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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Animal Care Advisory Committee - 09/11/2003 MINUTES CITY ANIMAL CONTROL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District Administration Conference Room, 1702 Horne Road September 11, 2003 Members Present: Chris Cooper, Sherry Dunlap,Cheryl Martinez, Sharon Massad, Kendal Keyes and Dr.Alan Garret Members Absent: Susan Thiem Staff Present: Cherrie Stunz,Elizabeth Hundley,Annette Rodriguez Guests: Several Citizens Call to Order: Chris Cooper,Vice Chairperson,called the meeting to order at 12:35 p.m. 1. Approval of July 31,2003 Minutes. Minutes from July 31 st meeting were approved with an amendment. Amendment Under the item Update on Ordinance Revisions Chapter 6 Mr. Jorge Cruz-Aedo amended and included in the 2'sentence of the 6'paragraph his statement that he said- 1. All items were of eaual importance before the committee. 2. 2. Board Business a. Approval of Absences Ms. Susan Thiem was absent with apologies. b. Nominations and Election of Chairman There were no other nominations for the position of Chairman, besides the nomination of Chris Cooper at the last meeting. Ms. Cherrie Stunz motioned to vote on Ms. Cooper as Chairman. With no abstentions, all voted in favor of Ms. Cooper's nomination as Chairman of the Animal Control Advisory Committee. All congratulated her. Kendal Keyes was nominated and voted Vice Chairman of the Committee. All voted in favor. There were no other nominations and the newly elected Chairman of the Committee, Ms Chris Cooper, passed the motion and proceeded with the Update and Possible Action on Chapter 6 of the Ordinance,which is the next item on the Agenda. 3. Update and Possible Action on Ordinance Revisions Chapter 6 Elizabeth Hundley, Assistant City Attorney and legal advisor of committee, said that the Pursuit of Animals in Section 6-11 had to be moved to Section 64; thus requiring a renumbering of the sections. Also, the Committee needed to decide on whether to proceed with a Dual Tag System for Pet Licenses. Revisiting the matter of Impoundment on Page 21 of the draft, where the Committee had voted concerning Mandatory Spay Neuter of dogs, that if the animal was licensed and vaccinated, upon the 11 impoundment there will be no imposition of penalties under the Chapter. The article now reads: i. Mandato Spay/Neuter u on la Impoundment. The owner of a dog which has not been registered and vaccinated in accordance with this chapter and whose dog has been impounded for being at large, shall have the dog spayed/neutered within 30 days following the dog's release. ii. Upon 2" impoundment, mandatory spay/neutered is enforced. The exceptions still hold as affirmative defenses against prosecution as indicated on Page 22 under (6). Ms. Hundley requested the Committee decide its agreement with this to mean that it is only on the dog's 2"1 impoundment that penalties are imposed or otherwise decide whether it wants both 1st and 21 impoundment penalties. She had drafted a separate provision for the Committee to work with about the neutering of male cats. Microchip and Tag Sharon Massad asked about the relativity of the term"tagged"in the Ordinance,as relating to and including animals with microchip or tattoo,etc. Cherrie Stunz agreed that microchip was the direction things were going,and the committee should look into this, since this can be an affirmative defense,she might need to add the term into the ordinance to read tagged/microchip. Ms.Elizabeth Hundley stated that from an enforcement perspective animals are required to wear their license and vaccination tags,unless the City recognizes or participates in microchiping,that animal is still going to be picked up. Could it be used as an affirmative defense that an animal was microchiped with its license and vaccination information and therefore should not have been picked up? Ms.Massad stated that since the City was behind pushing the Vets to start microchipping,it was itself behind in adopting the same process. However,she considered that since at some point microchipping has to be incorporated as part of spay/neuter,or tagging process, the addition of microchip to every occurrence of the word tag would be in order. Ms.Hundley wanted to know if an animal had microchip did it still get issued with a tag, and if it did,does it mean the animal doesn't have to wear the tag? Ms Massad surmised that the animal gets a tag but doesn't have to wear it. At this point,Dr.Garrett explained to the Committee the different purposes of the two—microchip and tagging. The tag was meant for rabies verification and did not stop the animal being picked up as a stray or off leash. Microchip was for personal identification,enabling easy access to information concerning the owner and the animal. Ms Hundley wanted to know if the committee was Animal Control Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 6 advocating that those people who have microchip on their animals did not need a tag on the same animal? Dr Garrett explained that since the animal still had to be vaccinated by a Vet and registered by the city, and cannot be registered except it has been vaccinated, the issue of microchip on the animal, dealt with identification. A microchip will not replace the two essentials of vaccination and registration but will indicate the availability of such information readily when the animal was picked up. Ms. Massad moved that microchip or tattoo be added everywhere the word tag appears in the ordinance,even though the City presently does not have the ability to read a microchip, it will in the future, and the correction is therefore to cover the present and future direction of information retrieval to prepare us for the future. Ms. Chris Cooper sought to revisit this topic at the next meeting, indicating that enough time had been spent on this one point and Ms. Stunz promised to get the correct verbiage from other city operations that have included microchip as a means of identification. Free Roaming Cats Cheryl Martinez wanted a confirmation from Ms. Stunt that Animal Care Officers could palpate and tell whether a cat had been fixed. She made to move a motion to have free roaming male and female cats picked up, since the debates had been mostly about dogs, Ms. Martinez wanted to know that free roaming cats were included because the problem of was out of control. Ms.Massad 21 this motion. Cherrie Stunz explained that there was no mass cat pick up,like there is of dogs. The only cats that are picked up are trapped cats. If they were picked up and had tags on them,or a collar,the owner is notified. If the cat is fixed, that's just one less fine for the owner to pay,but the cat is picked up. If the cat has a collar,we have to release that cat back because there is no leash law. We instruct individuals that trap cats to release any cats with a collar that they have trapped. If it has a collar we can't bring it back in because there is no leash law. As to recognizing a recurring pick up of a particular cat,to impose a 2"impoundment violation fee,this is very hard as cats are hard to identify in that way. Ms.Keyes to know if Ms HundIey could clarify from the Ordinance that only trapped cats were affected. Ms.Hundley stated that it was for ALL free roaming cats. Ms. Stunz said this goes back to the intent that this committee have for this particular ordinance. Ms.Martinez stated that if the cats can be palpated,to tell if they are neutered,then we should be able to make an across the board change that will bring the problem under control. Ms Martinez wanted it voted on,that all free roaming male and female cats would be picked up if they are not tagged. Ms. HundIey said the cost of enforcement and returning every fixed cat to the vicinity where it was picked up from when it's found out to be spayed/neutered was to be considered before the Committee voted on this motion.This could not be considered from the animal population viewpoint alone,but the cost of advocating that the city take on this task of picking up the stray cats and then have to return each cat after finding out that it was in fact spayed/neutered. Animal Control Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 6 Dual Tags Cheryl Martinez tabled the issue of Dual Tags for the city as being unrealistic at the moment considering the present problem of keeping up with what the city has currently. The City she said is behind in issuing and accounting for tags right now, and a whole new set of problems will arise from the Dual Tags. She does not think the city is ready right now for its introduction. Sherry Dunlap agreed and indicated that making an intelligent decision to implement this system will require some data showing the cost effectiveness to the tax payer. Ms. Martinez now made a motion that dual tags not be done,and things be left as they are. She was seconded by Ms.Massad. Sherry Dunlap wanted Jorge to show the data that supports the change from single to dual tag. She said someone should present the committee with figures as to do/not to do. This would enable a proper and intelligent decision to be made. Sharon seconded Martinez's motion. It was unanimously agreed with no abstentions that there will be no dual tags for the City of Corpus Christi. Ms Keyes left the meeting at this rime. It was 1:00 p.m. Administrative Hearings Ms.Martinez talked about the administrative hearing. She reasoned that the laws could be enforced without so many administrative hearings. She thinks it should be reworded that Animal Control Management enforce the restraint laws except when they feel it absolutely necessary to go the route of a hearing. Ms.Hundley replied that when a dog or an animal at large attacks a child or another animal,there is a civil law suit Side associated with this,such as damages,hospital visits, especially with children: we need a mechanism to hold that person liable after the dog is impounded. The only method we have of enforcing the animal restriction law,short of writing a citation, and holding the owner criminally responsible is to hold a civil remedy. We call the owner and fine tune the privilege of owning and keeping an animal within the city limits and inquire why the animal was at large. Sharon wanted to know if this was the same for animal to animal. Ms.Hundley said this was usually not for provoked incidences but unprovoked bite attacks. Cherrie Stunz agreed that a mechanism was need for streamlining the process and confirmed Ms. artinez's observation that Animal Control was currently inundated with a lot of animal to animal attacks. Ms.Hundley said the problems were handled discretionarily and maybe this is where AC Management can exercise some other ability of intervening for the law to be enforced. Ms.Martinez said she was referring to animal to animal incidences to be under the discretional jurisdiction of Animal Control management to streamline admin hearings. Ms Stunz promised to call The City of San Antonio to research what process they employed,but Ms.Martinez said the City of San Antonia had one of the worst Animal Control in the State. The matter will be revisited again after the research her research. Animal Control Advisory Com inee Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 6 Breeders Permit Ms Martinez moved to change breeders permit to kernel permit. She said the kennel permit was more definitive to people having more than 6 animals. Ms Hundley replied that said this was a hard and fast number for pets,and not for animals used for utility e.g.business. The keeping of certain numbers of animals is not restricted if the requirements of the code are met. Ms Martinez said it was important to have a concrete code regulating breeders can be in violation when breeding is unchecked,especially when it is done just for making money. Ms.Martinez said the inability of animal control to do something about it when called out against a backyard breeder, was frustrating,as the conditions may have changed by the time Animal Control shows up. Ms Stunz stated that there could be many reasons for Animal Control being called out; sanitation could be one and nuisance,or rabies vaccination another. Ms Martinez wondered what to do when a person was over breeding an animal, and felt there ought to be some kind of violation when people or breeders do such. Ms. Stunz said it was a question of manpower to respond on the spot to every call. A call could be made to her that a breeder needs to be turned in,but it could be a few days and more before she could respond to that call because the officers are taking care of free roaming animals and responding to emergency calls. She recognized the need,but the Committee needed to decide the important and prioritize in relation to available resources. Education is one way to address the motives of breeders. Ms. Dunlap said in the case of clubs,e.g. dog clubs or ferret clubs where there was an existing self monitoring in place,there's a check kept on things like that. Chris Cooper moved that the definition of breeder be taken out and Ms.Martinez come up with something she thinks more appropriate. Ms.Martinez declined and suggested that nothing be done at this point. Dr.Garrett agreed for it to be tabled at some point but Ms. Cooper stressed that things were being dragged out too long on the table,and there was still a lot to talk about,the committee needed to move faster. Ms.Hundley agreed by adding that Dr. Silvers too,wanted this Ordinance moved on quicker,so it can go out into the community. Ms.Dunlap said there's a lot of information contained therein that the Committee needs to be thorough. Ms.Dunlap moved that monies that are brought into Animal Control stay in Animal Control instead of going to the General Fund. Ms.Martinez suggested a 20180 split in the money—with 20 going to the Fund,and the rest returned into Animal Control so that more officers can be hired,and officers will not be overworked. She wanted some kind of wording on that. Ms.Dunlap and Ms.Martinez wanted to know where the money from the Municipal Court and citations went. Ms.Hundley noted that officers were not supposed to be doing violations. Ms.Martinez continued with the fact that more penalties needed to be slapped on people who appear in court over violations. 4. Reports Status Report on New Shelter Ms Stunz said Animal Care is looking at occupation of the shelter around mid-December. She went over the color board for the new facility as well as the name of the facility being Animal Care&Vector Services. Animal Control Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Page 5 of AC Manaaer's Renort Ms. Stunz apologized that the Server was down and she was unable to get her reports printed as there wasn't access to Chameleon. She will have a combination report ready for the next meeting. She also spoke about the continuing education of officers and those that attended training recently. West Nile Virus Ms. Stunz mentioned one case of West Nile Virus in August. Chris Cooper invited comments from the public in attendance. 5. Public Comments A citizen said he just found out that he could no longer dispose of small animals like possums or squirrels or rabbits killed by his dog. He said he is required to put it in a bag and call Animal Control. Ms.Hundley agreed that it was a Solid Waste violation to put dead animals in the garbage because of the methane it produces, and carcasses should not be discarded with vegetative matter. The Ordinance requires Animal Control to pick up all dead animals and dispose of it in a Municipal landfill designed to handle dead animals. Ms.Martinez suggested that the ordinance could be reworded that the dead carcass be delivered to Animal Control instead of being picked up by Animal Control, in view of the present stress on existing resources. This citizen man wanted to know who was in violation, the person who puts the animal in the garbage or the department that did not pick it up? Ms Hundley said the generator of trash is ultimately responsible for their waste. Ms.Martinez reiterated about her suggestion and Ms.Hundley said we could try but we could get better enforcement by Animal Control with the city absorbing the costs to go out there and pick it up instead of us having a TCQ audit and violation for mixing our waste matter. Another citizen suggested a leash law for roaming cats, -a cat restraint law. She said it would eliminate the problem of roaming cats. Ms.Martinez agreed with this and said it would help to know the difference between real owned cats and those that are free roaming if there was a law that required them to be inside. Another citizen said she had tremendous problems with cats getting in the trash and roaming her neighborhood, she welcomed the restraint Iaw—Dr Garrett addressed her concern saying that IF there was a leash law that dogs and cats be treated the same, it would not work because they are different. Cats will yell and scream to go out—in a way that they can't be ignored because they are by their primordial nature free roamers, whereas dogs are loyal and will not want to go out if they are well looked after. He commented that we should not impose human frailties on a naturally wild creature that enjoys its freedom. 6. Adjournment Ms.Martinez made a motion to adjourn. Animal Control Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 6 The next meeting will be held on Thursday,October 9, at 12:30 p.m. in the Administration Conference Room of the Health Department, 1702 Home Road. Animal Control Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 6