The SF ANimal Advisory Council is back on top with filled board seats and energy to work for our city’s animals. photo: AdobeStock
It’s hard to believe the end of the year is almost here. It seems like only yesterday that 2026 was just beginning - and as the years go by, those yesterdays seem to get shorter and shorter. But as Abraham Lincoln once observed, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”
It’s been an unusual year for the SF Animal Advisory Council. Between changes to our name and operations, three months of canceled meetings, and uncertainty about when we'd be able to resume our work, it's been one hell of a ride. But I'm happy to report that the Animal Advisory Council is now officially back in action.
Our return to a functioning body involved a brief but suspenseful “Will they or won’t they” scenario starting with the Rules Committee, which holds appointment hearings and makes recommendations about who should serve on city councils and commissions. The appointment process then moves to the full Board of Supervisors, which is charged with approving - or not - the committee’s recommendations.
At its October 6 meeting, the supervisors reappointed our vice chair extraordinaire, Irina Ozernoy, and also appointed three new councilmembers: Risa Beckwith, Mark Ryle, and Rebecca Schwartz. With that, our four vacant council seats were filled and, with our quorum finally restored, we were able to hold our regularly scheduled October meeting — our first since July. In fact, for the first time since January 2025, all seven voting seats on the Animal Advisory Council are now filled.
I'm excited about the experience and enthusiasm our new members will bring to the council. Let me tell you a bit about each.
Risa Beckwith of Animal Fix Clinic brings a background in public health and animal-related nonprofit experience, with interests in animal welfare policy, veterinary care, and disaster preparedness.
Mark Ryle, who works with San Francisco's Head Start program, has longstanding family connections to animal rescue and is particularly interested in shelter overcrowding and veterinary professionals' mental health.
Rebecca Schwartz brings 11 years of volunteer experience with San Francisco Animal Care and Control and an interest in licensing, spay/neuter, and issues involving rodenticides.
The Animal Advisory Council’s return to City Hall also comes at a particularly meaningful time. As the city celebrates its 250th anniversary, we're also commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, our city's namesake and the patron saint of animals.
St. Francis is remembered for his compassion toward all living beings and his love of nature. Here are just a few of the council’s current recommendations that reflect those values:
Ban glue traps, which cause prolonged suffering to trapped animals.
Expand the city’s existing ban on retail animal sales to include additional species.
Strengthen San Francisco’s spay/neuter policies to help address cruelty and shelter overpopulation.
Protect the surfaces in our natural spaces from being replaced with artificial turf, including the proposed project at Crocker Amazon Park.
All of these issues are ones community members have been organizing around, bringing their concerns to elected officials and continuing to speak out at our monthly council meetings. As our city reflects on the values of St. Francis during this Jubilee, what better way to honor his legacy than by taking steps to make San Francisco a more compassionate city for animals and all living beings?
Looking Ahead
The Animal Advisory Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, when we expect to hear from San Francisco Animal Care and Control Director Amy Corso regarding shelter operations and updates. We also hope to revisit the status of proposed spay/neuter legislation previously recommended by the council but placed on hold by the Board of Supervisors pending additional review.
Because the council wasn't able to meet for much of the summer, our agenda will further include considering holding a special meeting in December, a month we normally take off for the holidays. However, because City Hall has audiovisual upgrades scheduled for much of December, our only option for that month may be Thursday, December 3, which is the first Thursday of the month, not the second.
So the suspense continues (though at a much lower level). Will the Animal Council meet in December? We’ll let you know.
See you at City Hall!
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Please be aware that the views and opinions expressed in this column are those of Council Member Torres and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the Animal Advisory Council.
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Meetings of the Animal Advisory Council are held on the second Thursday of the month (except December) at 5:30 p.m. in Room 408 at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102. The next council meeting will be held on November 12. Information about remote access to meetings is available at animalcouncil. Meeting agendas are published 72 hours in advance.