Saturday, June 14, 2008

Dallas City Council considering backing down on animal ordinance

By Pegasus News wire

It would appear that breeders and "owners rights advocates" have done a better job at lobbying the Dallas City Council than those concerned about the plight of animals and the dreadful overpopulation problems resulting in thousands of animals being euthanized on the taxpayer's dime. Because the Dallas City Council is now looking at backing down on the animal control ordinance in the following ways:

• Dogs and cats under 6 months, service animals, and those belonging to licensed breeders, are exempt from spaying and neutering regulations.
• You can get your veterinarian to say your animal shouldn't be neutered for "health reasons"
• The charge per animal for breeding has been dropped from $500 to $70
• City officials are also proposing allowing any Dallasite to call themselves a breeder -- as long as they complete a "course on responsible pet ownership offered or approved by the city." Hold your breath on that one.

Here's the thing: If you are someone who kindof cares about animals, are you going to find time to call the city council and say, "Hey, I feel bad about the overpopulation situation and strays starving on the street and the waste of taxpayer money and the tragedy of killing more than 26,000 animals a year"? No. You're probably not going to have the energy to call. You might not even realize how depressing and awful the situation is.

But if you are profiting from maintaining the status quo, then of course you're going to be pitching a fit. And that's what's going on right now.

The City Council will discuss it this Wednesday, June 18. The vote takes place on June 25.

Posted by T.G.

Related stories

• Dallas Animal Ordinance draws line between breeders and humane groups (June 25, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Animals
• Politics and Government > City Government > Dallas > Dallas City Hall

Comments

Kay Anonymous

I don't know which makes me sadder....homeless hungry animals or caged ones. Either way it helps to reduce those numbers if you spay/neuter. - However I'm puzzled as to why the last 2 females (cat/kitten) I took to 2 different vets came down with the 'Hissies" about 6 months after their surgeries. Such an unexpected attitude change toward their families confused the others as well as me.

I wonder if there's a feline "attitude adjustment" herb I can slip into the girls' food? I had a cat long ago that loved to roll on catnip scented toys...but I think I'll look for something herbal/holistic/natural that I can give that's in a capsule/tablet.

What say the spay/neuter experts?

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )