News release\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors\u00a0has\u00a0unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger supporting Assembly Bill 2344, legislation that would help abused and neglected animals move more quickly into safe, permanent homes while reducing unnecessary costs to taxpayers, according to a news release from Barger\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AB 2344, authored by Assemblyman\u00a0Matt Haney,\u00a0D-San Francisco,\u00a0would allow animal control agencies to ask prosecutors to petition the court for the forfeiture of abused animals when defendants in certain animal cruelty cases fail to appear in court, preventing animals from remaining in\u00a0county shelters for months or even years while criminal proceedings are delayed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimals that have already endured unimaginable cruelty should not have to spend months or years waiting in a shelter because a criminal case is delayed,\u201d Barger\u00a0said in the release. \u201cThis legislation recognizes that these animals deserve the chance to heal in loving homes as quickly as possible. It also reflects responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources by reducing unnecessary shelter costs and freeing up capacity to care for other vulnerable animals.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill has drawn support from animal welfare organizations across the state, who argue that lengthy custody delays can worsen outcomes for animals already suffering from abuse or neglect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haney introduced AB 2344 as part of a broader push to modernize how courts and shelters\u00a0coordinate on\u00a0animal welfare cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimals are completely dependent on us for care and protection, and when that trust is shattered through abuse, we have a moral obligation to act,\u201d Haney\u00a0said in the release. \u201cAnimal cruelty is unacceptable and when animals are held for unnecessary periods, this puts a roadblock to their recovery. AB 2344 will streamline that transfer process, providing a tool for courts and shelters to help animals receive earlier transfers into\u00a0appropriate care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Los Angeles County\u2019s Department of Animal Care and Control currently spends an average of more than $105 per day to house each dog or cat in its care. In one ongoing animal cruelty case, 48 animals have\u00a0remained\u00a0in\u00a0county custody since August 2024 while criminal proceedings continue, resulting in more than $500,000 in housing costs alone, not including medical expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By reducing prolonged shelter stays for animals seized in qualifying cruelty cases, AB 2344 would help relieve overcrowding, preserve limited shelter resources, and allow more abused animals to begin recovering in permanent homes sooner, the release said. AB 2344 is also expected to generate savings that can be redirected toward critical animal welfare services, shelter operations, veterinary\u00a0care\u00a0and adoption efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the\u00a0unanimous vote, Los Angeles County\u2019s Sacramento legislative team will advocate for AB 2344.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News release\u00a0\u00a0 The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors\u00a0has\u00a0unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger supporting Assembly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-414649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}