KC DOG BLOG

Lack of pet limit laws for cats help Southern California Shelters

Apparently, the City (and County) of San Diego have laws on the books that state that there is no pet limit for cats in their community -- and a pet limit of 6 dogs (more than that is a "kennel" which is not allowed in residential areas).

The will prosecute cruelty based on the conditions that the animals are in, but not based on an arbitrary number.

The result?  They actually have had fewer "hoarding" busts than LA City or County - and a higher live save rate than LA City or County (in spite of having similar intake numbers).

LA Animal Watch has the numbers -- which leads to the obvious question, if animals are well-cared-for and not a nuessance to neighbors because of noise/smell, why would we impose an arbitrary limit?

Many cities in Kansas City limit the number of pets to 2 or 3. Seems like following the successes of other cities, that raising these limits (or getting rid of them altogether), could save a lot of time for animal control officers, and help relieve some stress on the shelter environment.

Set pet limit numbers are arbitrary -- being sure animals are well-cared for should be the goal.

Independence, MO adjusts pet limit law

Last night,Independence, MO adjusted their laws on pet limits. Previously, the law was that a person could not own more than 2 dogs and 2 cats, but effective immediately, people may now own up to four pets in any combination.

Most of the people who contacted the city council were in favor of the change (183 in favor of the change, 31 against) and most of the people who spoke were also in favor of the change.

"This ordinance is archaic and has been in place a long time," said Councilman Jim Page of the original ordinance.  "It should have never been in place at all."

Meanwhile councilman Jim Schultz said: "What I've learned is that this whole issue lies with personal responsibility of the pet owner....Irresponsible owners wil always be a problem.  We have ordinances in place for irresponsible pet owners. (Note, Schultz did not follow this line of thinking when he voted in favor of the city's pit bull ban in 2006). 

Marcie Gragg and Lucy Young also voted in favor of the changed ordinance -- both have been very good representatives of the citizens of Independence. Mayor Don Reimel and Myron Paris voted agains the change.

This is certainly progress for the citizens of Independence. This is still a pretty strict pet limit law, but it's better than it was before.