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ILLINOIS
Ordinance would limit animal owners
Councilman Doug Arthur said households with more than three
of each should be required to obtain a kennel license. INDIANA
Council tables animal ordinance
More than 40 attend meeting to hear about proposal
By Ronald Hawkins
rhawkins@...
Tuesday August 22, 2006 MARTINSVILLE
Martinsville's proposed animal control ordinance was tabled Monday after the
Martinsville Common Council heard comments from
more than 20 people, a
majority of whom objected to one element of the
draft ordinance.
In the standing-room-only council chambers, the
council heard comments for
more than an hour at the beginning of its Monday
meeting. Each speaker's
presentations was limited to two minutes. The
hearing on the ordinance came
six months after a Martinsville resident complained
about a cat problem.
Martinsville resident Arthur Adams, who complained
to the Martinsville
Common Council in February about cats, told the
council the city needs to be
cleaned up and that an ordinance limiting the
number of dogs and cats per
household would educate the public.
The element of the proposed ordinance that drew the
most comment was the
section that would limit each household to three
dogs and three cats.
Council President Gary Lester developed the
ordinance with the help of other
council members. During workshops on the ordinance,
the Morgan Council
Humane Society made presentations.
"I think you have a good ordinance," said Erlene
Sichting, Martinsville
resident affiliated with Greyhound Pets of America
Indianapolis. "But the
limit of three dogs and three cats is a great
error."
The Greyhounds group helps retired racing
Greyhounds make the transition
from racing to becoming pets. Sichting helps rescue
the dogs and currently
has three. "I don't think you've addressed the
rescue effort," Sichting said. "I don't
think you know how many animals will be done away
with. "It's not about how many pets you have. It's about how you
respond to pet responsibility."
Several speakers said they regard their dogs and
cats as their children.
Some suggested the proposal be changed to allow
owners who have more than
three dogs and three cats to be grandfathered,
allowing them to keep all
their pets.
Arthur Adams, whose complaints in February about
cat problems prompted the
development of the ordinance, called the problem a
health and safety issue.
"Cats carry a lot of disease," Adams said. "The
community needs to be
cleaned up. You educate the public by passing the
ordinance."
Rick Nugent told the council his neighbor has 20 to
30 cats at a time. His
car has been scratched by cats and his "yard is
full of feces," he said.
Elaine Wiley, who has 19 cats in her home, said she
has rescued pets for 20
years. She has had to rescue many of the pets
because they were abandoned or
poorly treated by neighbors. She keeps her pets
indoors. "It's not right to punish me," she said. "I take extremely
good care of my animals," Wiley said.
Council members said the city wouldn't be
conducting a door-to-door census
to determine how many pets are in each household.
They said part of the
ordinance requires two complaints from two
different neighbors affected by
the problem before the city would investigate.
"We're only going after the ones causing a nuisance," councilman David
Barger said. "We're not going to have cat police. We've got a lot more
to do than go after dogs and cats." Wiley said she suspected her
neighbors would turn her in because they oppose
keeping indoor pets.
Morgan County Humane Society President Martha Ebert
said her organization
opposes the three dogs and three cat limit. The
society advocates spaying
and neutering and has funds to help low income
families pay for the costs of
spaying or neutering their pets. Councilman Doug
Arthur said he'd oppose the ordinance because of the per-household
limit. The focus should be on the responsibility of owners, he said.
Not all cats have owners because we don't have
spaying and neutering and
they reproduce in the wild, Arthur said. Lester
said he thinks spaying and neutering is good and probably is the
answer. "But enforcing that is impossible," Lester said. "The easiest
way is to have a number."
The council voted 6-0 to table the ordinance until
its Sept. 5 meeting. Lester told the council members to bring
suggestions to the council's Aug.31 budget workshop.
IOWALouisville's Mayor has now signed the proposed ordinance into law.
Panel plans for law on cats
Thursday, August
24, 2006 Loud noise and farm animals also were
discussed by the safety committee.
By
TIM YOVICH Councilman Thomas Scarnecchia, D-at
large, committee chairman, said he realizes the owners will converge
on council meetings to fight any proposal to regulate cats.
Mark Morrall, part-time city animal
control officer, recommended to the committee Wednesday that cats
should be registered just as the state requires dog licenses for
identification. A penalty was not discussed. Morrall said he has urged people who
complain about cats' using their flower beds as a litter box to trap
them and call him. Morrall said traps can be purchased
or rented from the Animal Welfare League; tame cats and kittens can
be adopted, but wild cats must be destroyed.
He also recommended that cats be
required to be spayed and neutered, not permitted to run loose, and
there should be a limit on the number of cats per household.
Scarnecchia said the committee is in favor of cat licensing, but
warned committee members that they must "stand the firestorm" of
protests. The committee also will amend legislation dealing with loud noise and farm animals. Noise
complaints
Scarnecchia attempted but failed during the meeting to mediate a
difference of opinion of what constitutes loud music between
McMenamy's, a U.S. Route 422 nightspot, and
Dave
Anderson, a spokesman for the residents, complained to the committee
that the noise is too loud when bands play outdoors at McMenamy's.
Police
Chief Bruce Simeone told the committee the current restriction of 60
decibels is "extremely low" and is similar to "classroom talk."
McMenamy's owner Bob Leonard countered that he has had only three
band concerts this summer, one being for charity. He noted that
there are no plans for another concert this summer. Leonard
said the city has other events such as fireworks, festivals,
baseball games and graduation parties at homes with disc jockeys and
bands.
McMenamy's can't take bands inside the building because there are
other events going on such as wedding receptions, the owner added.
Councilman Ted Papas, D-2nd, a committee member, warned that there
will be new legislation dealing with noise that may include reducing
the decibel rating and a limit on the time of day when events must
end. Another
concern The
committee also has received complaints that farm animals, such as
pigs, are being kept in the city. Morrall
explained that city law says owners cannot keep farm animals within
100 feet of a structure. He suggested the distance be increased and
concrete pads be required to maintain proper sanitation. At the
suggestion of Scarnecchia, Morrall will discuss amending the
ordinance with Law Director J. Terrence Dull. http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/323307536985103.php Pet limit law, Middleton WI
This is being presented after 42 cats were
seized from a Middleton home. If you are in Wisconsin, voice your
opposition.
Mark Horn (2005-07)
PAWS 2005 (click here to view as a pdf file) The Pet Animal
Welfare Statute (PAWS) is a bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)
which currently regulates large-scale commercial breeders who sell pets at
wholesale. PAWS is another attempt to regulate hobby breeders by
eliminating the concept of wholesale from the definition of commercial
dealer. The Doris Day Animal League filed suit in 1996 against the USDA to
change the regulations to require federal licensing and inspection of
hobby breeders. In 2003, the US Court of Appeals decision overturned the
DDAL's law suits against the USDA when they tried to change the definition
to include hobby breeders. There is no benefit to abandoning sound
reasoning now.
This equation
demonstrates a number of problems besides the inequality in litter sizes.
It yields no consideration to the realities of cat breeding. Responsible
cat breeding programs with as few as 4 or 5 females could require USDA
licensing. Unlike dogs, cats must be bred to maintain the health of the
cat. Sometimes that means females need to be bred more than once per year.
Genetic diversity also requires a minimum number of cats. Furthermore, cat
breeding is rarely a viable commercial business so why regulate it in such
a manner? Run, don't walk, to your computers and email (fax or call) the Senators and Representatives on the committees considering this bill (Contact information below) as well as you own Congressmen. Time is of the essence if we want to stop this early on! Clubs can send letters in addition to individuals too! Your emails (or faxes/calls) should be polite, be short, be very clear you oppose the bill. Regular mail is taking approximately one month to reach the Congressman's offices. In your own words, you tell them about your concerns. Some concerns are:
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Photos by Preston Smith Photography | Copyright © 2006 Liz Hansen |
