REGULAR MEETING of the ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 12, 2022, 6 P.M. AUSTIN CITY HALL, Room 1101 301 W. Second St. AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 Some members of the Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Jason Garza, by Sunday noon, September 11, at phone 512-978-0536, or email Jason.Garza@austintexas.gov Please know emails work best. Ryan Clinton, Vice Chair Lisa Mitchell Katie Jarl Lotta Smagula Beatriz Dulzaides Dr. Paige Nilson CURRENT COMMISSIONERS Craig Nazor, Chair Nancy Nemer Palmer Neuhaus Jo Anne Norton Luis Herrera Kristen Hassen, Parliamentarian District 10 Vacant CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL AGENDA The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Speakers for specific agenda items may sign up prior to the meeting or in person at the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Animal Advisory Commission Regular Meeting on August 8, 2022. STAFF BRIEFINGS DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Presentation by Don Bland and/or Jason Garza regarding Austin Animal Center and Animal Services Reports 3. Presentation by Don Bland regarding AAC Staffing and Services 4. Presentation by AAC Staff regarding AAC Public Communications on Services 5. Presentation by Parliamentarian regarding Roberts Rules of Order 6. Presentation by Austin Pets Alive! regarding Monthly Report DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 7. Discussion and Possible Action on the Establishment of Commission Rules for Questions, Comments, and Debate 8. Discussion and Possible Action on AAC Monthly Reporting of Data 9. Discussion and Possible Action on Transferring Austin Animal Center Animals to Other Communities 10. Discussion and Possible Action on the Austin Animal Center Space Crisis 11. Discussion and Possible Action on Inclusion of Animal Services in the City of Austin next Five-Year Strategic Plan 12. Discussion and Possible Action on City’s Use of Cooling Centers 13. Discussion and Possible Action on City Building Code Changes for Birds FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to …
August 2022 August 2022 Animal Services Report AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT Animal Services News Animal Protection • Austin Animal Center will reopen for adoption and reclaim on Sundays beginning September 25. • The live outcome rate for August was 97.63 percent. • A total of 1,167 animals were brought to the shelter which included 619 dogs, 487 cats, 25 wild animals, 17 rabbits, 10 guinea pigs, three domestic birds, two ferrets, two hamsters, and one turtle. • A total of 805 animals were adopted (414 cats, 379 dogs, and 11 small pets). • A total of 94 dogs, cats, and birds were returned to their owners (RTOs and RTO-Adopt). • Animal Protection Officers (APOs) returned 44 animals to their owners in the field. • Officers handed out 37 fencing assistance applications and implanted 6 microchips. • Officers impounded 136 injured animals and delivered 71 wildlife animals to Austin Wildlife Rescue. • Officers entered 212 rabies exposure reports and submitted 27 specimens for rabies testing. Seven bats tested positive for rabies and an additional two were considered non-negative due to being too decomposed to test. • 17 total coyote related activities o 6 sightings o 6 wild sick o 2 wild injured o 2 observations o 1 encounter • Out of 17 coyote related activities, 9 fell within the reported behavior types (sighting, encounter, and incident) Incidents: Pets were factor in 100% of these encounters. • o 1 incident involved a coyote taking an off leash outside cat from the unfenced front yard • Out of 17 related activities, 8 fell within the reported behavior types (wild sick, wild speak, and wild injured) Volunteer, Foster, and Rescue Programs • A total of 341 volunteers donated 5,002 hours of volunteer service. August 2022 Animal Services Report • A record 94 volunteers participated in our Clear the Shelter event on August 27th, cleaning kennels, guiding visitor interactions, making pet ID tags, and much more. • The Volunteer Coordinators held four orientations for new volunteers, introducing 88 people to the shelter programs. 112 new volunteers attended their first training or mentor shifts in August. • Six groups of 56 volunteers donated 112 hours towards dog walking and cat care. • 14 Community Service Restitution individuals performed 220 hours of laundry, dishes, and other duties as assigned. • 197 animals were adopted directly from foster care. • More than 270 different people/families fostered. • 238 …
Animal Services Office Statistical Report – August 2020-2022 August 2022 Intake August 2021 Intakes August 2020 Intakes August 2022 Adoptions August 2021 Adoptions August 2020 Adoptions August 2022 RTOs August 2021 RTOs August 2020 RTOs August 2022 Animals Euthanized August 2021 Animals Euthanized August 2020 Animals Euthanized August 2022 Total Live Release Rate August 2021 Total Live Release Rate August 2020 Total Live Release Rate August 2022 Animal Vaccinations August 2021 Animal Vaccinations August 2020 Animal Vaccinations August 2022 Spayed/Neutered at AAC August 2021 Spayed/Neutered at AAC August 2020 Spayed/Neutered at AAC August 2022 Animal Deaths at AAC/Foster August 2021 Animal Deaths at AAC/Foster August 2020 Animal Deaths at AAC/Foster August 2022 Animals Transferred: August 2021 Animals Transferred August 2020 Animals Transferred August 2022 SNR Program August 2021 SNR Program August 2020 SNR Program August 2022 Intact Animals Adopted/RTO August 2021 Intact Animals Adopted/RTO August 2020 Intact Animals Adopted/RTO
American Bird Conservancy Model Bird-Friendly Building Guidelines December 2020 These model, or ideal, guidelines are intended to be a starting point for cities, towns, villages, counties, states, and any other entity interested in regulating or guiding building construction to reduce bird collisions with glass. They describe a truly bird-friendly building. Summarized simply, these guidelines are based on a 100/100/100 framework: 100% of all glass and other building materials should be bird friendly in the first 100 feet of 100% of buildings. The guidelines also specifically include all hazardous features that can trap birds or push them in the direction of dangerous features. Any group that adopts this ordinance as written will be at the leading edge of creating a bird- friendly built environment. However, many groups considering such guidelines will be interested in softening the language to exempt certain types of buildings or to reduce the amount of bird-friendly glass required. In anticipation of this, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has created a discussion of the issues to be considered when revising the model guidelines. (See ABC’s Legislation, Ordinances, and Guidelines) These guidelines will be most commonly adopted as an ordinance to modify municipal building codes. As a result, the guidelines below are written in the form of a model ordinance. However, the text can be easily adapted to fit other building guidance formats. ABC will revise these guidelines as new science, materials, techniques, and technologies become available, so please make sure that you have the most current version before you begin the process of creating your own guidelines. (See ABC’s Legislation, Ordinances, and Guidelines) PROPOSAL NUMBER: SPONSOR(S): PROPOSAL NAME: Bird-Friendly Building Design Requirements PURPOSE: This building ordinance has been created to address the role of the (MUNICIPALITY)’s built environment in the annual loss of up to 1 billion birds due to glass collisions in the United States. WHEREAS, birds provide valuable and important ecological services, WHEREAS, (MUNICIPALITY) has recorded (XXX) species of resident and migratory bird species, WHEREAS, birding is a hobby enjoyed by 46 million Americans with an annual $107 billion total industry output in the United States, WHEREAS, as many as 1 billion birds may be killed by collisions with windows every year in the United States, WHEREAS, new buildings can be designed to reduce bird deaths from collisions without significant additional cost, WHEREAS there exist strategies to mitigate collisions on existing buildings, WHEREAS witnessing a collision is …
For Possible Action: "For the debate of any motion, each Commissioner may speak twice. No speech may exceed 3 minutes without majority approval of the Commission." Any change to the rules of debate must be approved by a 2/3 majority.
August 2022 August 2022 Animal Services Report AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT Animal Services News Animal Protection • Austin Animal Center will reopen for adoption and reclaim on Sundays beginning September 25. • The live outcome rate for August was 97.63 percent. • A total of 1,167 animals were brought to the shelter which included 619 dogs, 487 cats, 25 wild animals, 17 rabbits, 10 guinea pigs, three domestic birds, two ferrets, two hamsters, and one turtle. • A total of 805 animals were adopted (414 cats, 379 dogs, and 11 small pets). • A total of 94 dogs, cats, and birds were returned to their owners (RTOs and RTO-Adopt). • Animal Protection Officers (APOs) returned 44 animals to their owners in the field. • Officers handed out 37 fencing assistance applications and implanted 6 microchips. • Officers impounded 136 injured animals and delivered 71 wildlife animals to Austin Wildlife Rescue. • Officers entered 212 rabies exposure reports and submitted 27 specimens for rabies testing. Seven bats tested positive for rabies and an additional two were considered non-negative due to being too decomposed to test. • 17 total coyote related activities o 6 sightings o 6 wild sick o 2 wild injured o 2 observations o 1 encounter • Out of 17 coyote related activities, 9 fell within the reported behavior types (sighting, encounter, and incident) Incidents: Pets were factor in 100% of these encounters. • o 1 incident involved a coyote taking an off leash outside cat from the unfenced front yard • Out of 17 related activities, 8 fell within the reported behavior types (wild sick, wild speak, and wild injured) Volunteer, Foster, and Rescue Programs • A total of 341 volunteers donated 5,002 hours of volunteer service. August 2022 Animal Services Report • A record 94 volunteers participated in our Clear the Shelter event on August 27th, cleaning kennels, guiding visitor interactions, making pet ID tags, and much more. • The Volunteer Coordinators held four orientations for new volunteers, introducing 88 people to the shelter programs. 112 new volunteers attended their first training or mentor shifts in August. • Six groups of 56 volunteers donated 112 hours towards dog walking and cat care. • 14 Community Service Restitution individuals performed 220 hours of laundry, dishes, and other duties as assigned. • 197 animals were adopted directly from foster care. • More than 270 different people/families fostered. • 238 …
