INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Leaders of the city's Humane Society blame a budget deficit for a decision to stop accepting stray animals and to no longer allow people to drop off unwanted pets immediately.

Those steps are aimed at reducing the number of animals for which the society must find new homes, but officials say it could force 4,000 to 5,000 more animals a year on the city-operated animal pound.

The policy changes should cut $800,000 from the operating budget of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, allowing it to close its deficit next year, said Martha Boden, the group's CEO.

The Humane Society has been in talks with the city for weeks on how the transition will work once the changes start March 15, but final decisions have not been made, Boden said.

Veterinarian Ben Ealing said he worried that without a good plan to handle the strays no longer accepted by the Humane Society, the pet population could get out of hand.

"If there are strays wandering around," Ealing said, "there will be breeding, and the problem is going to be compounded."

Scott Newman, the city's public safety director, said he expected the changes will send more animals to the county pound and mean many of them will be destroyed. To handle the expected influx, money will likely be diverted to the animal shelter from a fund aimed at rooting out dogfighting.

The city's pound now typically takes in about 18,000 animals a year and kills more than 11,000 of them. The Humane Society, meanwhile, took in nearly 9,000 animals last year, with 3,200 being euthanized.

Under the new procedures for giving up pets, a Humane Society staffer will ask about the decision and possibly suggest tips or training classes to improve behavior. The owner will have to make an appointment for the drop-off and provide life history information that could help make the pet ready for a new adoption.

The Humane Society could still reject the animal under the policy, which Boden said was also aimed at prompting people to consider needs of homeless animals by doing more than driving them to the shelter.

"We want to help them understand more about what's involved with making a lifetime commitment to a pet," she said.

———

Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com