Letters to the Editor: Los Angeles’ animal shelters need to address their ‘systemic barriers head

To the editor : As the leader of an L.A.-based animal rescue dedicated to saving at-risk shelter dogs, I work closely with all six L.A. Animal Services shelters and have witnessed the system’s challenges firsthand. Your article accurately reflects a reality we’ve grappled with for years: As long as union protections shield underperforming employees and the specter of liability stifles meaningful reform, L.A. Animal Services will remain mired in dysfunction ( “She ran the L.A. animal shelters. Why couldn’t she fix the problems?,” May 30). This environment breeds disillusionment among staff, leaving many numb to animal suffering and in some cases, complicit in preventable deaths.

Real change will require the will to address these systemic barriers head on, for the sake of the animals a