Fresno County awards new contract for animal control

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County has awarded a new company, Fresno Humane Animal Services the contract to handle animal control. The company is headed by Brenda Mitchell, who also leads the animal rescue group known as the Animal Compassion Team, or ACT.

Mitchell told Action News, "We plan to bring new programs Fresno has just been screaming for a long time that will really improve the quality of care for our animals."

On October 1st. Mitchell and her new company will take control of the County Animal Shelter, located in temporary quarters next to the old county morgue for the past three years. 70 percent of the dogs brought here ended up being put to sleep. Mitchell wants to increase adoptions and reduce the kill rate.

"I think we have to start dealing with the reason why we have too many animals to deal with in the first place," said Mitchell. "Which is a lack of education in our community, a lack of spay and neuter so that's definitely going to be at the top of our list of things to accomplish."

Fresno County's animal control system has been in turmoil for the past three years since the SPCA cancelled their services, another company went bankrupt. The supervisors want to see the kill rate lowered, and adoptions increased. But they put no requirements in the three year nearly $4 million contract awarded to Fresno Humane Animal Services. All Brenda Mitchell can say is, they plan to try.

Mitchell explained, "Of course it's a huge job and it's a job we've complained about how others have done in the past, so we decided to stop complaining and put ourselves out there and say we are going to do it and set the example."