Cumberland Co. SPCA Animal Shelter Plans to Close At Year’s End

The Cumberland County SPCA animal impound/shelter plans to close at the end of 2017, citing a "perfect storm" of issues they say have left them without funding to continue.

TheDailyJournal.Com reports that Bev Greco, the agency’s executive director said letters are going out to 19 municipalities in Cumberland and Salem counties that have animal services contracts with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with notifications that the contracts, expiring Dec. 31, will not be renewed.

The SPCA does plan to continue their law enforcement animal cruelty duties.

Greco points to New Jersey Superior Court rulings that found  SPCAs are public agencies, despite their nonprofit status. This entails additional responsibilities and liabilities of being a "public agency", but they can’t request funding for that because they are still “nonprofit," she said.

Although Greco believes the ruling to be incorrect and unfair, the Cumberland Co. SPCA does not have the money to challenge the ruling or continue doing business under its terms.

When the shelter closes Dec. 31, the SPCA will continue to care for the animals in their custody until they are placed. They will not take in any more animals, including those from the public.

The shelter, which has served the area for more than 70 years, takes in about 4,500 to 5,200 animals each year.

Cumberland County officials say they are looking into the situation. Cumberland County Freeholder Director Joe Derella told the Daily Journal,

“We’ve got to have some communications with the SPCA board of directors to see what the potential avenues could be,” he said. “I don’t know legally where we can go from a nonprofit standpoint.”

Source: The Daily Journal