Winnipeg Humane Society gets lion's share of cat-licensing dollars

The Winnipeg Humane Society has received more than $200,000 in cat-licensing money from the city's animal services agency in 2016, according to figures provided by the City of Winnipeg.

And it's also the only organization that has accessed the money through a grant program called Fixit.

Half of the money generated from cat licensing is set aside in the Fixit program to help community organizations develop low-cost, high-volume spay and neuter programs for cats.

The cat-licensing program came under fire after it was brought in on Jan. 1, 2015 and the city began charging $15 to license fixed cats, and $50 dollars for intact felines.

Cat-advocacy groups wanted to see funds raised go toward helping the city's homeless cat population, and not to the city's animal services program which doesn't deal directly with cats. They disagreed with some of the conditions placed on the funds and how the money could be used.

Groups must apply for funding from the Fixit program, and so far the only group to apply has been the Winnipeg Humane Society.

In 2015, the WHS received $20,250 through the program to offer spay and neuter surgeries at an ultra-low cost to cat owners with fixed or low incomes. Those who qualified were able to get their felines fixed for just $5.

This past year the Humane Society was again the only applicant for funding and received $202,000 from the Fixit fund.

Some of that money went to pay for the sterilization of 1,150 cats in 2016, and the majority will be used to launch a new sterilization program for 2017.

The Winnipeg Humane Society won't say yet exactly what the program will look like, but says it will be community-based and completely new.

"Nothing like this had ever been attempted before and we are extremely excited," said Humane Society CEO Javier Schwersensky.

City amended program in 2016

Winnipeg Animal Services Agency chief operating officer Leland Gordon says they relaxed the criteria of the Fixit program in 2016 to help address concerns but still only received the one application from the WHS.

"We updated the program. Not only did we allow for certain administrative expenses to be embedded in program requests, but we also made it so that people can apply year-round for this programming," said Gordon.

He also said the program expanded to include some feral cat programs, which were previously excluded.

In 2016 the city sold an estimated 27,000 cat licenses, up from 22,898 in 2015. The exact numbers aren't yet tallied but more cat licences sold means the program generated more funds.

The city estimates in 2016 animal services pulled in approximately $390,000 from cat licensing, a 29 per cent increase over the 2015 amount of $302,000.

As of Dec. 31, there was still over $130,000 left in the Fixit fund, according to the city.

Shelters still feel left out by funding criteria

Some Winnipeg shelters feel like the requirements to apply for the funding dollars are still too onerous.

The money must be attached to new programming that provides low-cost spay and neuter services to low-income pet owners, and can't go toward any of the services shelters are already providing — something D'Arcy's Arc CEO D'Arcy Johnston doesn't think is fair.

"I think it should be open to anybody," he said. "We're talking about spaying and neutering. If you want the problem under control, despite your income, then the animal should be spayed or neutered regardless," he said.

D'Arcy's Arc takes in homeless cats, which are spayed and neutered before being adopted out, but because it's a service that already existed instead of a new service, they don't qualify for any of the money.

"We took in over 800 stray animals [in 2016]," Johnston said. "As far as I'm concerned those are all homeless animals that need to be spayed or neutered. Why can't the program help pay for those?"

Johnston also says that shelters like his are already struggling with their day-to-day costs and can't afford the resources needed to develop a new program outside of what they are already doing.

Carla Martinelli-Irvine, executive director of Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter, echoed those concerns. She says as a charitable organization the shelter has no money available to develop or run new programs.

She would like to see the Fixit funding available to help cover the costs of the spaying and neutering they are already doing.

"That would alleviate the financial burden on us tenfold," she said.

Johnston says he's glad that the WHS is taking advantage of the cat-licensing dollars, but would like to see more opportunity for other shelters to be eligible.

He says he intends to apply for the funding and hopes he can work with the city, and possibly consult with the Humane Society, to develop a plan that would benefit cats in need.

"We actually need funding for our spays and neuters and programs out there. We could use the help," he said.