Marion County animal shelter director reports drop in euthanasia, higher live-release rate

Brianna Corsi, director of the Marion County Animal Shelter, told the Marion County Council that the shelter has reduced euthanasia and increased live releases after changes she implemented since taking the role in April 2024.

Corsi said the shelter took in just over 1,000 animals in 2023; of those, 161 were euthanized and 688 were released alive. She said intake rose to about 1,400 in 2024, with euthanizations falling to 143 and live releases increasing to “just over a thousand.” From Jan. 1 through the date of the meeting in 2025, Corsi said the shelter had taken in 697 animals, euthanized 21 and achieved 601 live releases.

The director described programs intended to reduce sheltering of feral cats and to increase live outcomes. “Housing feral cats in a shelter environment causes them undue stress and poses safety risks to staff and volunteers,” Corsi said. She said the shelter runs “community cat days 2 to 3 times a month” in partnership with Marion volunteers; those sessions fix up to five feral cats per event (sometimes six or seven), provide traps when needed, bring animals in the night before surgery and release them the following day at the pickup location.

Corsi described intake and triage procedures: stray intake is handled Monday–Friday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m.–noon. When members of the public bring strays, staff ask whether they can foster; if not, the shelter accepts the animal. She said animal control may bring in animals at any time and is never denied access.

Corsi said the shelter’s staff capacity limits intake. “We take care of just over 200 animals, and I have 2 full-time employees, including myself, and 2 part-time,” she said. Council members asked about additional help; Corsi said two inmates assist daily. She emphasized that adding physical capacity would require hiring more employees: “We can build more space, but it’s gonna have to have more—we’re gonna have to have a much larger staff.”

Support organizations and donation reports were discussed later in the meeting: Support Our Shelter reported payments for veterinary and supply expenses and a recent fundraiser that netted roughly $5,000 after expenses; the group paid $1,500 for emergency hospital care, $353 to Dillon County Animal Hospital, and other supply costs listed in the group's monthly report.

Council members thanked Corsi and invited colleagues to visit the shelter to see renovations and operations.