Animal Cruelty & Neglect Complaints in Seattle - Part 1: 2024 Seattle Animal Shelter Numbers

Animal cruelty complaints rose once again in 2024. A review of public disclosure documents show that the Seattle Animal Shelter received a total of 53, or 5.5 percent, more animal cruelty/neglect complaints than in 2023. 

Total animal cruelty & neglect complaints are at their highest level since 2020, five years after the pandemic. Will Seattle have adequate resources to address these complaints knowing that they will increase with the projected increase in Seattle’s human population? Does it even have adequate resources for the present?

PANDEMIC YEARS AS BASELINE

The COVID-19 pandemic was a devastating event for animal welfare and animal services across the United States. Not only did donations dry up, volunteers lose access to shelters, and essential workers burn out, but severe incidents of animal cruelty and neglect increased. News articles showed Seattle and King County were not immune; severe animal cruelty cases increased here as well.

While many animals were also adopted during this time (aka “clearing the shelter”), we are now seeing the impacts of economic conditions, housing instability, and return to work policies contributing to a general increase of complaints almost back to pandemic levels.

While this summary includes pre-COVID years, we are highlighting comparisons to 2020 and 2021.These years were supposed to be anomalies which makes current complaint trends all the more alarming. These numbers point to larger structural challenges in Seattle and the fact that animal issues are intrinsically tied to social and economic issues.

We want to acknowledge that these are complaints only, but complaints do warrant investigations and follow up. As these numbers increase, we again ask whether the City of Seattle has invested adequate resources to manage this increase in officer work.

OVERVIEW OF CRUELTY/NEGLECT COMPLAINTS

The following complaints show an increasing trend in 2024 and are at their highest levels since the pandemic.

• Abandonment (the 2024 number is actually 60 percent HIGHER than in 2020)

• Abuse

• Inadequate food/water/shelter

• Tethering

• Unsanitary Conditions

The following complaints have decreased since the pandemic:

• Animals in hot cars

• Failure to provide vet care

• Inappropriate confinement

COMPLAINT SNAPSHOTS

Increasing 2024 Complaints

• Abandonment complaints increased by almost 60 percent since 2020..

• Abuse complaints are lower in comparison to 2020 but increased by 60 percent since 2021.

• Inadequate food/water/shelter complaints were their highest level since 2020.

• Unsanitary conditions were at their highest level since 2020.

• Tethering complaints fluctuated, but their 2023 and 2024 numbers were higher than in 2020.

Decreasing 2024 Trends

• “Animals in Hot Cars” complaints have been on a steady decrease since before the pandemic. In response to our inquiry, the Seattle Animal Shelter stated that it did not understand why these numbers have fallen so much, but are hopeful that it is because of greater public awareness of the dangers of leaving an animal in a hot car.

• Failure to provide vet care complaints decreased by 63 percent from 2020 to 2024..

• Inappropriate confinement complaints have fluctuated since 2020 and are currently showing a 62 percent drop in 2024.

Animal Cruelty and the Seattle Municipal Code

Section 9.25.081 of the SMC outlines offenses relating to cruelty. Acts relating to cruelty are broad but sparingly described. There are eleven offenses outlined. The City last updated this section in 2012, over ten years ago.

SMC 9.25.081 - Offenses relating to cruelty

It is unlawful for any person to:

A. Injure, kill, or physically mistreat any animal under circumstances not amounting to first degree animal cruelty as defined in RCW 16.52.205, except as is expressly permitted by law;

B. Lay out to expose or leave exposed any kind of poison or poisoned food or drink where it is accessible to an animal, or place such poisoned materials in a stream or other body of water, endangering fish or shellfish; provided, that nothing shall prevent the reasonable use of rodent poison, insecticides, fungicides or slug bait for their intended purposes; and provided, further, that nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any governmental agency acting in the course of its governmental duties;

C. Set or bait any trap, except for rats or mice, unless a permit to do so has been issued as provided for in Section 9.25.030;

D. Confine, without adequate ventilation, any animal in any box, container or vehicle;

E. Tease, tantalize or provoke any animal with the intent to cause destructive behavior, fear or hostility;

F. Tether or confine any animal in such a manner or in such a place as to cause injury or pain not amounting to first degree animal cruelty defined in RCW 16.52.205, or to endanger an animal; or to keep an animal in quarters that are injurious to the animal due to inadequate protection from heat or cold, or that are of insufficient size to permit the animal to move about freely;

G. Keep an animal in an unsanitary condition or fail to provide sufficient food, water, shelter, or ventilation necessary for the good health of that animal;

H. Fail to provide his/her animal the medical care that is necessary for its health or to alleviate its pain;

I. Permit any animal to fight or injure any other animal, or permit any animal to be fought or injured by any other animal; or to train or keep for the purpose of training any animal for the exhibition of such animal in combat with any other animal, whether for amusement of him/herself or others, or for financial gain; or permit such conduct on premises under his/her control, or to be present as a spectator at such exhibition;

J. Possess cock spurs, slashers, gaffs, or other tools, equipment, devices or training facilities for the purpose of training and/or engaging an animal in combat with another animal;

K. Abandon any animal. 

Note: SMC 9.25.020 defines “abandon" as meaning the act of leaving an animal:

1. Without food, water, or care for 24 hours or more; or

2. In a situation where the conditions present an immediate, direct, and serious threat to the life, safety, or health of the animal.

The City of Seattle last revised this section in 2010.

Sources: 

• City of Seattle Public Disclosure Requests for Complaints Data 2018-2024

• https://www.king5.com/article/news/severe-animal-cruelty-cases-more-than-double-in-2020-seattle-animal-shelter-says/281-8db9f2d1-ccc6-4474-b905-23a1b257cfa1

• https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/animal-cruelty-cases-spike-in-king-county-prosecutors-and-animal-service-organizations-consider-pandemics-role/

• https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT9AN