As of 5pm on Friday, 5 April, the City of Atlanta has no longer received Fulton County animal control services because the city could not come to an agreement on contract terms. Of the 15 cities in Fulton County, the City of Atlanta is the only one that has refused to cover the new cost.
So what does this mean? It means that any calls Atlanta residents make for stray or loose dogs will be answered by APD and, the animals will be brought to an unknown location (instead of the new Fulton County Animal shelter many of community members advocated for).
Any lost or found dog, surrendered animal, or animal picked up for cruelty/neglect in the city of Atlanta will no longer be taken in by the new shelter. Any calls to investigate cruelty or neglect will have to be handled by an already stretched APD force, instead of the dedicated and experienced Fulton County Animal Control unit.
All Fulton County cities knew about this increase in advance and have accepted the new animal services agreement, except Atlanta, which is responsible for approximately 55% of the ACO calls in the county. All Fulton county cities will continue to receive services, except Atlanta. This is unacceptable.
We call upon the Atlanta City Council to put Atlanta residents first by resolving the issue with Fulton County so that the county can continue providing services to Atlanta residents!
