Overland Park will retake bids for new animal shelter contract after residents raise ‘no kill’ concerns

City officials say they received angry pushback from residents over a plan to switch the city's animal shelter contract from Great Plains SPCA in Merriam to an Overland Park-based animal clinic. Great Plains is a "no kill" shelter, but the proposed contract with the new clinic would have allowed for strays to be euthanized if they went unclaimed. Above, a stray cat taken in by Great Plains SPCA earlier this year. Image via Great Plains SPCA's Facebook page.

A plan to change Overland Park’s animal shelter contract from Great Plains SPCA to the Wycliff Animal Clinic got so much angry pushback from residents and feedback from some councilmembers that the city will rebid the contract and make sure to reach out to multiple animal shelters this time around.

Much of the opposition to the change revolved around residents’ concerns and questions about what could happen to stray animals the new shelter takes in on the city’s behalf.