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EricWI
at Thu Jul 14 13:28:05 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by EricWI ]
Proposed ordinance deals with animals
SALEM - No lions, tigers or bears - no poisonous, venomous or constricting snakes -no wild, exotic or dangerous animals allowed.
That's what's being proposed in a city ordinance which came before the Rules & Ordinances Committee of city council Tuesday night regarding limits to the number of dogs or cats permitted in one household.
"I think we need to put something in about wild, exotic animals," city Planning & Zoning Officer Patrick Morrissey said.
As an example, he said what if a resident sees a neighbor taking a large cage into their house and wonders what it's for, then the next day sees "Tony the tiger" in the cage in the back yard. There would be nothing the city could do about that because the present ordinance lacks any rules regarding wild animals.
All the present ordinance does is requires a resident harboring that kind of animal to notify police if the animal escapes within a certain number of hours. Morrissey said he surveyed 90 other municipalities in the state and most prohibited wild or dangerous animals. A few required permits, but he said "I don't think a permit's going to keep that wild animal from going after a child.
Morrissey said he didn't think it was proper to have wild animals in a community, but in his proposal, he allowed for exceptions for a circus, an educational exhibit or veterinary facility or properly licensed retail pet store, provided the animals prohibited are not being offered for sale to be harbored in the city.
He also exempted people transporting animals through the city, as long as they're properly restrained, and a disabled person who owns a "nonhuman primate that provides personal care assistance for that person."
Animals excluded from the exotic or wild animal definition would include: nonvicious dogs, domestic cats, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, white rats and mice, goldfish, tropical fish, rabbits, parakeets, canaries, parrots and other birds commonly available for purchase in pet shops.
Wild, exotic dangerous domesticated or undomesticated animals were defined as "an animal, mammal, reptile, fowl or other species whose natural habitat is the wilderness and which, when maintained in human society is usually confined to a zoological park or exotic animal farm."
The ordinance specifically mentioned "poisonous or venomous animal, reptile or snake or is a snake that is a constrictor capable or harming infants or household pets" and "an omnivorous or carnivorous animal which is a predator in its natural habitat." The ordinance also talked about animals which could cause peril to children or adults, household pets or property, an animal which makes a noise with enough frequency and volume to create a nuisance, an animal emitting an offensive odor to create a nuisance or any animal foreign and not native by birth to the local community.
A year ago, city police were called to a property on Seventh Street where a woman reported seeing an alligator in her yard. Her husband managed to catch the 2 to 3-foot reptile in a garbage container before police arrived. Officers thought the animal may have been someone's pet because it was definitely not native to the area.
The proposed ordinance will be reviewed during the next Rules & Ordinances Committee meeting set for 6 p.m. Aug. 2.
The ordinance regarding animals came up for review after Police Chief Bob Floor asked for clarification of the section dealing with the number of dogs or cats allowed. The legislation said no person shall keep or harbor more than five dogs or five cats at a residential property, but apparently a question was raised regarding whether that meant five dogs and five cats for a total of 10.
To clarify, after the phrase no more than five dogs or five cats, Morrissey added "or any combination thereof, meaning a limit of five total, whether it's three dogs and two cats or some other combination.
The exception would be a litter of dogs or cats, with the resident given six months to bring the number back down to the maximum allowed of five. Morrissey said many of the 90 communities he surveyed didn't have a limit to the number allowed.
Any resident who has more than the five now will be grandfathered, in other words, they won't have to get rid of pets to get under the limited number, but they will be asked to register with the city so officials will know who falls under the grandfather clause and who doesn't.
Council President Mickey Cope Weaver, who attended the meeting, questioned how the ordinance affects people who foster litters of kittens or puppies for places like Angels for Animals or the Humane Society of Columbiana County, noting there's sometimes more than five.
After much discussion, it was decided a line about the animals being born on the premises would be removed and the time listed of six months would be sufficient for the puppies or kittens to be adopted out.
www.salemnews.net/page/content.detail/id/544179/Proposed-ordinance-deals-with-animals.html?nav=5007
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 **Salem OH Legislation Alert** - EricWI, Thu Jul 14 13:28:05 2011
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