Victoria’s Proposed Animal Control Ordinance is a Hot Topic
Animal Control Ordinance
It's a tough question and a hot topic right now. It's the City of Victoria's proposed Animal Control Ordinance and it has gotten so much feedback that two Town Hall Meetings have now been planned to continue the discussion.
Here is why it's a hot topic.
The ordinance proposes that Victoria County Animal Control be allowed to make all enforcement decisions and animal regulations for the city.
It also proposes they be allowed to limit households to have a set number of dogs and cats.
Should the City of Victoria ordinance be able to mandate how many pets a Victoria resident can own?
Last night, the City Council of Victoria offered Victoria residents an opportunity to speak to share their thoughts on the topic of the City's proposed Animal Control Ordinance.
Town Hall Meetings September 14th and September 16th Planned
"Because of all of the great feedback, the city and the animal control department will now hold two town hall meetings at the Community Center Annex on Tuesday, Sept. 14th and Thursday, Sept. 16th @ 6:30 pm to be sure the ordinance is crafted correctly," Mayor Baulknight offered.
Mayor Baulknight also suggested we let the first proposal die and bring a clean copy based on the comments to the table.
"Chickens and the numbers of animals a resident can own are two of the topics in the proposed ordinance that likely needs to be changed," Mayor Baulknight offered as well.
One community member, Mrs. Bernadette Bellenger, an activist and lifelong volunteer for animal education and appreciation for organizations like the Texas Zoo voiced her concern for those volunteers who foster multiple animals and for the probability that the proposed ordinance will likely create more "dumping" of animals by people who want to avoid city rehoming fees.
One of the other changes proposed is to modify the time Animal Control will keep an animal before they can offer the animal for adoption or euthanize it.
You can watch City of Victoria City Council meetings on TV15, Youtube or below.
The City of Victoria is now offering a survey you can take right now that will help city officials better understand your thoughts on the proposed ordinance. You can take the survey at the City of Victoria website here.
We wish our city officials the best of luck in crafting an ordinance that best serves the community and the animals.