Posted by:
EricWI
at Fri Jul 30 08:13:21 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by EricWI ]
abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13135&Itemid=28
Ordinance would ban non-domestic animals
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
by Peter BodleyThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Managing editor
Three animal-related ordinances have been introduced by the Coon Rapids City Council and will be considered for adoption at the Wednesday, Aug. 4 meeting.
Chickens and horses would be among non-domestic animals banned from the city of Coon Rapids under a proposed ordinance that will be considered for adoption by the Coon Rapids City Council Aug. 4.
One ordinance would eliminate the licensing of stables in Coon Rapids, while a second would ban the feeding of wildlife and waterfowl in the city.
The third ordinance would repeal the existing non-domestic animal chapter in city code and replace it with a new ordinance, which would ban all non-domestic animals from the city.
According to Assistant City Attorney David Brodie, who drafted the ordinances, there are no licensed stables in Coon Rapids.
But there have been contacts from residents asking to keep ponies and pygmy horses on their property, Brodie said.
“Given that Coon Rapids is now a suburban area with no open farm area... it is staff’s opinion that having stables in the city is not in the best interest of the city,” he said.
Stables require sanitation and fencing provisions, affect adjoining properties and can affect the general health and welfare of the community, Brodie said.
With the proposed repeal of the stable ordinance, horses and mules would be added to the definition of non-domestic animals that cannot be kept or maintained in Coon Rapids, according to Brodie.
Anoka County’s Bunker Hills Regional Park is the only park where horseback riding is allowed in Coon Rapids and this would continue as a permitted use under the recommended new non-domestic animal ordinance, Brodie said.
The stables in the regional park are located in Andover and are not impacted by the proposed repeal of the stable ordinance.
The proposed new non-domestic animals ordinance more clearly defines the animals that may or may not be kept in Coon Rapids, Brodie said.
It would also eliminate the licensing requirements for pigeons and would require a permit for the temporary display of animals in the city.
The current ordinance defines domestic animals, but calls non-domestic animals as “all other living animals,” according to Brodie.
“The definitions are broad and vague,” Brodie said.
Indeed, he said that under current code, a person who owns a five-acre or larger lot in Coon Rapids can possess or maintain non-domestic animals such as a tiger, lion, poisonous snake and cattle so long as the owner complied with state and federal laws.
Under the proposed ordinance, all non-domestic animals would be banned from the city.
The ordinance also adds language that prohibits the feeding of non-domestic animals similar to many other metro area cities.
There is one exception - the feeding of songbirds provided that it is done in a responsible manner, Brodie said.
Brodie has written “extensive definitions” on what constitutes domestic animals and non-domestic animals.
Domestic animals are defined in the proposed ordinance as birds kept indoors, non-poisonous spiders, turtles, lizards, hamsters, chinchillas, mice, rabbits, gerbils, white rats, guinea pigs, non-poisonous snakes or similar small animals that can be kept continuously in cages and indoors.
There’s a laundry list of non-domestic animals that would be banned under the ordinance.
They include cows, sheep, pigs, potbellied pigs, bees, goats, swine, llamas, mules, horses or other hooded animals, chickens, ducks, skunks, raccoons, badgers, weasels, wild ferrets or fox, cats except of the domesticated variety, wolves, coyotes, dingos, jackals, crossbreeds (except domesticated animals), poisonous snakes or any dangerous snake or reptile, poisonous spiders, apes, gorillas, monkeys and other primates, plus bears and wolverines.
Current code requires a license to raise or keep four or more pigeons, but in line with other communities, staff is proposing to eliminate that provision, he said.
The ordinance also proposes requiring that people keeping animals for a public zoo, such as volunteers and docents, for example, get a temporary license or permit from the city for a maximum of 30 days.
The proposed ordinance banning the feeding of wildlife and waterfowl in the city has been prompted by calls from residents concerned about people who are feeding wild animals in city parks and on private property, according to Brodie.
“The concerns generally focus around damage that is done when large concentrations of wild animals come to a feeding area and unsanitary conditions that they leave behind,” Brodie said.
But he said there are numerous other problems that feeding wild animals cause.
“According to wildlife biologists, feeding wild animals can lead to malnutrition and can actually deprive the animals of the essential nutrients that they need to live a healthy life,” Brodie said.
In addition, the animals become dependent on the food, lose their natural fear of humans, overfeeding results and it leads to property damage, he said.
Songbird feeding is exempt from the proposed ban provided it is done responsibly.
[ Hide Replies ]
 Coon Rapids MN Ordinance - EricWI, Fri Jul 30 08:13:21 2010
|
