City Considering Restarting Free Spay and Neuter Program

City Council is rethinking the decision to halt their free spay and neuter program for city pets and strays.

The program is conducted through the Bureau of Animal Care and Control and the vouchers can be redeemed through the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh, which focuses both on domesticated pets and wildlife rehabilitation. The focus of the program was on Downtown pets and strays, spaying and neutering them to limit the number of stray cats and dogs on the streets.

Originally, the program was shut down in February due to alleged scam from suburban pet owners that were using city addresses that they did not live at to qualify for the program. There were concerns around a spike in the stray cat population Downtown after the closure of the program, so the city decided to reinstate a limited version of the program to ensure that the stray cat population would not skyrocket. In this limited time, the city was able to spay and neuter about 550 stray cats. 

The program was able to process 1,963 spay and neuter requests between 2020 and 2023. The reinstatement would expand the contract to allow free spaying and neutering from 2025 through 2027. The contract would cost the city a combined $70,000 per year, as a regular spay and neuter appointment costs on average $200 per animal.

The City Council will vote on the proposal this month, and Downtown could see this program reinstated as early as December.