Seal Beach’s in-house animal control program will launch on Saturday, July 1. Seal Beach Police Capt. Nick Nicholas gave the news to the City Council this week when he updated the council on the program.
Nicholas’s presentation came before the council voted on animal control related items on the Consent Calendar.
Until recently, Long Beach Animal Care Services had the contract to provide Seal Beach with animal control services. However, concerns over cost and services led to the decision to create a local animal program.
Background
In May 2022, the SBPD recommended the creation of an internal animal control service. The council agreed unanimously.
One of the reasons cited in May 2022 for the recommended change was that Long Beach Animal Care Services had advised Seal Beach staff that service costs would increase.
In then-Capt. (now Chief) Michael Henderson’s May 2022 report to the council, he wrote that “For FY 2022-23, the [Long Beach] rate will increase to $256,000 and for FY 2023-24, the rate is projected to increase to $355,000.”
The revenue averaged $52,063 over the previous two years, according to the May 2022 staff report.
At the time, Henderson told the council that LBACS would not respond as quickly to calls for service as Seal Beach Police would expect. One issue raised at the time was the need to find a no-kill shelter for pets of all kinds. The Seal Beach Animal Care Center told the police that the Center only takes dogs and cats.
Under the in-house animal control program, SBPD Senior Community Service Officers and Police Aides would be trained as animal control officers.
