Baltimore City people: Unfortunately, several City Councilmembers have submitted a bill to reinstate multi-pet permits in Baltimore City. This means that anyone that owns 3 or more pets (dogs and cats combined) would have to go through the process of obtaining a permit. This is where residents would have to post a huge sign on their property notifying neighbors that they want a permit, and if anyone doesn’t want them to have 3 or more pets, they would then need to hold a hearing. This is something we worked with the Anti-Animal Abuse Commission on removing from the City ordinance two years ago. We still agree that this should not be a law in our City for many reasons: 1. On the surface, the Multi Pet Permit would seem to appear to control the number of animals in a residence. However, as researched and history shows, it actually does not. 2. Many pet owners in Baltimore, who provide proper care to their companion animals, already have three or more pets. These are residential family homes, and are in no way considered “private kennels”. Rather than posting a large sign in their yard, attending a hearing, and incurring fees, an owner will avoid the license process in its entirety. Pet licensing is important with helping us to reunite lost pets with their families. We do not want to discourage this. 3. In addition, the number of potential adopters may decrease as they look to avoid the inconvenient and awkward tasks required for the additional Multi Pet Permit when they simply want to add a third or fourth pet to their household. 4. When Animal Control agencies are called upon on a complaint regarding animals, it usually involves either a quarrel between neighbors or an irresponsible pet owner. In a neighborhood dispute, the pet complaint is generally just one in a myriad of other issues. 5. Baltimore City Animal Control officers are already empowered to write citations or impound animals for irresponsible pet owners. 6. Multi pet permits do not prevent bad owners from having animals, but instead discourages good pet owners from adopting more. I highly encourage you to contact your council members to tell them you do not support this bill. If you are willing to attend and speak at the hearing, it will be held on April 29th. Unfortunately, several council members under the impression that this bill will stop bad/irresponsible owners from having pets. It’s been proven for decades that this is not the case and other laws already exist that can be enforced upon irresponsible owners. Please share this information with your friends and family and ask them to speak up against this bill. legistar.baltimorecitycouncil/detailreport/?key=5558
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:23:27 +0000
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