Orange County’s animal shelter says it has sharply reduced the number of animals it euthanizes over the past few years. But a new lawsuit by the head of an animal-rescue group says the shelter still routinely kills healthy cats and dogs without allowing enough time for them to be adopted.

Sharon Logan’s lawsuit also says OC Animal Care, a county agency, denies animals adequate water, shelter, exercise and medical care.

Logan, who runs a rescue organization called Paw Protectors Rescue Inc., filed the lawsuit July 29 in Orange County Superior Court. It asks a judge to order OC Animal Care to comply with state laws, which require shelters to make animals available for adoption before euthanizing them.

The complaint also says OC Animal Care retaliated against Logan, refusing to release animals to her or Paw Protectors Rescue, after she spoke out about problems at the shelter.

Logan was working Thursday and said she was not available to comment before deadline. The lawsuit was first reported by Voice of OC.

The county has not responded in writing, and a court hearing is set for December. Ryan Drabek, director of OC Animal Care, said county policy did not allow him to comment on the lawsuit.

But Drabek said the organization has spent years working to reduce the number of animals that come in to the shelter, which has helped reduce euthanasia.

OC Animal Care says it catches and spays or neuters feral cats, works with local veterinarians and nonprofits and recruits people to foster animals.

“I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” Drabek said Thursday.

Overall, 28 percent of animals were euthanized in 2013. That has declined since 2010, when 47 percent of all animals that came in — and almost three-fourths of cats — were euthanized, according to agency statistics.

OC Animal Care took in more than 35,000 animals last year, including almost 14,000 cats and 13,720 dogs.

Just under half the cats were euthanized, and 14 percent were adopted. Of the dogs, 45 percent were adopted, 23 percent were returned to owners and less than 10 percent were euthanized.

Those numbers don’t include owner-requested euthanasia, which is performed only in certain circumstances.

OC Animal Care serves unincorporated areas and 17 cities, including Anaheim and Huntington Beach. Other cities, such as Newport Beach and Irvine, have separate shelters.

Drabek said the shelter waits at least four days before euthanizing animals without identification, and seven days for animals with ID. Animals can be euthanized sooner if they are “irredeemably suffering” in a veterinarian’s opinion or have a history of aggression.

But Logan’s lawsuit says OC Animal Care doesn’t follow its own policies or the law and routinely kills healthy, adoptable animals before the waiting periods are up. The shelter also uses improper criteria to make exceptions and euthanize other animals before the waiting period is up, the complaint says.

Logan accuses OC Animal Care of failing to keep accurate records and refusing to release animals to rescue groups that would take them in. Her lawsuit asks for $2.5 million in punitive damages.

Drabek said OC Animal Care works with about 125 rescue or nonprofit groups across the county, from large to small. Some take in all kinds of animals, while others specialize in particular breeds of dogs or in specific animals, such as cats, bunnies or snakes.

Last year, the shelter started a program called “feral free,” in which un-adoptable feral cats are taken in, spayed or neutered, and released.

In 2013, 1,346 cats were released under the program, modeled after successful ones in other areas. Under the old policy, Drabek said, all would have been euthanized.

Contact the writer: ehartley@ocregister.com or 949-229-5950