In late July, the McAllen (TX) City Commission considered an ordinance to limit the number of pets a resident can own to a combined maximum of four adult dogs and cats plus one litter of puppies or kittens.
At the July 22 meeting, commissioners decided to table the proposal and planned to revisit these discussions at one of the next two city commission meetings. The next meetings will be held on Monday, August 12 and Monday, August 26. Concerned residents should plan to attend the upcoming meetings or contact the commission to express concerns about the proposed ordinance.
Background
The ordinance intends to address rampant stray animal and hoarding issues in the community. Unfortunately, a limit law will have no substantial impact on these problems. During the meeting, some city officials expressed concerns about the ordinance and recommended increasing the ordinance limit to 6 or 8 adult animals unless the owner secures a permit. Due to concerns raised by commissioners and some community members, the ordinance has been temporarily put on hold.
The American Kennel Club and its affiliated clubs understand the challenges of creating effective animal control ordinances for a community. We support laws that target irresponsible dog owners and substandard animal care; however, limit laws do not address these issues. Limit laws are ineffective, difficult to enforce and unfair to responsible dog owners. Laws should instead focus on targeting irresponsible owners regardless of the number of dogs owned.
Talking Points
- Limit laws are ineffective, difficult to enforce, and fail to address the true problem of irresponsible ownership.
- There is no link between a specific number of dogs and nuisance problems.
- Vigorous enforcement of animal control and nuisance regulations that address behavior that is problematic for neighbors is a better use of resources and provides for a more peaceful community.
- Providing access to low-cost spay and neuter programs for dog owners and genuinely stray animals is a more effective solution for addressing issues with dogs at large in the community.
- McAllen already has robust animal welfare regulations in place, which include banning dogs from roaming freely and mandating that pet owners maintain clean and sanitary living conditions for their animals.
Visit the Limit Laws Key Issue page in the AKC Legislative Action Center for additional information and talking points on this issue.
What you can do:
Concerned residents should plan to attend the upcoming meetings to express concerns about the proposed ordinance. Both meetings will begin at 5:00 pm and will be held at:
1300 Houston Ave
McAllen, TX 78501
If you cannot attend, please send comments to the mayor and city commissioners at the emails listed below:
Mayor Javier Villalobos javier.villalobos@mcallen.net
Commissioner Tony Aguirre tony.aguirre@mcallen.net
Commissioner Joaquin Zamora jjzamora@mcallen.net
Commissioner Omar Quintanilla oquintanilla@mcallen.net
Commissioner Rodolfo Castilla rudy.castillo@mcallen.net
Commissioner Victor Haddad seby.haddad@mcallen.net
Commissioner Pepe Cabeza de Vaca pepecdv@mcallen.net
AKC Government Relations (GR) will continue to provide updates on this ordinance. For more information on this or other legislative issues in Texas, contact AKC GR at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org