Department’s Spay and Neuter Grants Program Announces FY25 Grant Recipients

ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 10, 2024) – The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Spay and Neuter Grants Program has announced the 36 grant recipients that will receive funding for projects that efficiently and effectively facilitate, promote, and increase spay and neuter services for cats and dogs in Maryland.  Grants are selected by a seven-member advisory board, appointed by the Maryland Secretary of Agriculture, that reviews all grant applications and provides funding recommendations to the Secretary.

These projects will receive a total of $959,216.00 in funding to complete 14,379 spay and neuter surgeries for pets of low-income Marylanders, and free-roaming unowned cats. Some projects began on October 1, 2024, while others will begin January 1, 2025, and will conclude when grant funding is exhausted, or April 1, 2026. Recipients include government animal shelters and 501(c)3 nonprofit animal welfare organizations. A full list of grant awardees can be found on the Spay and Neuter Grants Program website, where you can also find lists of all active owned pet projects and feral cat projects.

“The Department’s successful Spay and Neuter program has provided funding to countless organizations to help control the pet population in Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks.  “These organizations do an outstanding job providing services to the communities in which they serve.”

Launched in 2014 with the purpose of reducing intake and euthanasia in Maryland shelters, the Spay and Neuter grant program is funded through fees paid by the pet food industry for each product they register to sell within the state. To date, the program has awarded $8,826,173 in funds, totaling 317 grant projects that collectively have completed over 119,565 spay and neuter procedures. As of December 31, 2023, annual data reported to the department indicates a decrease of 2% in dog and cat intakes to shelters, and a decrease of 50% in shelter euthanasia rates.

The FY26 Grant Application cycle will open in January 2025 and close in April 2025. Please visit the program website for application materials, instructions, and other information.

For questions about the program or the grant applications, please contact the Spay and Neuter Program Coordinator, Jen Swanson, at (410) 841-5766 or jen.swanson@maryland.gov.

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