VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Halifax Humane Society is terminating its agreement with Volusia County and its municipalities, which means it will no longer take in stray or potentially dangerous animals from the region.
For close to 40 years, animal control units from both the city and county have been bringing stray animals, dogs involved in biting incidents, and animals waiting for dangerous dog assessments or rabies monitoring to this facility.
As of October 1, Halifax Humane will cease accepting animals displaying dangerous behaviors. They have stated they will continue to occasionally help with stray animals until 2027, allowing the county to develop its own animal shelter.
“Out of Florida’s 67 counties, only nine do not operate their own government-funded animal shelters,” said Sean Hawkins, CEO of Halifax Humane.
Volusia is the largest of those nine counties.
Hawkins said 62% of animals coming into Halifax Humane are strays, many with behavioral or medical issues.
“We spend between seven to eight hundred dollars on each dog and cat for adoption preparation, yet the city and county contracts barely cover a small portion of these expenses,” Hawkins remarked.
Hawkins said his team started discussions with the county about ending the contract in late Spring.
Halifax Humane said stopping those services will allow the nonprofit to focus more on helping residents with their pets.
Hawkins further explained, “We will shift our focus to offering services such as public dog training sessions and providing access to veterinary care, ensuring affordable or free veterinary services.”
The shelter’s medical team said these services are vital to keeping animals off the street.
“A lot of people are struggling to afford those costs and have an animal and food and everything like that,” said Allison Bliss, Director of Medicine at Halifax Humane.
Volusia County said it has identified a location in DeLand to lease for animal intake, costing no more than about $90,000 a year.
A county spokesperson sent News 6 the following statement:
“Volusia County has maintained a partnership with Halifax Humane Society for more than six decades. Their decision to abruptly abandon sheltering services was communicated with little lead time, creating planning constraints that necessitated a rapid response on behalf of the County.
Fortunately, the County is in the final process of securing a nearly 4,000-square-foot facility on East International Speedway Boulevard in DeLand to serve as its intake shelter. From unincorporated areas, the new facility will provide housing for dangerous dogs, bite-quarantine cases, rabies exposures, animal cruelty investigations, and stray animals.
Despite the challenges created by the Halifax Humane Society’s choice to vacate its role in our community, Volusia County remains steadfast in its commitment and will continue to move forward in prioritizing public safety and animal welfare.”
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