Summary:
On Thursday, November 21, the City of Seaside, CA, unanimously adopted an ordinance that will require city residents to purchase a breeding permit before their dog or cat is bred and will require residents to spay or neuter their dog or cat if an unaltered license is not purchased or a veterinarian approved health exception is not obtained. The specific costs of breeding permits and unaltered licenses were not included in the ordinance (see more below).
The ordinance takes effect 30 days after passage.
Additional Information on the Resolution:
- Requires anyone to spay or neuter their dog or cat unless they purchase a (potentially costly) unaltered license.
- Requires anyone breeding and selling one litter of puppies or kittens to purchase a (potentially costly) breeder’s permit. The permit would not be allowed for any dog over seven years of age.
- The revocation of an unaltered license for violating any animal control laws twice over a 24-month period.
- Potentially require unlicensed animals impounded once in their lifetime be spayed or neutered prior to redemption by their owner.
What You Can (still) Do
- AKC thanks those who joined us in expressing opposition prior to the passage of the ordinance. All breeders, owners, and residents in Seaside are strongly encouraged to continue to express opposition to the Seaside City Council. At the current time, AKC believes it’s also important to stress to Seaside councilmembers that the (currently unspecified) costs for breeding permits and unaltered licenses should be affordable for responsible city residents.
To contact members of the Seaside City Council directly (all members are at-large):
- Mayor Ian Oglesby; (831) 899-6704
- Councilmember Dave Pacheco; (831) 899-6704
- Councilmember Alexis Garcia-Arrazola; (831) 899-6704
- Councilmember Rita Burks; (831) 899-6704
- Councilmember Alex Miller; (831) 899-6704
AKC GR will provide updates as warranted on next steps as they are available. For questions or more information on California legislation, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.