Target: Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, California
Goal: Enact an emergency plan to cut road deaths of animals, expand low-cost spay and neuter, and counter pet abandonment that is overwhelming shelters.
Dead animal removal requests have risen for years and now total more than 31,000 in a single year. Many of these bodies are family pets who were abandoned after the pandemic rush to adopt. Others are wild animals struck on city streets. Shelters are over capacity and staff describe a steady stream of emaciated cats and frightened dogs arriving from the road. This is not an isolated spike. It looks like a slow crisis.
A veterinary shortage and funding constraints have also limited the city’s ability to scale spay and neuter or fully resource community cat efforts. The result is predictable. More accidental litters. More stray animals. More collisions in neighborhoods that sit where the city meets the wild. Proven tools exist. Lower speeds at hotspots. Fencing that channels wildlife to crossings. Focused enforcement where crashes cluster. When wildlife crossings are paired with fencing, road deaths drop by more than 80 percent.
Los Angeles must move first and move fast. Expand voucher programs and mobile clinics. Stand up a public campaign against abandonment that stresses return-to-owner and temporary pet support. Deploy fencing and speed management at known corridors and publish monthly metrics so residents can see progress. This petition urges immediate adoption of an emergency package that pairs animal services with street-safety fixes and funding to match the scale of the harm. The city has the authority to act. The animals do not.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mayor Bass,
We are asking your office to treat the surge in animal road deaths and abandonment as an emergency. Through recent coverage Angelenos learned that tens of thousands of dead animals are being removed from city streets each year. Shelters remain over capacity as pets are abandoned and wild animals are struck in growing numbers. This is preventable suffering that calls for swift, coordinated action.
Please direct an immediate expansion of low-cost spay and neuter, community cat programming, and return-to-owner efforts. Launch a citywide campaign that warns residents that abandonment is a crime and offers temporary aid to keep pets with families. Pair these steps with traffic-safety measures at known wildlife and pet-collision hotspots. Evidence shows fencing that guides animals to crossings can sharply cut deaths when implemented with intent. 
We urge you to publish a 90-day plan with clear targets for surgeries funded, animals reunited, corridors fenced, and collisions reduced. Los Angeles can lead with humane policy and practical street design. Please act now so fewer animals die on our roads and fewer pets are left to fend for themselves.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: EEIM
