SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane issued a statement Friday morning. In it, Council Members Michael Cathcart (District 1) and Karen Stratton (District 3) release state Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service’s (SCRAPS) practices are of concern.
It states the shelter’s actions violate the agreement with the City when it comes to determining the criteria for euthanasia.
Michael Cathcart also voiced his concerns to NonStop Local with SCRAPS’S behavioral assessments that recently took place.
“One big concern that I have just right now is over the behavioral assessments that were just conducted is, they were conducted in a very quick, short time span. The public was not allowed to be there watch and observe. Very restricted, very big lack of transparency, I believe, to the public,” Cathcart said.
The council members are also concerned with instances of whistleblower retaliation.
“We’ve heard a number of things from both current employees who are very concerned about their jobs, and they have been adamant they have to stay off the record. Previous employees and volunteers have been unfortunately let go over trying to bring to light some of these issues with euthanasia,” Cathcart said.
The council say they’ve attempted to mend the issues by meeting with SCRAPS and county leadership, requesting an investigation and code changes.
In response to this press release, Spokane County released a press release this afternoon.
“SCRAPS has attempted to address the constituent concerns brought forth by Council members Cathcart and Stratton by initially inviting them both to the facility in May 2023 for a firsthand look at SCRAPS’ operations, and to review our policies in action. To date they have not taken us up on that invitation. SCRAPS is confident we are meeting our agreed upon contractual obligations,” SCRAPS Director, Jesse Ferrari, said in the press release.
Council members say they have met with SCRAPS in the past, but there has been no satisfactory outcome.
During the City Council’s Urban Experience (UE), Cathcart and Stratton will present an ordinance that, if enacted, will ensure animals are euthanized only when necessary, and not in cases of overcrowding at SCRAPS.
The County’s statement includes that SCRAPS does not euthanize animals due to capacity issues and that euthanasia is only applied as a last resort.
