HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Letter dated July 22, 1998 from Ames Humane League i
Memorandum
Date: July 22, 1998
Subject: Animal Control Ordinance Amendments
From:Ames Humane League
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To: Mayor Tedesco and Ames City Council Members
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Over the last several weeks, the Humane league has worked diligently towards the goals the City
Council has set in front of us. We have worked closely with Lorna and the staff to develop the
amendments to the Animal Control Ordinance. We are in unanimous support of the amendment
3.124 Frequent Violators, Nuisance Abatement, Protective Custody , as outlined in the document
prepared by our city attorney. We feel enforcement of this ordinance along with the current
ordinances and the proposed changes in fines will allow Lorna and her staff to address and
correct the problems that frustrate too many of our citizens when inconsiderate and irresponsible
neighbors allow their animals to become neighborhood nuisances.
At this time however, we cannot support the restrictions placed on the numbers of animals a
citizen can own. We do not support Sec. 3.126 Numerous Animals On Premises for the
reasons outlined below.
1. Current ordinances and amendment 3.124 when enforced will allow correction of animal
nuisance complaints whether one or a dozen animals are involved.
2. The animals and their numbers are NOT the problem. The problem lies with the
irresponsible, inconsiderate animal owner--the person or person(s) behind the animals.
3. Restrictions on numbers, as well as required permitting will only place unfair and
unnecessary restrictions on responsible animal owners due to the actions of a small minority.
Once again the law abiding citizen will pay the price of a more controlling government due to the
actions of those that do not respect the rights of others.
4. No numbers or statistics have demonstrated that multiple animal households are more
likely to be the object of nuisance complaints than those with one or two animals. Although the
cases involving large numbers of animals receive more publicity, these are a small minority. In
our personal experiences with friends, family, and neighbors, the majority of animal nuisance
problems in our neighborhoods are a result of an individual animal or possibly two, not a pack.
Problems are also not limited to the actions of outdoor dogs. The amendment of 3.124 will deal
with problems from single or multiple animals,once again making Sec.3.126 unnecessary.
5. Requirement of a permit and inspections on multiple animal owners is an unfair invasion of
privacy. It will be the honest, responsible citizens that will abide by the law and apply for the
permits, not the small minority of irresponsible animal owners that account for the majority of
nuisance problems.
As a further proposal, although we feel that adoption of section 3.124 will address the nuisance
problems, if after a reasonable trial period this does not appear to be the case, amendment
3.126 can be revisited at that time.