GENTRY — An ordinance setting animal adoption fees and procedures was adopted by the city council Monday on three readings with a single vote and with anemergency clause attached.
The new ordinance, which goes into effect immediately upon publication,sets animal adoption fees at $70 if the city must spay or neuter the animal and $30 if the animal is already spayed or neutered. The fees also include the cost of implanting a micro-chip for animal identification.
The ordinance was passed with an emergency clause at Monday’s meeting because of a new state law which went into effect July 1, Senate Bill 550, which prohibits animal pounds, shelters, humane organizations or animal rescue groups from completing animal adoptions without first sterilizing the animals. Thus, before the city could permit anyone to adopt an animal in its holding facility, it was required to have the dog neutered or spayed.
The new law, in effect, put adoption of animals from the city pound on hold until the council adopted a fee schedule to pay for the required procedure. Without set fees, the police department would be left with no choice but to euthanize abandoned animals when holding space became unavailable.
The matter of adoption fees was brought beforethe Gentry Police Committee and the rates in the new ordinance were recommended, based on the cost to spay or neuter animals.
“I don’t want to be the grim reaper of Gentry, and neither does Todd (Gentry’s animal controlofficer),” said Gentry police chief Keith Smith at the August committee meeting, “but that’s where we’reheaded.”
The general consensus of committee members was to keep the adoption fees as low as possible to promote adoption and yet cover city expenses to spay or neuter the animals and implant microchips before adoption.
The new ordinance also requires those who adopt an animal, if they live within the city limits, to provide proof of rabies vaccination within seven days of taking possession of the animal.
The ordinance clarifies animal impoundment fees, setting them at $25 plus $5 per day for impoundment longer than five days. In addition, owners must pay a $10 fee for the implantation of a micro-chip to identify the animal and provide, within seven days, proof of rabies vaccination.
The law also gives the city the right to put any unclaimed animal up for adoption after five days or to humanely destroy or dispose of the animal.
Animals impounded for more than five days will also be subject to the spay-neuter requirement before being released by the city.
New ordinance sets animal adoption fees at $70 if the city must spay or neuter the animal and $30 if the animal is already spayed or neutered.
News, Pages 5 on 09/14/2011