After Spokane asks to help choose new SCRAPS chief, citing ethical concerns, county says no

Spokane County has rejected the city of Spokane’s request to help choose the new head of the regional animal control and shelter service, reiterating that the city is a client, not an equal partner – and in the county’s opinion, the city soon won’t even be a client.

Citing ethical concerns with euthanasia policies that plagued the tenure of the recently resigned executive director, Jesse Ferrari, the Spokane City Council recently requested to play a role in the selection of Ferrari’s successor.

County CEO Scott Simmons declined Friday, stressing in an email he sent to the Spokane City Council that Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service employees are solely under the purview of the county. He also noted that the city had taken steps to create its own animal control service and thus had no need to interfere with the county-run agency.

Simmons’ email also pointed to a 2023 city law that prohibits euthanizing animals for the sole purpose of freeing up space, suggesting it conflicted with county code and the city’s agreement with the county as a client of SCRAPS.

Notably, county and SCRAPS officials have insisted that the organization has not euthanized an animal to free up space in the shelter.

“To be clear, SCRAPS does not euthanize animals due to capacity issues,” Ferrari said in an article drafted in 2023 by the county.

It’s not immediately clear what conflict there would be, then, between the 2023 ordinance and the organization’s purported practices. Simmons and county communications officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Spokane City Councilman Michael Cathcart, who has for years led efforts to reform SCRAPS’ euthanasia practices and the city’s recent request to be involved in selecting a new executive director, rejected Simmons’ response as incorrect and flippant.

“The idea that an ordinance prohibiting killing for space would in any way contradict the (city’s agreement with the county) doesn’t make any sense,” said Cathcart, who helped reform the city’s contract with the county to provide animal control services within city boundaries in 2020 specifically to restrict when animals could be euthanized.

That agreement expressly allows the city to enact ordinances controlling how animals found within its borders are managed.

Cathcart also has led efforts to consider possibly ending the contract with SCRAPS and explore possible alternatives, including launching the city’s own service – but only as a last resort, he said in an interview. Cathcart had wanted the city to help choose SCRAPS’ new leader because he wants reform so the partnership can continue.

“Let us be at the table and find a way to re-engage and get back on the same worksheet,” Cathcart said. “It was disappointing to see this immediate response.”

He would rather see Spokane and other jurisdictions paying more to SCRAPS to increase capacity and improve conditions, he added.

The alternative likely would be more expensive, both through the upfront capital costs of launching a new animal control service and shelter as well as the costs to operate it going forward, Cathcart said.

City spokeswoman Erin Hut said the city administration had not had any conversations with the county about terminating its agreement with SCRAPS.

After years of discussions and debates, the Spokane City Council voted in 2013 to contract with SCRAPS to provide animal control for the city. Previously, the city contracted with the nonprofit SpokAnimal to handle animal control.

Advocates of the expanded county system said at the time that broadening SCRAPS to include the city would be more efficient and would make it easier for pet owners to find lost pets.

The current contract will expire at the end of the year. Since 2020, the city has paid the county upwards of $670,000 annually.