Nonprofit advocates push affordable vet care, food pantries, stronger enforcement
Local animal welfare organizations are appealing to Mayor Zohran Mamdani to prioritize pets in city policy, arguing that rising veterinary costs and pet food prices have created an affordability crisis affecting low-income New Yorkers. Flatbush Cats and Voters for Animal Rights released detailed policy recommendations last month, calling for stricter enforcement of existing animal rights laws, funding for low-cost veterinary clinics in every borough, and a pilot program creating pet food pantries citywide. Will Zweigart, founder of Flatbush Cats, expressed optimism about the new administration’s willingness to engage. “The first thing he did after being sworn in was go to a rent-controlled apartment building in Flatbush to talk to the residents about unaddressed issues,” Zweigart said of Mamdani. “This is someone who wants to hear about unaddressed issues and wants to put the full force of the city into addressing them.”
The Pet Affordability Crisis
New York City pet owners face escalating costs for veterinary care and pet food that have outpaced inflation significantly. Veterinary services have become prohibitively expensive for many households. Pet food prices jumped twenty percent since 2022 alone, according to CBS reporting. For renters living in rent-controlled or stabilized apartments with limited incomes, providing adequate care for pets has become genuinely difficult. Many owners must choose between pet care and other necessities. Others surrender animals to shelters or, in desperation, abandon them on streets. The problem manifests clearly in shelter statistics. Animal Care Centers of NYC received over sixteen thousand animals in 2025, including nearly ten thousand strays and six thousand five hundred thirty-four owner surrenders. Five years earlier, the intake had been just over seven thousand strays and five thousand seven hundred forty surrenders. The increase in both stray intake and owner surrenders suggests growing inability to afford pet ownership.
The Cost Burden on Households
Pet ownership among low-income New Yorkers carries real economic hardship. Food costs, veterinary emergencies, preventative care, and medications become unaffordable. “When we talk to human food pantries, they tell us the number one thing they get asked about from the clientele is, ‘Are you going to have pet food? When are you going to have pet food?'” said Allie Taylor, founder of Voters for Animal Rights. This demand demonstrates that pets are not luxuries for many New Yorkers but integral family members whose care is prioritized even during financial hardship.
Enforcement of Existing Animal Laws
The animal welfare groups prioritize stricter enforcement of laws already on the books over new legislation. They identify the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare as needing structural strengthening. As of fall 2024, the office had only one full-time staff member apart from its director. Multiple city agencies – the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYPD, and others – handle animal-related regulations, but coordination has been weak.
Backyard Breeding Enforcement
Flatbush Cats specifically cited failures to enforce laws against backyard breeding and puppy mills. New York City banned “backyard breeding” in 2024, yet animal advocates report receiving regular complaints about residents breeding and selling animals from apartments. When residents report suspected illegal breeding to the city’s 311 system, responses typically arrive within one day declaring the case “unfounded, case closed” – a timeframe making serious investigation impossible. “It’s impossible to have investigated those cases in a day,” noted Allie Taylor. This pattern suggests either systematic under-enforcement or categorical dismissal of complaints.
Spay and Neuter Enforcement
The DOHMH handles funding for affordable spay and neuter surgeries and licenses for animal breeding and sterilization. In 2024, the department revealed it had issued zero spay and neuter violations all year despite widespread non-compliance. Zweigart called this “a clear dereliction of duty.” Proper enforcement would require investigating breeding operations, issuing citations for violations, and following up on repeat offenders. The zero-violation record suggests either the city assumes complete compliance or simply is not prioritizing enforcement.
Funding Affordable Veterinary Care
Beyond enforcement, animal welfare advocates emphasize city funding for low-cost veterinary services and supplies. Veterinary care costs have skyrocketed over the past decade far beyond general inflation. Spay and neuter surgeries, which prevent animal reproduction and various cancers, cost between two hundred and seven hundred dollars at private clinics – unaffordable for many pet owners.
The Flatbush Vet Pilot Program
The City Council allocated five hundred thousand dollars in 2025 for a low-cost spay and neuter pilot program at Flatbush Vet. This program aims to determine how the city can expand affordable services citywide. Zweigart envisions clinics like Flatbush Vet throughout all five boroughs. “We need clinics like Flatbush Vet across the city,” he said. “And nonprofits right now, the way the government is funding services, they’re not funding capital projects like this, and nonprofits don’t have millions of dollars to stand up their own clinics in the Bronx and Queens. We really are going to ask the city to completely rethink the level of investment they have.”
Pet Food Pantries as Affordable Housing Tool
The proposed pet food pantry initiative would be new for New York City but has received broad political support. Last year, thirty-five City Council members co-sponsored legislation establishing a twelve-month pet food pantry pilot. The bill was never voted on before the legislative session ended, but the co-sponsorship demonstrates constituency support. Pet food pantries would operate alongside existing human food pantries, with city funding enabling nonprofits to provide pet supplies to struggling owners.
Prevention as Cost Control
Animal advocates frame pet food pantries as practical prevention against shelter overcrowding. A month or two of food assistance during temporary hardship can prevent permanent surrender. “It is surrender prevention,” Zweigart explained. “It’s not just a feel-good thing, it’s probably the cheapest and most efficient way to keep shelter overcrowding from being a persistent issue.” This framing positions pet assistance as investment in municipal services efficiency rather than charitable expenditure.
Estimated Funding and Budget Context
Flatbush Cats and Voters for Animal Rights estimate their full proposal requires fifteen point three million dollars in city funding for fiscal year 2027. This amount would include spay and neuter program expansion, low-cost veterinary clinics, pet food pantries, and enforcement of existing laws. To contextualize this request, the city’s total budget last year totaled one hundred sixteen billion dollars. The animal welfare proposal represents approximately zero point zero one percent of total spending – genuinely small proportionally even while substantial in absolute numbers.
Next Steps and Administration Response
The animal welfare organizations have made contact with interested council members and expressed hope that Mamdani’s administration will prioritize their concerns. The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the specific proposals. However, Zweigart’s optimism about Mamdani’s willingness to engage with unaddressed issues suggests animal advocates believe they have a sympathetic audience in this administration. For animal welfare policy information, see Flatbush Cats Organization for advocacy. Learn about pet food assistance from Food Bank for New York City. Access shelter information at Animal Care Centers of NYC. Review animal protection laws at New York Attorney General.
