AMERICUS — The Sumter Humane Society is the recipient of a $5,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The grant funds entirely to the spay/neuter of the cats and dogs residing at the shelter.
Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black announced in August the issuance of $425,000 in grants to assist with spaying and neutering Georgia’s companion animals. Out of 133 applicants, 71 state licensed animal shelters and animal rescue organizations were awarded the grants.
“Local communities often have citizens who are burdened by the high costs of having their pets spayed or neutered,” Black said. “This grant program does a wonderful job in targeting these communities all across Georgia in an effort to aid them as they strive to keep strays off the street and control the animal population in a humane manner.”
This is the fourth set of grants to be issued through the Dog and Cat Sterilization Program which is funded by the purchase of the Dog and Cat Sterilization Auto Tag, income tax checkoff, and from direct contributions to the program. Since inception, the Dog and Cat Sterilization Program has been utilized to sexually alter over 100,000 companion animals. The future of the program is now much more optimistic thanks to the restoration of full funding during the 2018 Legislative Session. As it stands now, $19 from the $25 purchase of a new plate and $20 of the $25 renewal is appropriated toward the program.
Grants range from $2,500 to $140,000 each and were awarded based on the highest priority after considering factors such as targeting of important animal populations, ability to increase surgery numbers, cost-benefit ratio, record of grant applicant and sustainability.
For a complete list of the grant recipients or to make a tax exempt donation, please visit http://agr.georgia.gov/dog-cat-sterilization-program.aspx.