hard places to operate, whether they are for people or animals. I suspect there is a core group of animal rights “volunteers” that are going to file complaints about any shelter that isn’t entirely a “no-kill” shelter. It doesn’t seem to matter if the shelter is operated by the government or by a non-profit.

The other part of this debate is that government employees are never going to stop fighting to bring back jobs and assignments that were contracted out. We have seen efforts to retake government control with Kansas City trash operations and University City ambulance services, to give just two examples. I don’t automatically believe the “complaints” filed against private providers in these situations. As a resident of University City, I can assure you that bringing the ambulance operations back under city (and fireman’s union) control was an orchestrated political plan.

Is this the case with the animal shelter and control operations in Kansas City? I don’t know. For the sake of the animals, I hope it works out for the best.