[Press Conference: "Houston Petset Billboard Campaign"]
[00:00:19]
UH, WELL, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.I'D, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OF OUR GUESTS AND, UM, THE MEDIA FOR BEING HERE TODAY, UM, FOR THE, THIS, UM, IMPORTANT LAUNCH OF THE ANIMAL WELL WELFARE AWARENESS BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN.
UM, I'D LIKE TO BE JUST BEGIN BY, BY THANKING PETSET AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON THROUGH BARK, UM, CLAIRE CHANNEL OUTDOOR, YOU KNOW, FOR COMING TOGETHER FOR THIS AND TO RECOGNIZE SOME IMPORTANT PEOPLE THAT ARE ALSO IN THE ROOM THAT HAVE BEEN LONGTIME SUPPORTERS.
UM, RIGHT AT THE TOP, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE MY COUNCIL MEMBER, COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE BEEN HUGE, UM, UM, ADVOCATES, YOU KNOW, FOR ANIMAL WELFARE.
WE HAVE COME COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS, AND COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, WHO ARE STANDING STRONGLY BEHIND ME, UM, HERE THIS MORNING.
UM, ALSO WE HAVE, UM, STRONG LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, CARRYING THIS WORK FOR A LONG TIME AS WELL.
UM, GLORIA WITH BARRIO DOGS IS HERE JOINING US AS IS, UM, ANGELITA SAMPA FROM EMANCIPET.
UM, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE STATE OF ANIMAL WELFARE IN ANY CITY REFLECTS THE STATE OF THAT CITY AND ITS PRIORITIES.
WHEN ANIMALS ARE SUFFERING, PEOPLE ARE IMPACTED AS WELL.
WE KNOW THAT HOUSTON IS IN THE MIDST OF AN ANIMAL WELFARE CRISIS.
THE CITY SHELTER AND SUPPORTING NONPROFITS ARE AT CAPACITY FOR HOUSING STRAY AND SURRENDERED PETS.
AS A DIRECT RESULT, ANIMALS ARE LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES ON THE STREETS LEADING TO UNCONTROLLED REPRODUCTION AND EXPLODING POPULATIONS.
ANIMALS ARE BORN, LIVE, SUFFER, AND DIE ON OUR STREETS.
THIS DIMINISHES THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EVERY HOUSTONIAN, CREATES HAZARDS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, LEADS TO INCREASED EXPENDITURES OF TAX DOLLARS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, AND STRAINS THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WHILE HOUSTON HAS DONE MUCH TO ADDRESS ANIMAL, WE THE WELFARE CRISIS, WE CAN DO MORE.
HOUSTON SPENDS LESS PER CAPITA ON ANIMAL CONTROL THAN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY, WHICH RESULTS IN UNDERFUNDED CITY SERVICES MAKING THE PROBLEM WORSE WITH EACH PASSING YEAR, RESIDENTS CONSISTENTLY REPORT STRAY ANIMALS AS A TOP SAFETY AND SANITATION CONCERN WHEN THEY'RE POLLED.
AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE CITY ARE AFFECTED.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND PETSET AGREE THAT PROVIDING ACCESSIBLE SPA AND NEUTER SERVICES TO CITY RESIDENTS IS THE BEST WAY TO PROVIDE TANGIBLE RESULTS THAT CAN ADDRESS THIS CRISIS, THIS POWERFUL BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN.
AND, UM, I DON'T THINK I'M MENTIONED, BUT I WANTED TO JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU TO CLEAR CHANNEL HOT TOUR, YOU KNOW, IS IS OUR PARTNER.
VERY, VERY STRONG PARTNER, LONG HISTORY OF, OF SUPPORT IN THIS AREA TOO.
UM, THIS POWERFUL BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN ACROSS THE REGION WILL CREATE 20.2 MILLION MARKET IMPRESSIONS IN THE MARKET OVER A FOUR WEEK PERIOD, RAISING AWARENESS OF THE CHALLENGES AND, AND SOLUTIONS AND ENCOURAGING HOUSTONIANS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE ANIMALS.
SO AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UM, THE CO-PRESIDENTS OF PETSET, TAMA LUNDQUIST, AND TINA LUNDQUIST FAUS.
TAMA WILL HAVE TO CARRY THE, UM, THE HOUSTON PETS THAT FLAGGED TODAY.
UH, TINA HAD TO STEP AWAY, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY WHO SHOWED UP FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AND THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
LEE, WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO YOU.
WE THANK OUR CITY FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE ANIMAL WELFARE CRISIS ON THE FRONT LINES, THE MEMBERS OF THE ANIMAL WELFARE COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY, INCLUDING HOUSTON PETS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD TO PUT AN END TO THE CRISIS AND THE SUFFERING.
IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE AND SINCERE GRATITUDE THAT WE JOIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS CISNEROS, TO LAUNCH THIS DYNAMIC BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE EFFORTS NEEDED TO END THIS CRISIS.
THE STATE OF OUR CITY IS REFLECTED IN HOW WE RESPOND TO ONGOING CHALLENGES SUCH AS ANIMAL WELFARE.
HOUSTON PETSET HAS BEEN FIGHTING ON BEHALF OF THE ANIMALS OF HOUSTON FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, AND OUR RESCUE PARTNERS FOR AT LEAST THAT LONG.
WE ARE ENCOURAGED, THAT TOGETHER WE CAN AND WILL OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE.
WE ENCOUR WE'RE ENCOURAGED BECAUSE EVERY WAY YOU LOOK AT IT, FROM THE THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS WE'VE TRANSPORTED FROM LOCAL HOUSTON
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SHELTERS TO THE THOUSANDS OF OWNED PETS, WE'VE SPAYED AND NEUTERED FOR FREE.WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS TOGETHER.
WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT THROUGH THIS CAMPAIGN SO MANY MORE HOUSTONIANS WILL LEARN THAT THEY CAN BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
HOUSTON IS THE MYTH OF A STRAY ANIMAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.
NATIONWIDE SHELTERS HAVE SEEN A DROP IN ADOPTION RATES AND RESCUE AND FOSTER OUTCOMES BARK.
AND OUR FOSTER AND RESCUE PARTNERS FIND OURSELVES CONSISTENTLY EXCEEDING OUR CAPACITY.
THE DROP IN ADOPTION RATES HAS RESULTED IN ANIMALS STAYING IN SHELTERS AND WITH RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS FOR LONGER LENGTHS OF TIME, WITH A CONSTANT INFLUX OF NEW ARRIVALS TO THE SHELTER.
UH, AND WITH RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS AT CAPACITY, DIFFICULT DECISIONS MUST BE MADE CONCERNING OUTCOMES FOR THOSE ANIMALS.
THAT IS WHY WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR PARTNERS HERE AT CLEAR CHANNEL, OUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND MAYOR AND HOUSTON PET SET FOR PARTNERING WITH THE CITY TO PROMOTE EFFORTS THAT TARGET THE SOURCE OF THE STRAY ANIMAL CRISIS.
THE CITY TAKES AIM AT THE SOURCE OF THE STRAY ANIMAL POPULATION BY FUNDING COMMUNITY SPAY NEUTER PROGRAMS THAT INCLUDES BARKS, HEALTHY PETS, HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE, WHICH EXPENDS $520,000 ANNUALLY TO SUPPORT THE SPAY NEUTER OF APPROXIMATELY 3,500 ANIMALS PER YEAR.
THESE SURGERIES ARE FREE OF COST TO HOUSTONIANS AND ARE PERFORMED THROUGH LOCAL SPAY NEUTER CLINICS.
AND STARTING IN 2022, THE CITY SUPPLEMENTED ITS ANNUAL SPAY NEUTER FUNDING BY 500,000 TO ALLOW BARK TO PARTNER WITH ADDITIONAL LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS HOUSTON PETSET, UH, WHO IS OUR HIGHEST PERFORMING VENDOR WHEN IT COMES TO SPAY NEUTER SURGERIES, UH, INCLUDING OTHER PARTNERS SUCH AS THE CANINE ANGELS EMPTY SHELTERS PROJECT, AND HOUSTON SPAY NEUTER CLINIC.
AND THESE GROUPS PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH MORE ACCESS TO SPAY NEUTER PROGRAMS. AND EACH YEAR, THE CITY OF HOUSTON ALSO SPENDS MORE THAN $488,000 ON AVERAGE, TRANSPORTING MORE THAN 5,000 ANIMALS TO COLORADO AND OTHER STATES TO GIVE SHELTER PETS THE CHANCE TO BE PLACED IN FOREVER HOMES.
NOW, IN ADDITION, MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER RECENTLY COMMITTED AN ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING TO BARK FOR SPAY NEUTER SERVICES OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
THROUGH THIS TARGETED FUNDING, AN ADDITIONAL 6,600 ANIMALS CAN BE SPAYED OR NEUTERED.
AS THE CITY CONTINUES ITS LONG-TERM STRATEGY TARGETING PET HOMELESSNESS AND THE THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY THAT A STRAY ANIMAL POPULATION MAY POSE BARK WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND THESE SPAY NEUTER PROGRAMS AS THEIR PARTNERS ARE ABLE TO ADD CAPACITY.
BARK IS ALSO COMMITTED TO PROTECTING HOUSTONIANS FOR POTENTIALLY AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS ANIMALS IN THE COMMUNITY, AS EVIDENCED BY THE 48% HIGHER INTAKE OF STRAYS AND ANIMALS COLLECTED BY OUR ANIMAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DURING CALLS FOR SERVICE.
THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR, OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM SAW AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 7,000 CALLS FOR SERVICE FROM THE COMMUNITY LAST FISCAL YEAR AS WELL.
BY CONTINUING TO TARGET THE SOURCE OF THE STRAIGHT ANIMAL PROBLEM, WE CAN ALLEVIATE THE BURDEN THAT FALLS ON OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM AND FURTHER IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO CHIP AWAY AT EACH ISSUE AND SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE CITY'S STRAIGHT ANIMAL CRISIS.
EVERY DAY, WE INVITE THE PUBLIC TO ASSIST US IN GROWING THE LOCAL FOSTER AND RESCUE NETWORK AND ENCOURAGING POTENTIAL ADOPTERS TO LOOK FIRST AT SHELTER PETS.
AND WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE THIS CAMPAIGN SPREAD THAT MESSAGE AS WELL.
WE ARE AGAIN, GRATEFUL TO OUR PARTNERS HERE TODAY WHO THROUGH THIS CAMPAIGN, WILL HELP SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF PET ADOPTION FROM A SELTZER SUCH AS BARK.
I'M LEE VELA WITH CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR, AND I WANT TO, ON BEHALF OF CLEAR CHANNEL, I WANT TO SAY HOW PROUD WE ARE TO BE A PART OF THIS EFFORT, WHICH WE HAVE BEEN, UH, PARTS OF, UH, FOR A LONG TIME NOW, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS WITH BARRIO DOGS, UH, AND NUMEROUS OTHER, UM, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, CISNEROS AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALCORN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR DEDICATION IN BRINGING THIS, UM, ISSUE TO THE FOREFRONT FOR OUR CITY.
UM, THIS IS PART OF OUR PUBLIC BENEFIT OF WHAT WE DO IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE OPERATE IN.
UH, WE GET BEHIND A LOT OF DIFFERENT OR, UM, EFFORTS AND, AND ISSUES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE AREA, BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ONE THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, AS IMPORTANT AS THIS ONE BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT NOT ONLY THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF OUR ANIMALS, UH, AND OUR PETS, BUT ALSO OUR CITIZENS AS WELL.
SO WE ARE VERY, VERY COMMITTED IN, IN DOING THIS.
THESE, WHAT YOU SEE AROUND ME TODAY ARE, UH, 10 DIFFERENT
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DESIGNS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UP IN THE, UH, HOUSTON AREA.UH, AND THEY ARE THE SMALLER SIZE AND THE LARGER SIZE, UH, DE DEDICATED TO SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, UH, COVERAGE.
UM, THEY WERE ALSO IN OUR DIGITAL BILLBOARDS THAT ARE THROUGHOUT HARRIS COUNTY AND THE AREA.
UM, AND ALL, ALL, UH, 10, UM, UM, MESSAGES ARE ROTATING THROUGH OUR DIGITAL DIGITAL BILLBOARDS.
SO EVERYONE'S GONNA SEE THESE SIGNS, AS THE COUNCIL MEMBER SAID, 20.2 MILLION MARKET IMPRESSIONS IN THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS ALONE, UH, WILL BE CREATED FROM THIS PARTICULAR CAMPAIGN.
BUT THIS CAMPAIGN DOESN'T STOP AT FOUR WEEKS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE MESSAGES IN THE, IN THE, UH, COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THIS, THE REST OF THIS YEAR, UH, AND BEYOND IF YOU'D LIKE TO DO THAT.
SO WE'RE VERY COMMITTED TO, TO HELPING THIS ISSUE.
AND WE CERTAINLY HOPE IT, IT BRINGS THE, UM, THE AWARENESS OF WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO ON THEIR OWN TO NOT ONLY FOR THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF, OF OUR ANIMALS, BUT FOR OUR, FOR OURSELVES AS WELL.
SO, VERY COMMITTED TO, TO THIS ISSUE.
AND THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS FOR, UH, UH, HOSTING US HERE TODAY.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN FOR BEING HERE.
AND THANK YOU TO HOUSTON PETSET BECAUSE WITHOUT THIS GROUP, THIS ORGANIZATION, UH, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY.
AND WE'RE CERTAINLY PROUD TO BE A PARTNER WITH YOU AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO MANY, MANY MORE CAMPAIGNS.
SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR, OUR, UM, COMMENTS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES IF YOU WANNA INTERVIEW ANYONE, UM, ON THE STAGE, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
ARE, OH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?
SO, SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS LAUNCH AND, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL THESE BILLBOARDS UP ALL OVER OUR REGION.