Kansas City Council looking to take over animal control as KC Pet Project sees record intake

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The need to put pets in homes in Kansas City is greater than ever, and now the city wants to be the ones making those decisions.

City council introduced an ordinance Thursday that would transfer animal control operations from the KC Pet Project to the city’s Neighborhood Services Department.

“It’s more important now than ever to show for the voiceless and that’s what we’re here for is these animals cannot speak for themselves,” said KC Pet Project interim CEO Steve Kaufman.

Currently, animal control services are the responsibility of nonprofit KC Pet Project. Over the past four years it has helped 15,000 pets with food, microchips, vaccines, and resources.

The cost of transition efforts is estimated to be $500,000, which covers hiring staff and buying equipment. Combined cost of all contractor and city-provided services would be $3.4 million during the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year.

According to the Kansas City Pet Project, transitioning services back to the city would not only increase cost but risk losing progress.

KC Pet Project reports city-run animal services would cost $596,000 more to operate annually. This comes at a time when the shelter is seeing its highest number of pets. It is overcapacity with 300 dogs.

“Whenever I see a population this large inside an animal shelter, it does cause a lot of stress and angst,” said Kaufman.

The shelter is currently waiving fees to get more people to adopt. They pose concerns about the city’s software plan which they say doesn’t integrate with their existing animal management system which will ultimately delay adoptions. The worst-case scenario is unnecessary euthanasia due to space constraints.

“We’re hoping that we can create a flow that allows for the animals coming in and going out to be on level with each other so that way we become the source for new pet acquisition for the people of Kansas City,” said Kaufman.

KCT5 asked the city for comment. They told us the ordinance will be heard before a committee on Tuesday where there will be opportunity for public comment.

Fee-waived adoptions at KC Pet Project are now through March 2. More information can be found on their website.

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