City of San Jose
The City of San Jose will hold a public meeting May 1st to discuss a host of changes to their animal control ordinance. The most important change for breeders, fanciers and concerned dog owners to be aware of is that under this new ordinance anyone who breeds an individual dog more than once in its lifetime is a commercial kennel and must obtain a commercial kennel permit.
To qualify for a commercial kennel permit, the kennel (even if it is a private home) must be at least 250 feet from any other residence, although the city may grant an annual exemption. Additionally, the city may inspect the premises of any kennel at any reasonable time. The Department of Animal Services may establish additional regulations governing the maximum number and species, the construction, sanitation and maintenance of facilities and other regulations they deem appropriate.
Further, the ordinance:
- Changes “owner” to “owner and guardian.”
- Requires veterinarians submit a copy of the rabies certificate for each animal to the city.
- Enacts the following animal limits for a single dwelling unit:
- 0 adult dogs and 5 adult cats
- 1 adult dogs and 4 adult cats
- 2 adult dogs and 3 adult cats
- 3 adult dogs and 2 adult cats
Please contact your representative on the city council to express your concerns with this proposal. To find out who represents you on the San Jose City Council please check their district map here. To contact members of the San Jose City Council by mail, send to: 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95113. Additionally, we ask that you send copies of your letters to City Manager Les White and City Attorney Rick Doyle at this same address.
City of Huntington Beach
The Huntington Beach City Council has directed staff to research issues and cost to enact an ordinance similar to the one passed in Los Angeles County in 2006. To review the details of that ordinance, please see our previous alert.
Concerned dog owners should contact the city council members immediately to oppose this measure. All city council members are elected at-large and letters can be mailed to 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. A general email can be sent to city.council@surfcity-hb.org
City of Los Angeles
The Los Angeles City Council has directed staff to prepare an ordinance that would allow the City of Los Angeles to adopt the provisions of AB 1634 locally even if the state bill is not adopted. Specifically the measure asks that the proposal mandate that all cats and dogs be spayed/neutered once the animal is four months old. The proposal will include exceptions for licensed breeders and will expand their spay/neuter assistance program to pet owners who earn less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.
To find out who represents you on the Los Angeles City Council visit their webpage here and scroll down to the box on the right hand side entitled My Neighborhood. Please contact your representative and ask them to oppose this ordinance.
What You Can Do:
For more information, contact AKC’s Canine Legislation Department at (919) 816-3720 or e-mail doglaw@akc.org.
City of San Jose
The City of San Jose will hold a public meeting May 1st to discuss a host of…