RivCo Animal Shelters To Adopt 'No-Kill' Policy

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Pet shelters across Riverside County are set to become "no-kill" facilities, officials announced.

On May 20, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a decision to convert the county's shelters into a "no-kill" community for healthy cats and dogs.

The resolution aims to ensure that 90 percent of dogs and cats entering the county's four shelters leave alive.

The commitment will be no easy feat as the shelter serves more than 35,000 animals each year.

"It took us a while to get here," Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said at the May 20 meeting. "Most counties are not dealing with this issue to the degree that we are...It's about time that we do something."

The county is vowing to work in collaboration with public and private partners, animal welfare groups, veterinarians, cities and residents "to reduce euthanasia."

To achieve this in one of the nation's busiest shelter systems, the resolution will rely on free or low-cost spay and neuter clinics, "return-to-owner" programs, adoption campaigns, and enhanced trap-and-release programs.

However, there isn't a specific timeline to reach that 90 percent no-kill mark. The county will need to hire more than two dozen employees to serve as administrators, control officers, caretakers and processors to help the system achieve its goal, which will cost about $5 million, according to a 2025-26 budget request from the Department of Animal Services.

"I do feel strongly that we will need a larger budget when it comes to animal services," Perez said.

To help keep the resolution on track, the county has activated a data dashboard that shows the number of animals impounded on a given day along with "outcomes," which show whether animals have been adopted, transferred, returned to owners or euthanized.

From the start of the year to March, the shelter system saw a 33 percent reduction in euthanasia. That means 540 fewer animals, mostly dogs, were put down compared to the same period last year.

"I couldn't be more proud of our animal services team," said Yxtian Guiterrez, fifth district supervisor.

Guiterrez and Perez authored the resolution for the county's shelters, which operate in Jurupa Valley, San Jacinto, Thousand Palms and Blythe.