Buncombe tackles pet overpopulation
By Jennifer Brevorka, STAFF WRITER
Nov. 18, 2003 10:48 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - First Fido needed a leash. Now, he might need a snip and tuck.
Buncombe County commissioners amended animal control laws earlier this month, just weeks after a pit bull attacked a Candler boy. The new amendment requires local pet owners to physically restrain their animals anytime pets leave their property.
At a work session Tuesday, commissioners discussed another pet problem - overpopulation.
It is a dilemma that leads to the death of about 7,000 dogs and cats a year and is steadily driving up costs at the county shelter, officials said.
The solution could be imposing a fine for retrieving a pet from the shelter if that pet was not spayed or neutered. That would include owners of lost pets or those picked up by animal control officers for being a danger or nuisance to others.
"We've just hit a brick wall," said Shelly Moore, executive director of the Asheville Humane Society. "And we've got to think of a different way of dealing with this problem."
Commissioners heard suggestions Tuesday for a proposed law that would be voted on in December.
"We're seeing 10,000 animals a year come through the shelter," Moore said. "About 50 percent of those animals are strays, and the other 50 percent of those animals are turned over by owners."
"People just see these animals as disposable," she said.
Under the new regulations, pet owners, such as dog breeders, who don't want to spay or neuter their dogs or cats could buy a special permit, according to a draft of the ordinance.
"This isn't meant to be a punitive thing at all," said Ellen Frost, a former dog breeder and the owner of Bed Biscit, a dog kennel in Black Mountain.
"We need to think about people putting their liberties aside and spaying or neutering their animals to put an end to this problem. People need to realize we're slaughtering these animals."
The problem is costing taxpayers thousands of dollars a year, Frost said.
"I don't think it is fair that taxpayers have to pay the bills when they might not even have animals," Frost said.
Buncombe County will spend $665,092 for animal control and shelter costs in fiscal year 2004, county officials said. The money pays for staff, food and medical care of animals and the cost of putting animals to sleep. Asheville pays $121,000 toward shelter costs, Moore said.
"We simply cannot adopt our way out of this overpopulation problem," said Bill McKelvy, a volunteer and president of the Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic and the owner of two dogs. "And we can't build shelters large enough. (Sterilization) is an answer that solves these problems and saves taxpayers money."
At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners said they supported the proposed law but had concerns if all pet owners who wanted to spay or neuter their cat or dog could afford it.
Animal control officials said Buncombe County organizations have at least three different low-cost spay and neuter programs and more than $20,000 in grants to help.
"Anyone in this county that wants to get their pet neutered, we can help them," Moore said. "Money is not the problem though. The problem is making people want to do it."
This was in this mornings paper and on the news, I think it is a good idea to make people pay if they do not want to spay/neuter their pet.
By Jennifer Brevorka, STAFF WRITER
Nov. 18, 2003 10:48 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - First Fido needed a leash. Now, he might need a snip and tuck.
Buncombe County commissioners amended animal control laws earlier this month, just weeks after a pit bull attacked a Candler boy. The new amendment requires local pet owners to physically restrain their animals anytime pets leave their property.
At a work session Tuesday, commissioners discussed another pet problem - overpopulation.
It is a dilemma that leads to the death of about 7,000 dogs and cats a year and is steadily driving up costs at the county shelter, officials said.
The solution could be imposing a fine for retrieving a pet from the shelter if that pet was not spayed or neutered. That would include owners of lost pets or those picked up by animal control officers for being a danger or nuisance to others.
"We've just hit a brick wall," said Shelly Moore, executive director of the Asheville Humane Society. "And we've got to think of a different way of dealing with this problem."
Commissioners heard suggestions Tuesday for a proposed law that would be voted on in December.
"We're seeing 10,000 animals a year come through the shelter," Moore said. "About 50 percent of those animals are strays, and the other 50 percent of those animals are turned over by owners."
"People just see these animals as disposable," she said.
Under the new regulations, pet owners, such as dog breeders, who don't want to spay or neuter their dogs or cats could buy a special permit, according to a draft of the ordinance.
"This isn't meant to be a punitive thing at all," said Ellen Frost, a former dog breeder and the owner of Bed Biscit, a dog kennel in Black Mountain.
"We need to think about people putting their liberties aside and spaying or neutering their animals to put an end to this problem. People need to realize we're slaughtering these animals."
The problem is costing taxpayers thousands of dollars a year, Frost said.
"I don't think it is fair that taxpayers have to pay the bills when they might not even have animals," Frost said.
Buncombe County will spend $665,092 for animal control and shelter costs in fiscal year 2004, county officials said. The money pays for staff, food and medical care of animals and the cost of putting animals to sleep. Asheville pays $121,000 toward shelter costs, Moore said.
"We simply cannot adopt our way out of this overpopulation problem," said Bill McKelvy, a volunteer and president of the Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic and the owner of two dogs. "And we can't build shelters large enough. (Sterilization) is an answer that solves these problems and saves taxpayers money."
At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners said they supported the proposed law but had concerns if all pet owners who wanted to spay or neuter their cat or dog could afford it.
Animal control officials said Buncombe County organizations have at least three different low-cost spay and neuter programs and more than $20,000 in grants to help.
"Anyone in this county that wants to get their pet neutered, we can help them," Moore said. "Money is not the problem though. The problem is making people want to do it."
This was in this mornings paper and on the news, I think it is a good idea to make people pay if they do not want to spay/neuter their pet.
