Each year, municipal shelters and pounds across New Jersey are asked to submit the Shelter and Pound Annual Report, commonly known as the APC-12. While often overlooked by the public, this report plays a central role in how animal welfare, public health, and government resources are evaluated and managed statewide.

Although APC-12 submission is requested rather than explicitly mandatory, it remains the only standardized mechanism New Jersey has to understand what is happening inside its municipal shelters and pounds. When this data is missing, the consequences extend far beyond paperwork.

What Is the APC-12
The APC-12 is an annual data report administered by the New Jersey Department of Health. It requests information on dogs and cats handled by municipal shelters and pounds, including intake sources, outcomes, transfers, adoptions, euthanasia, length of stay, and other dispositions.

The purpose of the APC-12 is to create a statewide snapshot of animal control and sheltering activity using consistent categories and definitions. Even though submission is requested rather than compulsory, it functions as the backbone of statewide shelter data.

Why the APC-12 Matters
Reliable APC-12 data supports transparency, planning, and accountability at every level of government.

For policymakers and public agencies, the data helps identify trends such as rising intake, capacity strain, disease risks, and changes in outcomes over time. For municipalities, it informs budgeting decisions, contract oversight, and service evaluation. For the public, it is often the only way to assess whether shelters and pounds are operating responsibly and humanely.

Without consistent reporting, it becomes impossible to evaluate performance, measure improvement, or identify systemic failures.

Reporting Gaps in New Jersey
In 2024, records obtained from the New Jersey Department of Health indicated that fewer than half (LESS THAN 50%) of the shelters and pounds in New Jersey submitted APC-12 data. This level of non-participation significantly limits the State’s ability to develop an accurate picture of sheltering activity and outcomes.

When participation falls below this threshold, statewide figures no longer reflect reality. Trends may appear artificially stable or improved, while serious operational, public health, or animal welfare issues remain undocumented.

What Happens When Shelters or Pounds Do Not Report
When APC-12 data is not submitted, significant information gaps are created. Non-reporting leads to incomplete and unreliable statewide data, making it difficult to assess animal welfare outcomes or detect emerging risks.

Overcrowding, elevated euthanasia rates, disease outbreaks, and operational failures can remain hidden simply because the data was never shared. This lack of transparency also undermines public trust, leaving taxpayers and municipal officials without basic information about how animals are handled in publicly funded or publicly authorized facilities.

At a broader level, missing data weakens legislative analysis, distorts funding decisions, and limits meaningful oversight.

Budget Impacts of Missing APC-12 Data
The absence of APC-12 reporting can materially affect budgets at the state, county, and local levels.

At the state level, incomplete data weakens forecasting for public health programs, shelter oversight, inspections, rabies response, and enforcement coordination. At the county level, it obscures service demand related to animal control operations, public health coordination, and animal cruelty investigations and prosecutions. At the municipal level, non-reporting undermines fiscal planning for shelter contracts, staffing, veterinary care, and compliance-related costs.

When data is missing, governments are more likely to underbudget essential services or incur higher emergency and corrective costs later. Spending shifts from prevention and planning to crisis response, increasing long-term costs borne by taxpayers.

Personnel Impacts of Missing APC-12 Data
Staffing decisions are inherently data-driven. APC-12 data is used, directly or indirectly, to justify personnel levels across shelter operations, animal control, public health, inspections, and enforcement.

When data is not reported, agencies lose the ability to demonstrate workload, caseload growth, and operational risk. At the state level, this can affect staffing for oversight, inspections, data analysis, and enforcement coordination. At the county level, it can limit justification for investigators, legal staff, and public health personnel. At the municipal level, it can result in insufficient numbers of animal control officers, kennel staff, veterinary support, and administrative personnel.

Over time, under-resourced staffing leads to burnout, turnover, service gaps, and increased operational risk.

The Broader Consequences
The combined impact of missing APC-12 data is structural. Budget decisions are made without a factual foundation, staffing levels fail to reflect actual demand, and systemic problems persist longer than necessary. These gaps increase public health exposure, weaken animal welfare protections, and drive higher long-term costs.

The Canine Corner’s Position
The Canine Corner recognizes that APC-12 submission is requested rather than mandatory. However, participation should be viewed as a fundamental responsibility of shelters and pounds operating in the public interest. We believe this report should be mandatory!

Transparent, accurate reporting supports responsible budgeting, appropriate staffing, and meaningful oversight. When data is not reported, accountability erodes. When data is shared, safeguards improve for animals, communities, and the public systems entrusted with their care.

Data tells the story. When the data is missing, so are the protections.

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