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Bernalillo County Enacts Livestock Protections,
Prohibits Dog, Cat Sales at Pet Stores
Albuquerque-area animal advocates waited for their turn to once again provide comment before the Bernalillo County Commission for three-and-a-half hours on the night of December 9, when commissioners put an end to the wait for a vote on the animal ordinance that had extended 18 months. The commission voted on the ordinance that dictates what is acceptable, and not acceptable, related to the welfare of the county's animals, passing almost all of the regulations favorable to animals for which advocates had diligently lobbied.
Please read the Albuquerque Journal's article (below) on the commission's vote. Coming soon from Animal Protection Voters will be commentary on the revised ordinance.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
By Dan McKay
Journal Staff Writer
Bernalillo County commissioners banned the sale of dogs and cats from pet stores and enacted new protections for livestock under an ordinance approved late Tuesday.
The 4-0 vote capped 18 months of meetings and debate over how to rewrite the county's animal control ordinance, which applies to unincorporated land outside city limits. An audience of about two dozen people cheered as commissioners crafted the bill Tuesday night through a series of amendments.
"We've had tons and tons of input," Commission Chairman Alan Armijo said. "The commissioners have tried to accommodate the different points of view."
The regulations will take effect in about six months. They expand the language defining animal cruelty, offer a reduced license fee for pet owners who get their animals sterilized, and ban the chaining of dogs, unless the leash is on a trolley system.
Under the new fee system, the annual fee for an unsterilized dog would be $20, and the fee for a sterilized animal would be $10. There are lower fees for animals owned by seniors.
In response to public testimony, the commission also agreed to ban the sale of dogs and cats from pet stores, unless the store has a hobby-breeders' permit. Supporters of that amendment said it's needed because many pet store animals come from puppy mills or unethical breeders who keep the animals in horrifying conditions.
Commissioners Michael Brasher and Teresa Cordova co-sponsored that provision in the bill.
The small pet store Ace of Hearts is expected to be allowed to remain in operation because it has a breeders' permit. There aren't any other pet stores in unincorporated Bernalillo County selling dogs and cats, observers said. Nevertheless, commissioners said they wanted to make sure none move in.
The commission also approved an amendment sponsored by Brasher that says livestock kept on 1 acre or less must have "protection from weather," and be given food, water and veterinary care. The provision is modeled on an ordinance in Doña Ana County.
The nonprofit group Animal Protection of New Mexico had urged the commission to include livestock protections.
Violating the ordinance can result in a fine of up to $300 and/or 90 days in jail.
The proposal doesn't make many changes to the rules for so-called "backyard breeders." But people who run a small business selling animals will no longer be able to bring a box of puppies or kittens to a Wal-Mart parking lot or elsewhere. Instead, the pets must be sold at the address listed on the breeder's litter or hobby permit.
Voting in favor of the bill were Armijo, Brasher, Tim Cummins and Cordova. Commissioner Deanna Archuleta was absent.
It was the last scheduled commission meeting for Cummins and Cordova, whose terms end at the end of the year.
Posted by permission from Albuquerque Publishing Co.
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