Long Beach Parts Ways With SPCALA

On Feb. 24, the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBCAS) announced that it will no longer be partnering with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCALA), an animal welfare nonprofit that has worked out of the city’s animal shelter for decades, due to reports of long-running contract violations coming from the nonprofit.

According to Long Beach city officials, the decision to terminate the partnership with SPCALA was due to the nonprofit violating the several terms of a long-term agreement with the city.

“While we appreciate aspects of our longstanding partnership with spcaLA, the time has come to embark on a new journey to better serve our animals and communities,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “This transition will allow us to provide a higher level of care and quality of life for the animals who come into our space as well as enhance the critical animal care services we provide for Long Beach and other adjacent cities.”

According to the city of Long Beach, SPCALA was in violation for taking control of more than 50% of the shared campus, forcing the city to incrementally decrease its operating footprint, causing strains on LBACS and negatively impacted operations by keeping the shelter at-or-over capacity and affecting the health and wellbeing of shelter animals.

Another of the concerns the city made mention was that SPCALA was reportedly in violation of Long Beach Municipal Code Section 6.16.190(J)(3) requiring the reporting of animal adoptions, transfers or sales, with the last report submitted to the city occurring on or before April 1, 2020. According to the city’s official statement, animal adoption reports are an accountability measure required by the city to ensure proper reporting and transparency of operations within city limits, and the SPCALA has neglected to submit these reports for nearly five years.

The third violation the city made mention of was the SPCALA, over the years, drastically decreasing their intake of LBACS animals to be adopted out. For example, in 2011, the nonprofit took 2,856 adoptable animals and in 2024 they took only 76, an over 97% decrease – this decrease has forced LBACS to increase its animal adoption efforts to mitigate shelter overcrowding and other animal welfare circumstances while also continuing to conduct critical animal control and care services. Per the contract, animal adoptions were SPACALA’s primary responsibility.

In light of these violations, among others, the SPACALA officially has 30 days to vacate the shelter campus adjacent to El Dorado Regional Park – a facility it has shared with the city-run Long Beach Animal Care Services since 2001, city officials said. 

According to City Manager Tom Modica, if SPCALA doesn’t vacate by March 26, Long Beach is “prepared to initiate legal action.”

“We did not make this decision lightly. This comes after years of diligently trying to work with SPACALA to agree on a collaborative arrangement and to implement higher quality care for our animals so that we can move forward with a positive partnership for the sake of the animals and communities we serve,” said Modica. “We are committed to providing the best possible care for animals, and after careful review, we determined we must step away from this partnership. We express our appreciation to SPCALA for their partnership and wish them well in their future endeavors.”

In a statement released after the city’s announcement, the SPCALA said the decision “came as a complete surprise.” According to SPCALA’s President Madeline Bernstein, the eviction notice seemed to be in retaliation for the nonprofit raising concerns about animal care at the shelter under its previous city manager, Staycee Dains, who left her job for a position in the city of Los Angeles before resigning from her new job last year.

“Citing petty and already-resolved issues, the City is now attempting to terminate an agreement set to expire in 2053,” Bernstein said. “The city’s actions are retaliatory, frivolous, and in the worst interest of the animals and people of our community.”

Once the SPCALA has vacated the premises, LBACS will assess the conditions of the vacant space and address any necessary maintenance and facility needs, so that it can expand operations to the rest of the campus.

For more information about the LBACS, including its many services, programs and events, you can visit their website page at https://longbeach.gov/acs.