07/10/2026
🚨This affects all animal efforts across the USVI including us‼️❤️🩹
🚨 VI ANIMAL WELFARE FUNDING IS BEING SLASHED — WHILE 2026 FUNDS REMAIN UNPAID 🚨
We learned this morning that the FY2027 Virgin Islands budget contains drastic cuts to funding for the nonprofit organizations providing animal sheltering, animal control, rescue, and spay/neuter services across our territory.
And at the same time, several of these organizations still have not received all — or in some cases any — of the funding appropriated to them for FY2026.
These organizations provide essential services that the Government of the Virgin Islands relies upon nonprofits to perform. We care for homeless animals, respond to community needs, operate shelters, rescue animals, and provide the spay/neuter and TNVR programs that prevent thousands more unwanted animals from being born.
For R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats, $22,500 was appropriated for our spay/neuter program in FY2026. We received only $16,875 — 75% of the amount appropriated.
The new FY2027 budget again appropriates $22,500 to R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats, so our appropriation was not reduced on paper. But our experience in 2026 makes something painfully clear: an appropriation does not necessarily mean the money will actually arrive.
Other animal welfare organizations are being hit much harder.
The FY2027 budget provides:
🐾 Humane Society of St. Thomas USVI: $87,500 for operations — a 50% cut — and just $16,875 for spay/neuter.
🐾 St. Croix Animal Welfare Center: $87,500 for operations — a 50% cut — and $37,500 for spay/neuter, a 25% cut.
🐾 Animal Care Center of St. John: $25,000 for operations and $15,000 for spay/neuter.
🐾 Ruff Start STX: $22,500 for spay/neuter.
🐾 R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats: $22,500 for spay/neuter.
(per COMMITTEE ON BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCE BILL NO. 36-0384)
And these cuts come while organizations are still waiting for FY2026 money.
Ruff Start reports that it has not received any of its FY2026 funding.
The Animal Care Center of St. John is still waiting for its final $12,500 payment, which was due September 1.
R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats received 25% less than the amount appropriated to us for FY2026.
And the Humane Society of St. Thomas reports that it is still owed substantial FY2026 funding as well.
Today's Virgin Islands Daily News reports that the shelter had not received its final quarterly allotment and was also short $12,500 in spay/neuter funding.
This is happening while the need for these services has not gone down.
Every animal welfare organization in the Virgin Islands knows what happens when spay/neuter is underfunded. More puppies and kittens are born. More animals enter already overwhelmed shelters and rescue systems. More community members ask for help. And ultimately, dealing with an uncontrolled animal population becomes more expensive, not less.
Spay/neuter and TNVR are not luxuries. They are the most basic tools we have to reduce the number of homeless animals in the Virgin Islands.
And this is an election year.
We are asking every candidate for Governor and every candidate for the 37th Legislature to tell Virgin Islanders where they stand:
• Will you support restoring adequate funding for animal welfare and spay/neuter programs throughout the Virgin Islands?
•Will you make sure that money appropriated to nonprofit organizations is actually disbursed — in full and on time?
•What is your plan for addressing the territory's homeless animal population?
And we are asking voters to ask these questions, too.
This is not about one shelter, one rescue, one island, or one political party. This affects St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. It affects every organization trying to solve a problem that the territory cannot afford to ignore.
Our nonprofits will continue doing everything we can.
But promises on paper don't spay and neuter animals. Funding that actually reaches the organizations doing the work does.
Please share this post, tag your candidates, and ask them where they stand.
🐾 R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats
