Philadelphia’s Animal Care and Control shelter is located a few miles northeast of center city, at 111 W. Hunting Park Avenue, just off of Route 1, Roosevelt Boulevard. It is the only animal shelter in the region, public or private, that accepts – and by law must accept – all stray, unwanted and “at large” animals in Philadelphia County, including those surrendered by their former owners. As the only “open admission/open door” shelter in the region, no animal can be turned away! Every year more than 30,000 animals are received into the shelter – in 2009, that number was more than 34,000!
Under the Philadelphia Code (the law that mandates what the City is required to do with – and for – its “at large” homeless and surrendered animals), the animal control services are the responsibility of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, through its Division of Animal Control. As with many types of city services, however, for many years the City itself has not actually operated or “run” its shelter, but rather, has contracted with private agencies to do this. The organization currently under contract and managing the shelter’s operations, since January 1, 2009, is the Pennsylvania SPCA.The term “shelter” itself may even be more than a little misleading, because historically, most of the animals that have come in to the facility have not gotten out alive. The Hunting Park Avenue facility, originally constructed as a warehouse, combined with the endless tide thousands of stray, unwanted and “owner-surrendered” animals turned into the shelter each week, and a general public almost shockingly unaware of the shelter’s very existence, are a perfect storm for what is in essence a holocaust taking place here in our own backyards. With historic euthenasia rates for dogs hovering near 50%, and for cats, sometimes as high as 80%, our city shelter is a shelter in name only for far too many, whose names and memories stay with many of us long after their brief times have ended. Those that don’t get out in time are euthenized to make space for the new animals coming in each day and night without end. That’s why the actions of good people like you, your friends, neighbors, coworkers and family members, are so important.
The ACCT shelter is located at:
111 W. Hunting Park Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19140
Click on marker below for directions:
