California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed budget legislation that includes $45 million in one-time support for a statewide Animal Shelter Assistance Program. The program will be administered by the Koret Shelter Medicine Program, at the University of California, Davis, Center for Companion Animal Health. The increase will be used to fund grants and outreach for the state鈥檚 animal shelters over a period of five years.
The funding increase reflects the governor鈥檚 commitment to providing resources that can help communities realize the state鈥檚 long-held policy that 鈥渘o adoptable or treatable animal should be euthanized.鈥
Newsom tapped the Koret Shelter Medicine Program to set up a grant process, create and distribute educational materials and perform in-person consultations to help achieve the goals of the policy. He cited the program鈥檚 reputation for leadership in the field of shelter medicine and long history of working with California shelters.
鈥淭his represents a promise fulfilled for animal shelters and communities, especially those that historically have been under-resourced. As the first academic shelter medicine program in the world, the Koret Shelter Medicine Program is well-positioned to provide the expertise required to earn the greatest return on this investment,鈥 said Michael Kent, director of the Center for Companion Animal Health at the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
A $5 million allotment for a two-year pilot project was funded in April. The $45 million augmentation restores the funding and longer timeline of the governor鈥檚 original proposal of $50 million over five years that was made in January of 2020.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to be chosen to administer this pioneering program. This truly is a generational investment that has the potential to change the landscape for vulnerable animals and their families in California,鈥 said Kate Hurley, founder and director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program.
鈥淭he additional $45 million allocation not only shows agencies throughout the state just like mine that our sacrifice and dedication is recognized, but also provides crucial fiscal support for programs essential to helping our communities rebuild from this devastating time,鈥 said Cassie Heffington, animal services manager at Tulare County Animal Services.
You can read more about the . For a history of the governor鈥檚 original proposal, see and the page at .
Media Resources
Media Contacts:
- Mandy Newkirk, Koret Shelter Medicine Program, mnewkirk@ucdavis.edu
- Amy Quinton, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis News and Media Relations, amquinton@ucdavis.edu, 530-601-8077 (cell)