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Austin Pets Alive reports transfers and maternity intake; says no current plan to relocate operations
Summary
Austin Pets Alive told the Animal Advisory Commission it transferred dozens of at‑risk animals from Austin Animal Center in recent months, is seeing rising maternity and bottle‑baby intakes, and said it has no finalized plan to move operations outside Austin.
Austin Pets Alive (APA) presented quarterly license-agreement reports to the Animal Advisory Commission, describing transfer activity, maternity intakes and the organization’s capacity as kitten season ramps up.
Stephanie Bilbrough, director of operations at APA, said APA pulled 73 animals from Austin Animal Center in February (about 65% of APA’s transfers that month), including 50 dogs, and that 17 of the February transfers were the contractually required populations (about 23% of that month’s pulls). In March APA transferred 32 animals, including an increased number of bottle‑baby kittens and maternity cases; Bilbrough said 42% of the March transfers were required populations.
Bilbrough said APA’s year target for total transfers is a little over 1,300 and at the end of the quarter APA was about 45% of the way toward that target. For quarter 2, APA reported 302 total transfers, 95% (287) from the at‑risk list, and said nearly 200 intakes were diverted by APA’s programs (for example, maternity care and owner-surrender assistance).
Commissioners asked whether animals pulled under the license agreement would otherwise have been euthanized; Bilbrough and staff said partner outreach is attempted before euthanasia and that APA’s transfers helped raise AAC’s live outcome rate. APA also addressed questions about maternity spaces and contract obligations: APA said it prioritizes maternity and medical cases when it has space and that taking maternity animals is an organizational expectation rather than a strictly contractual obligation. Bilbrough said APA had not finalized plans to relocate its operation though the organization is searching for land beyond Austin; APA confirmed it still holds Del Valle land but is not developing it at this time.
Commissioners and APA discussed communication and social-media messaging from volunteers and whether internal Facebook posts had indicated on-site capacity problems; APA said it would verify the origin of any posts and clarify internal communications to volunteers and fosters.
No formal votes were taken on the license-agreement briefing; commissioners asked APA to follow up with additional details about maternity capacity, transfer prioritization and any plans related to facility location.
