New Law Increases Standards for New York Animal Shelters

Supporters of the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) participate in the annual 5K fundraiser for the Beacon animal shelter. Photo courtesy of Marjorie Valès-Thedford

This December, the Companion Animal Care Standards Act will go into effect, impacting animal shelters across New York State. 

The law requires shelters to meet the 2010 Association of Shelter Veterinarians guidelines. This includes having certain cage sizes, proper ventilation and records of pet handling to ensure animal care. 

State inspections will begin this winter to assess which shelters are complying with the standards and which have more work to do over the next year.

“The first year of this is a learning year for everybody, for both the inspectors and the organizations,” said Libby Post, executive director of the New York State Animal Protection Federation (NYSAPF), an advocacy group involved in the creation of the law. 

The Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Beacon, NY, estimates needing $100,000 to update to the standards. Changes include adding an emergency generator, epoxying the concrete floors and replacing doors. They are in the process of applying for special grants from the state government to help animal shelters cover these extra expenses. 

“It's disrupting, but we're taking it in a positive stride. Our shelter has been operating since 1986, so for almost 40 years, we've been operating as a no-kill volunteer-supported shelter. And with this, we realized that we can’t continue to operate the way we were,” said ARF board member Marjorie Valès-Thedford. 

One of the other big changes ARF needs to make is to keep physical records of care, including times of feeding, exercise and medication administration. 

“We, of course, feed the animals, we give them any required medications, we exercise them and that type of thing. But we've never actually recorded all of that anywhere, and this new law requires that you have those records and keep them. So we're working on the easiest method for our volunteers,” said David Rocha, president of the board of directors at ARF. 

For the Dutchess SPCA in Hyde Park, NY, their active community, large space and government support have allowed them to adapt to the changes without too much difficulty.

“With a combination of the generosity of our community and grants, we believe that we'll be in good shape to meet the demands,” said Shelley Simmons-Bloom, vice president of the board for Dutchess County SPCA. 

Simmons-Bloom emphasized the importance of having the three years since the law was signed before it goes into effect this December. 

“I think it passed with all good reasons, but I think the state has understood that shelters have needed time to accommodate those changes. You know, for some shelters that are very small, obviously, it takes time. No shelter operates with free-flowing cash, basically. So you have to have time to sort of plan for it,” Simmons-Bloom said.

The timing built into the law was very purposeful. Post and the New York State Animal Protection Federation (NYSAPF) lobbied for this law and ensured that it would provide time for shelters to adapt to the changes. Additionally, the NYSAPF has provided free consulting services to over 100 animal shelters and rescues across the state. Both Dutchess County SPCA and ARF have used their services.  

“The Federation's Education Fund… has raised close to half a million dollars in grant funding for us to provide no-cost consulting services to any organization across the state that wants to then have a consult, and they then get a road map of what they need to do to meet the standards,” Post said.

The NYSAPF has worked on this law for over ten years. Before this, over 400 animal rescues were largely unregulated in the state of New York.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Companion Animal Care Standards Act and a law prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at retail stores on Dec. 15, 2022. The NYSAPF championed this law restricting pet sales in retail stores in hopes of disrupting the puppy mill industry, where animals are bred in horrible conditions and sold cheaply to pet stores. 

“It's inhumane how these animals are treated,” Post said. “And so we were successful in getting that bill done, and it basically has shut down about 80 pet stores in the state of New York.”

By regulating all shelters, the Companion Animal Care Standards Act aims to help prevent pet dealers from continuing to use puppy mills and other inhuman practices.

“A lot of pet dealers in New York no longer wanted to be overseen before the puppy mill bill came into effect,” Post said. “So they changed their business model, and they became 501(c)(3) rescues. Still using the exact same business model, but… it makes it a little more difficult, because they say they're not pet dealers, although they really are.”

“Everyone will be inspected,” Post added. “Everyone will have to do the paperwork. Everyone will have to maintain the same standard of care.”