As some of you know, about 18 months ago a committee (I’ll call it the Inter-Governmental Committee, or IGC) was formed to study animal ordinances for Brazos County, Bryan and College Station (each currently has its own set of ordinances). The committee was charged with developing an ordinance to be used by all three entities in order to provide consistency and to bring them more in line with other modern, forward-thinking communities around the state and nation. Committee members include representatives of rescue groups, animal control, both cities and the county, vets, and citizens.
Dr. Margaret Slater, who started the Aggie Feral Cat Alliance of Texas on the Texas A&M Campus and the Brazos Feral Cat Allies, is an internationally known expert on feral cat management. She was a member of the committee and offered information and advice about trap-neuter-release, which is widely known to be the only way of managing populations of feral cats. This committee did its homework and examined other cities’ ordinances governing dogs, cats, and other animals, deciding on a case-by-case basis what would be appropriate for our community.
This was a long and at times contentious process, but after many long meeting and rewrites, the IGC came up with a proposed version of the ordinances and prepared to submit them to the city councils and county for review and approval. The College Station City Council has the rewrite now and will be voting on it soon. It appears that support for the IGC version is strong among College Station council members.
Unfortunately, the Bryan City Councilman who served on the IGC (Ben Hardeman, who is no longer a council member) decided at the last minute to withdraw Bryan from the process.He told the committee that Bryan wanted no part of the IGC’s revisions and would instead revise the ordinances based on suggestions from Bryan’s animal control officers. The majority of the important changes that the IGC considered necessary are not included in Bryan's rewritten ordinance.
The City of Bryan has announced three public hearings with intent to adopt their version of the ordinance. Please review Bryan's proposed changes at http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=police#animal. You can leave comments at this site if you wish.
As it turns out, Hardeman apparently took this action without fully informing the rest of the city council on the progress and content of the IGC ordinance. More importantly, after reviewing the Bryan rewrite, animal advocates in our community are voicing grave concerns. We are now trying to get the IGC’s revised ordinances on the desks of Bryan City Council members to be considered.
There is still reason for hope. Bryan City Councilman Mike Southerland wants to get the IGC’s rewrite of the ordinances back on the council’s agenda. But to do so, he needs evidence that citizens of Bryan, College Station, and Brazos County are against many of the proposed changes in Bryan’s version. He has asked that people contact him so that he can let the Bryan council know that interest is widespread in having the IGC’s version of the ordinance placed in consideration.
Here’s how you can help:
• Write an e-mail to Mr. Southerland, regardless of whether you live in Bryan, College Station, or out in the county, saying you support the animal ordinances as revised by the Intergovernmental Committee. His e-mail is msoutherland@bryantx.gov. Mike says messages sent to this address will go directly to him. You can also e-mail him at mikesoutherland@verizon.net. If you can, please e-mail him by Monday evening so that he will have your comments ahead of the public meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. If you cannot send a message by then, don’t worry. Send it whenever you can.
Your message does not have to be long and detailed, although if you can take the time to specify your concerns, that would be great. At this point, we just need to give him an idea of how many of us are in favor of the IGC’s rewrite and against the rewrite proposed by Bryan animal control.
Included below is information that explains some of the major concerns with the Bryan rewrite of the ordinances. If you wish, you can begin your message with something like, “Dear Mr. Southerland: I wish to voice my opposition to the passing of this ordinance as written.”
Please be polite. Remember, Councilman Southerland is on our side.
Once you write your message, copy it and paste it into the comment section of the police department’s site where the proposed Bryan ordinances are available for viewing. http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=police#animal
• Attend one or all three public meetings called to discuss interest in the ordinances.
o Tuesday, June 2, at the Bryan Justice Center (new building on the corner of Texas Avenue and East 29th Street) at 5:30 p.m. Please attend this meeting if you can. The larger the turnout for this meeting, the more likely the council will see the importance of returning to the IGC rewrite.
o Tuesday, June 9 at the Bryan City Council workshop (at Bryan City Hall; a time has not yet been scheduled; I will update you when that info becomes available).
o Tuesday, June 23, at the Bryan City Council's 6 p.m. meeting at Bryan City Hall.
• Forward this e-mail message to all your friends and family who have pets and ask them to write to Councilman Southerland and to attend the hearings.
Here are the parts of the animal control’s proposed revisions to Bryan ordinances that are of particular concern to many pet owners.
• The proposed Bryan animal ordinances authorize inspections and searches of pet owners’ homes at “any reasonable time” without a warrant. Neither animal control nor police officers can enter a citizen’s home (unless exigent circumstances exist) without a warrant. Pet owning citizens have fundamental rights and protections under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and similar provisions under the Texas state constitution. Section 10-54
• Under the proposed Bryan ordinance code animal control officers can enter an enclosed yard or garden or come into an unlocked garage or tool shed in pursuit of a dog or cat without first getting the permission of the owner or securing a warrant to seize the animal as the law requires. Section 10-6
• Under the proposed ordinance animal control may take your animal without a warrant if the officer believes the animal is not receiving appropriate care. This gives animal control far too much discretionary authority to seize a citizen’s property. Seizure should require a warrant. Section 10-6
• There is no provision for a feral cat program. A proven program based on TNR (trap, neuter, return) at the TAMU campus should be implemented in Bryan and throughout the community. Whether we like it or not, the feral cat population is increasing and animal control’s policy of trapping and euthanizing wild cats whenever they find them is not working. TNR is good for both people and cats. Doing something that actually works is better than doing nothing, and this proposed ordinance does nothing about the growing feral cat population.
• The 72-hour impoundment period required of the animal shelter under this proposed ordinance is too short. Under this proposal, your animal can be euthanized before you even know it got away and was taken to the shelter. If the animal has a tag or a microchip the shelter should hold the animal at least a week, a practice already in effect at shelters across the country. Section 10-6
• Statistics from the American Veterinary Association estimate that in a city the size of Bryan, about 2,000 households have more than 5 animals at their residence. Under the proposed ordinance, four is the maximum number of pets allowed in a household. If you have over four, you may apply for an “over four” permit, but as a condition of the permit, you must agree to let animal control come into your home at any time.
• Ordinances are already in effect to address animal nuisance problems, whether the culprit is one animal or more. And records show that from 2005 to 2007 only six “over four” permits were issued by Bryan Animal Control. Section 10-52
• The proposed ordinance does not make clear that animal control is responsible for picking up live or dead animals suspected of exposure to the rabies virus. Protecting public health and safety from rabies outbreaks is the1most important responsibility that animal control has.
• The proposed ordinance prohibits pot-bellied pigs, those these pets pose no health hazard to humans or other animals. Care standards for pot-bellied pigs are similar to those for domestic cats and dogs. Section 10-31
• The proposed ordinance calls for animal establishment permits and fees without stipulating the amount of the fees. There should be statutory regulation of these fees to prevent arbitrary assessments. Section 10-51
If you are interested in the IGC version of the ordinance, please email me at bfcalady@gmail.com and I will send it to you.
[This message has been edited by montegobay (edited 6/2/2009 10:25p).]
Dr. Margaret Slater, who started the Aggie Feral Cat Alliance of Texas on the Texas A&M Campus and the Brazos Feral Cat Allies, is an internationally known expert on feral cat management. She was a member of the committee and offered information and advice about trap-neuter-release, which is widely known to be the only way of managing populations of feral cats. This committee did its homework and examined other cities’ ordinances governing dogs, cats, and other animals, deciding on a case-by-case basis what would be appropriate for our community.
This was a long and at times contentious process, but after many long meeting and rewrites, the IGC came up with a proposed version of the ordinances and prepared to submit them to the city councils and county for review and approval. The College Station City Council has the rewrite now and will be voting on it soon. It appears that support for the IGC version is strong among College Station council members.
Unfortunately, the Bryan City Councilman who served on the IGC (Ben Hardeman, who is no longer a council member) decided at the last minute to withdraw Bryan from the process.He told the committee that Bryan wanted no part of the IGC’s revisions and would instead revise the ordinances based on suggestions from Bryan’s animal control officers. The majority of the important changes that the IGC considered necessary are not included in Bryan's rewritten ordinance.
The City of Bryan has announced three public hearings with intent to adopt their version of the ordinance. Please review Bryan's proposed changes at http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=police#animal. You can leave comments at this site if you wish.
As it turns out, Hardeman apparently took this action without fully informing the rest of the city council on the progress and content of the IGC ordinance. More importantly, after reviewing the Bryan rewrite, animal advocates in our community are voicing grave concerns. We are now trying to get the IGC’s revised ordinances on the desks of Bryan City Council members to be considered.
There is still reason for hope. Bryan City Councilman Mike Southerland wants to get the IGC’s rewrite of the ordinances back on the council’s agenda. But to do so, he needs evidence that citizens of Bryan, College Station, and Brazos County are against many of the proposed changes in Bryan’s version. He has asked that people contact him so that he can let the Bryan council know that interest is widespread in having the IGC’s version of the ordinance placed in consideration.
Here’s how you can help:
• Write an e-mail to Mr. Southerland, regardless of whether you live in Bryan, College Station, or out in the county, saying you support the animal ordinances as revised by the Intergovernmental Committee. His e-mail is msoutherland@bryantx.gov. Mike says messages sent to this address will go directly to him. You can also e-mail him at mikesoutherland@verizon.net. If you can, please e-mail him by Monday evening so that he will have your comments ahead of the public meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. If you cannot send a message by then, don’t worry. Send it whenever you can.
Your message does not have to be long and detailed, although if you can take the time to specify your concerns, that would be great. At this point, we just need to give him an idea of how many of us are in favor of the IGC’s rewrite and against the rewrite proposed by Bryan animal control.
Included below is information that explains some of the major concerns with the Bryan rewrite of the ordinances. If you wish, you can begin your message with something like, “Dear Mr. Southerland: I wish to voice my opposition to the passing of this ordinance as written.”
Please be polite. Remember, Councilman Southerland is on our side.
Once you write your message, copy it and paste it into the comment section of the police department’s site where the proposed Bryan ordinances are available for viewing. http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=police#animal
• Attend one or all three public meetings called to discuss interest in the ordinances.
o Tuesday, June 2, at the Bryan Justice Center (new building on the corner of Texas Avenue and East 29th Street) at 5:30 p.m. Please attend this meeting if you can. The larger the turnout for this meeting, the more likely the council will see the importance of returning to the IGC rewrite.
o Tuesday, June 9 at the Bryan City Council workshop (at Bryan City Hall; a time has not yet been scheduled; I will update you when that info becomes available).
o Tuesday, June 23, at the Bryan City Council's 6 p.m. meeting at Bryan City Hall.
• Forward this e-mail message to all your friends and family who have pets and ask them to write to Councilman Southerland and to attend the hearings.
Here are the parts of the animal control’s proposed revisions to Bryan ordinances that are of particular concern to many pet owners.
• The proposed Bryan animal ordinances authorize inspections and searches of pet owners’ homes at “any reasonable time” without a warrant. Neither animal control nor police officers can enter a citizen’s home (unless exigent circumstances exist) without a warrant. Pet owning citizens have fundamental rights and protections under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and similar provisions under the Texas state constitution. Section 10-54
• Under the proposed Bryan ordinance code animal control officers can enter an enclosed yard or garden or come into an unlocked garage or tool shed in pursuit of a dog or cat without first getting the permission of the owner or securing a warrant to seize the animal as the law requires. Section 10-6
• Under the proposed ordinance animal control may take your animal without a warrant if the officer believes the animal is not receiving appropriate care. This gives animal control far too much discretionary authority to seize a citizen’s property. Seizure should require a warrant. Section 10-6
• There is no provision for a feral cat program. A proven program based on TNR (trap, neuter, return) at the TAMU campus should be implemented in Bryan and throughout the community. Whether we like it or not, the feral cat population is increasing and animal control’s policy of trapping and euthanizing wild cats whenever they find them is not working. TNR is good for both people and cats. Doing something that actually works is better than doing nothing, and this proposed ordinance does nothing about the growing feral cat population.
• The 72-hour impoundment period required of the animal shelter under this proposed ordinance is too short. Under this proposal, your animal can be euthanized before you even know it got away and was taken to the shelter. If the animal has a tag or a microchip the shelter should hold the animal at least a week, a practice already in effect at shelters across the country. Section 10-6
• Statistics from the American Veterinary Association estimate that in a city the size of Bryan, about 2,000 households have more than 5 animals at their residence. Under the proposed ordinance, four is the maximum number of pets allowed in a household. If you have over four, you may apply for an “over four” permit, but as a condition of the permit, you must agree to let animal control come into your home at any time.
• Ordinances are already in effect to address animal nuisance problems, whether the culprit is one animal or more. And records show that from 2005 to 2007 only six “over four” permits were issued by Bryan Animal Control. Section 10-52
• The proposed ordinance does not make clear that animal control is responsible for picking up live or dead animals suspected of exposure to the rabies virus. Protecting public health and safety from rabies outbreaks is the1most important responsibility that animal control has.
• The proposed ordinance prohibits pot-bellied pigs, those these pets pose no health hazard to humans or other animals. Care standards for pot-bellied pigs are similar to those for domestic cats and dogs. Section 10-31
• The proposed ordinance calls for animal establishment permits and fees without stipulating the amount of the fees. There should be statutory regulation of these fees to prevent arbitrary assessments. Section 10-51
If you are interested in the IGC version of the ordinance, please email me at bfcalady@gmail.com and I will send it to you.
[This message has been edited by montegobay (edited 6/2/2009 10:25p).]
