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BARC outlines MOU with Uvalde County for animal intake; advocates warn euthanasia likely
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Summary
A BARC representative proposed a memorandum of understanding with Uvalde County to formalize intake, holding and reclamation procedures, including a 72-hour holding period and intake only via designated law enforcement; an advocate warned limited kennel capacity means euthanasia will be necessary.
A BARC representative told the Uvalde County Commissioner's Court the animal welfare committee has drafted guidelines to govern how the county and the nonprofit BARC will handle stray and seized animals, emphasizing intake will only be authorized through designated county law-enforcement personnel and that BARC would assume care after a required 72-hour holding period.
The presentation said the proposed memorandum of understanding would not replace the existing long-term agreement but would add operational detail: designated law-enforcement personnel (the on-duty patrol sergeant or constables) would authorize intakes; BARC would hold animals an intake period plus 72 hours; and if animals are not reclaimed after that timeframe, BARC would recommend adoption, rescue or euthanasia and assume further costs and disposition decisions. "We will hold them for a period of 3 days," the BARC representative said, describing an intake-plus-72-hour policy.
Public commenters and an advocate pressed the court for clearer policy and funding. Resident Diana Vela Karun told the court Uvalde County has only 18 kennels and argued the volume of stray animals makes no-kill policies unrealistic: "If we're ever gonna get out of this problem, you're gonna have to euthanize animals," she said, urging the court to be "more serious" about how tax dollars are used.
County-assigned animal-control employee Heather explained her position was arranged as an in-kind county employee embedded with BARC and said the committee designed the intake and holding rules "so we are not telling the county what they can and cannot euthanize" and that the county would still hold animals for the required 72 hours before BARC assumed responsibility.
The BARC representative also raised a potential conflict of interest around Heather collecting reclaim fees as a county employee who works at BARC and recommended that the MOU include a waiver acknowledging the arrangement and the county's authority over fee-setting.
The court did not take action on the item that day; presenters said they were providing recommendations for the court to consider at a future meeting when the MOU and internal county procedures would be formally considered.
