City of Pittsburgh pauses no-cost Spay and Neuter Program

PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh announced Tuesday that it’s pausing its Spay and Neuter Program.

The program, funded by city tax money, provides no-cost spay and neuter services to city residents to control the population of pet dogs and cats and feral cat colonies.

The pause comes following a recent evaluation of the program. The city said that it became clear that services were being used in “inappropriate ways disingenuous to the spirit of the program.” A release cited one of the reasons to be people using the city addresses of friends and family members to bring in animals from outside city limits to take advantage of the service.

“The Bureau of Animal Care & Control is currently working with our partners at Humane Animal Rescue and Animal Friends to address some of the issues that have arisen with the Spay and Neuter Program as its use has grown and the associated costs have increased,” said Lee Schmidt, Director of Public Safety.

During the pause of the program, the city said staff will “evaluate potential applicant criteria in order to develop a program adapted to those goals.”

“We are excited to build out a more sustainable and equitable program and are looking forward to rolling out a new and improved program to all city residents that also ensures good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” Schmidt said.

Residents who have already submitted an application or have an appointment scheduled will be contacted by the Bureau of Animal Care and Control directly.

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