There is at least a chance the Humane Society of the flint Hills’ animal quarantine contract with Lyon County may go beyond Jan. 27.
On Thursday, the Humane Society said it declined an extension of the current contract with Lyon County after extensive negotiations. Late Friday, Humane Society Director Stephanie Achille said the agency offered a “good faith” alteration to its proposed contract involving additional funding and the use of two quarantine court-hold kennels.
A response from Lyon County is currently pending.
12:15 pm Friday: County continues exploring shelter options; Humane Society says significant space expansion needed
The Humane Society of the Flint Hills will handle quarantine care for Emporia animals through at least April 2024. That will not be the case for Lyon County animals outside the Emporia city limits by the end of next week.
The Humane Society declined an extension of the current contract with Lyon County after extensive negotiations described by Lyon County as “good faith” and the Humane Society as “heated.” Humane Society Director Stephanie Achille tells KVOE News a change in approach from over a year set the stage for a major change in Animal Shelter operations — and, in turn, set the stage for this week’s decision.
Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope:
The change in approach also includes the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ guidelines for standards of care, including items related to capacity for care, animal handling procedures, enclosure size and set-up, isolation housing, essential wellness and pathogen control.
Achille began calling for more space for shelter operations last year, and she tells KVOE News the shelter would need four shelters of the current space to meet the city and county demand. Achille says the need for pet shelter from the city limits is “constant.” It’s not as frequent from Lyon County, but Achille says the care needs for county animals are generally different from city animals. Achille says there is a more consistent need for medical care. County animals may also have more behavioral issues, meaning additional time to get them ready for adoption, and they are more likely than city animals to come in “multiples” or through surrenders.
Cope says the county is exploring other avenues for housing suspected rabies cases as enforcement is not something the county can cease altogether. Cope also says “public health authorities have a statutory duty to pick up animals suspected of biting humans.” State law requires that any dog or cat suspected of biting a human must be quarantined for 10 days or longer if deemed necessary by the county health officer.
The Humane Society’s contract with the City of Emporia is set to renew in April of 2024. Besides highlighting the need for more space, the Humane Society is also calling for more local or area animal rescue operations — saying that particular need is “immense.”
Cope says his office continues working with the Lyon County Board of Public Health, which includes all three members of the County Commission, to move forward on meeting immediate needs. Commission Chair Rollie Martin says there will be more discussions during a joint city-county meeting Feb. 15.
10:15 pm Thursday: Humane Society of the Flint Hills allowing animal quarantine contract with Lyon County to expire
Come next week, the Humane Society of the Flint Hills will no longer provide animal quarantine services for Lyon County.
A statement on the county’s official Facebook page Thursday night says the Humane Society has chosen to allow its contract with the county for those services to expire. The county said no reason was formally given for that decision and negotations were conducted in “good faith” through the process.
The Humane Society followed with a statement of its own, saying the sheer demand from the Emporia city limits is beyond what the current shelter at 1216 Hatcher can handle at a time when the shelter is following the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ guidelines for standards of care, including items related to capacity for care, animal handling procedures, enclosure size and set-up, isolation housing, essential wellness and pathogen control. Click here for the ASV’s 2022 update.
As part of what the Humane Society called “heated conversations” for nearly a year, it says the amount of services and spaces wanted by the county versus the current capacity were too far apart to continue the contractual agreement.
State law requires that any dog or cat suspected of biting a human must be quarantined for 10 days or longer if deemed necessary by the county health officer.
The Humane Society has handled that responsibility for the county and will continue to do so until the contract expires next Friday, Jan. 27. In the aforementioned statement from the county, Sheriff Jeff Cope says the decision by the Humane Society comes as the county has already “scaled back it’ enforcement of nuisance animal complaints” due to “complaints” from the Humane Society related to the volume of animals in their care.
Cope says the county is exploring other avenues for housing suspected rabies cases as enforcement is not something the county can cease altogether. Cope also says “public health authorities have a statutory duty to pick up animals suspected of biting humans.”
In a connected statement to the one from the Humane Society, Director Stephanie Achille said, “Animals will indeed suffer. Sadly, we were not able to come to an agreement. Supply and demand is not near possible and it has become quite nasty. Nevertheless, we continue on! We are focusing on our current animals and happy with the remaining time of our current city contract.”
The Humane Society says remaining a no-kill shelter and providing high levels of care will “always be our priority” and the need for a larger shelter — or shelters — and additional animal rescue operations is “immense.”
The Humane Society’s contract with the City of Emporia is set to renew in April of 2024.
KVOE News has reached out to both Achille and Cope for additional comment and perspective.
Statement from Lyon County
Despite months of good faith negotiations, Lyon County was informed today that the Humane Society of the Flint Hills has chosen not to renew its contract with Lyon County for animal quarantine services.
No reason was formally given.
The contract with Lyon County is set to expire on January 27, 2023.
Under state rabies control law, dogs or cats suspected of biting humans must be isolated for 10 days (or as determined by the local health officer). Until the contract expires, the Humane Society of the Flint Hills fulfills that role for Lyon County.
According to Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope, the Humane Society’s decision only deepens the issues many county residents have with stray and nuisance animals.
“Earlier this year, after complaints from the Humane Society about the volume of animals they have to deal with, the Sheriff’s Department has had to scale back enforcement of nuisance animals complaints – dogs chasing cyclists is the main problem – simply because the Humane Society has refused to house those animals. But public health authorities have a statutory duty to pick up animals suspected of biting humans – it’s a public health issue and not something we can just stop enforcing. The county is looking for other avenues to house the potential rabies cases, but at present we are not certain where we can take these dogs after January 27.”
Statement from the Humane Society of the Flint Hills
An agreement was not reached between the Humane Society of the Flint Hills and Lyon County after nearly a year of heated conversations and several months of negotiations.
The sheer demand of our city alone surpasses our current shelter capacity for care. Our frequent reports of full capacity are a direct reflection of the community that we serve and that fills us while we follow the ASV Guidelines and 5 Freedoms as well. Sadly, the amount of services and spaces desired by the county versus what we would have available were too far apart to work something out contractually now.
Remaining no-kill and providing high-level care to our shelter pets during their temporary stay with us will always be our priority. The need for a larger shelter(s) and additional animal rescues is immense.
At this time, it is not feasible for our shelter program to continue working with the county. Our current contract together will end on 1/27/23.
