- December 15, 2025
The Flagler Humane Society declined Palm Coast’s offer of $50,000 for collecting strays.
The Flagler Humane Society will no longer accept stray animals directly from Palm Coast residents, according to a change in policy publicized last week. The Humane Society’s new policy will take effect June 1 and will require that all strays be delivered by Palm Coast Animal Control.
The change comes on the heels of the Humane Society asking the Palm Coast City Council to pay for strays that have been dropped off to the shelter by Palm Coast residents. According to data provided by the Humane Society, the shelter has accepted 529 animals in the past six months directly from residents.
City Manager Jim Landon said the city offered to pay $50,000 to cover the Humane Society’s costs in handling the strays for the year, which is double what the city paid the shelter last fiscal year.
The Humane Society declined the deal.
Flagler Humane Society Director Jef Hale said the change in policy was a business decision.
“The $50,000 (the city offered) would not cover our costs,” Hale said. “We would be operating at a loss to provide the service, and that’s not smart business.”
In Landon’s opinion, the $50,000 should cover the Humane Society’s costs.
“We’re not asking to make a huge amount of money ... we just have got to be able to pay our bills,” Hale said.
The city wants to pay the Humane Society a fee for yearly services; the Humane Society wants to be paid a fee per animal.
Right now, the city pays the Humane Society $45 per animal, but Hale said the cost associated with each animal is in the range of $72.
But Landon said there’s no way to know a definitive number of strays because some are dropped off anonymously.
To implement the new policy, the Humane Society recently removed the outdoor cages where residents used to be able to drop off stray animals, according to Landon.
To review: Residents should contact the city if they need to address a stray animal. Palm Coast Animal Control will function as usual.
“First and foremost, this does not change anything for the city’s operations,” Landon said.
Landon indicated the city would do what it thought was best financially.
“The city does have other options,” Landon said, adding that the strays could be taken to other shelters if the Flagler Humane Society proved to be too costly.
