Changes to animal care ordinance will help city move towards the community’s No-Kill Goal.
By Lisa Norwood, Public Information Officer for Animal Care ServicesCity leaders embraced proposed changes to the Chapter 5 ordinance voting to accept the newly restructured laws. The changes include incentives for sterilization and responsible pet ownership including:
• A restructuring of the license process that includes the use of permanent micro-chips in lieu of traditional metal tags that are easily lost.
• A strengthening of the Dangerous Dog portion of the ordinance and the creation of a new Vicious Dog category.
• Stiffer penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty mirroring tougher state laws.
• The creation of permits for excess animals, litters of puppies or kittens, unsterilized dogs and cat colonies.
• Limits on the way an animal can be tethered or tied up. A similar state law went into affect September 1st.
• A Trap Neuter Return policy that allows residents to care for feral cats in their neighborhoods.
The revisited ordinance DOES NOT include mandatory sterilization for all pets.
Instead, sterilization will be required for animals that have been declared dangerous, pets that have been impounded more than once and cats that are housed exclusively outdoors. Residents who own cats or dogs they wish to keep intact can purchase a permit to do so or keep their animals indoors. Many of the proposed requirements actually allow for exceptions based on special circumstances. Examples include excess animal permits, intact animal permits and medical exceptions for animals unable to be sterilized. In addition, there is an appeals process in place for any citizen denied a permit by the department.
The dangerous/vicious portion of the ordinance will go into affect immediately. The litter permit, excess animal permit as well as revised permits for pet shop and grooming businesses go into affect March 1, 2008 with implementation of the intact animal permit delayed until January 1, 2009. This will allow for the augmentation of local spay/neuter resources.
For more information:• The ordinance and fee structure can be seen in their entirety on the
Animal Care Services website•
City of San Antonio Council Action on Revisions to Chapter 5•
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Revisions to Chapter 5•
City of San Antonio Animal Care Strategic Plan (to make the city no-kill by 2012)
Free or low-cost spay/neuter resources in the San Antonio area:•
Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) Mobile Clinic•
Animal Resource Center (ARC)•
Animal Defense League•
Hill Country Animal LeaguePosted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Network
Photo credit: photo taken by Jennifer Hayes.