Overcrowded shelters and rising vet costs push groups to call for city-funded clinics in every borough
NYC’s Pet Affordability Crisis Is Getting Worse — and Advocates Want Mamdani to Act
New York City’s animal shelters are overflowing, vet costs are soaring, and the office responsible for coordinating the city’s animal welfare policy has been empty since the start of the year. Against that backdrop, two nonprofit organizations are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to extend his affordability agenda to the city’s four-legged residents — arguing that investing in low-cost veterinary care would save money, reduce animal suffering, and keep more pets in the homes where they belong.
The push comes from Voters for Animal Rights and Flatbush Cats, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that also operates a low-cost veterinary clinic. Together they released a policy platform last month laying out a vision for how the city could address the crisis through targeted investment rather than continued reliance on an overwhelmed shelter system.
The Data Behind the Crisis
Animal Care Centers of NYC, the city’s municipal shelter system, took in more than 16,000 animals in 2025 — nearly 10,000 strays and more than 6,500 owner surrenders. Five years earlier, stray intakes had been roughly 7,000. That surge reflects a city where pet ownership rates rose during the COVID pandemic but where the cost of keeping a pet has become prohibitive for many working-class households. One in three dog surrenders was attributed directly to housing insecurity, according to ACC data. Most cat surrenders were tied to housing or personal health challenges.
The city currently spends far less per resident on pet care than comparable American cities, according to advocates. Most of what it does spend flows to shelters — a reactive approach that animal welfare experts say treats the symptom rather than the cause. Flatbush Cats Executive Director Will Zweigart argues that accessible, affordable vet care would reduce surrenders, reduce strays, and reduce the pressure on an already-strained shelter system. “A shelter is always going to be a bottomless pit,” he said.
What Advocates Are Asking For
The policy platform has three core asks. First, the groups want the city to fund spay and neuter surgeries and to support low-cost vet clinics in every borough. The City Council allocated $500,000 last year for a pilot spay and neuter program at Flatbush Vet — but advocates say that needs to scale dramatically. Second, they want the city to fund pop-up pet food pantries in neighborhoods where food insecurity affects both humans and animals. Third, and perhaps most immediately, they want the Mamdani administration to appoint a new director of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, which has been leaderless and effectively empty since January 2026.
That office, created to coordinate animal welfare policy across multiple city agencies including the NYPD and the Department of Health, has a budget of just $100,000 — enough to pay its sole director. Without leadership, advocates say, there is no mechanism for enforcement of existing laws or coordination of new initiatives.
Mamdani’s Affordability Agenda: Will It Extend to Pets?
The appeal to Mamdani is deliberate. The mayor has centered his administration on lowering costs for New Yorkers across every dimension of daily life — housing, transit, childcare, food. Advocates argue that pet ownership is part of that equation and that the costs of the current system, both financial and in terms of animal welfare outcomes, are larger than they appear.
Allie Taylor, founder of Voters for Animal Rights, has a track record of successfully pushing animal welfare legislation through the City Council, including a successful campaign to ban the sale of guinea pigs at pet stores. She says the moment is right for a bigger policy shift. “Put leaders in place to understand they have a job to do, and have them enforce the laws we already have,” Taylor said.
Models From Other Cities
Other major American cities provide useful models. Several have invested in municipal spay and neuter programs that significantly reduced stray populations and shelter intakes within a few years of implementation. The ASPCA’s community medicine program has documented outcomes in cities that invested in preventive veterinary care, showing measurable reductions in shelter crowding and euthanasia rates.
The Humane Society of the United States has published guidance for local governments on animal welfare investment, noting that low-cost vet care programs tend to pay for themselves through reduced shelter costs within a few years. That economic argument may resonate with a Mamdani administration under significant budget pressure.
For now, the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare sits empty. The administration has not responded publicly to the advocates’ platform. As the shelter intake numbers continue to rise and the city’s remaining vet clinics struggle with demand, the question of whether Mamdani’s affordability vision extends to animals — and the New Yorkers who love them — is waiting for an answer.
New Yorkers seeking low-cost veterinary resources in the meantime can consult the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals, which maintains a directory of low-cost providers across the five boroughs.
