Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Politics

Calif. Budget Could Force Shelters to Euthanize Sooner

California animal shelters would be required to euthanize animals sooner under cuts proposed in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget. Shelters now care for the animals for six days before they're "put down."

But the governor's new budget would reduce that to three days. Jennifer Fearing is with the U.S. Humane Society. She says the savings would be nearly $25 million a year. Fearing says that's small compared to the state's $24 billion deficit.

"It comes at a time when we realize there are very important decisions being made at the capitol, but this is the only money in the entire state budget that goes toward the commitment that the state has made repeatedly to remedy the minimum of animals that are killed in animal shelters," she says.

Advertisement

Fearing wants lawmakers to provide animal shelters with funds to step-up their promotions of animal adoptions.