May 8—Hall County might now have more utilize to manage its cat population and avoid the increase of illegal animal production — like puppy mills.
Director of Parks and Community Services Brent Holloway provided a resolution to change Hall County’s animal control regulation to commissioners Monday, highlighting the neighborhood cat program along with guidelines on the sale of dogs and cats as being the 2 primary modifications in the proposition.
The neighborhood cat program, he explained, is a technique the county has actually required to manage the population for about 3 years. Commission approval at a routine conference Wednesday, May 10, would codify that policy in the regulation — which started as a suggestion from not-for-profit animal well-being organization Best Friends Animal Society.
“If a homeowner has feral cats that have actually sort of established a cat nest on their property, and they do not always wish to eliminate them, we more than happy to come out and we can humanely trap those cats, get them made sterile or neutered and return them to the property,” Holloway said. “We’ve seen substantial advantages as far as the variety of strays that enter into human services (given that) we have actually executed it.”
The policy will concentrate on “locations of the county where the variety of unowned, complimentary roaming cats (are) situated,” according to county files, which likewise specify that “any roaming cat without traceable form of recognition” is qualified for the program.
The proposed changes likewise will resolve possible problems of “dishonest” family pet sales, according to Holloway.
“We wish to make certain that any supplier that’s going to be handling family pet sales is doing so morally and humanely,” Holloway said.
New language in the regulation, if authorized Wednesday, would explain that “an animal shop might not offer, market for sale, exchange, deal for adoption, barter, sell, auction or otherwise provide or move a cat or dog.”
“A family pet shop that supplies space for the adoption of cats and dogs will publish, in noticeable place on the cage or enclosure of each animal, an indication specifying the name of the animal control center or animal rescue organization which owns the dog or cat provided for adoption,” modifications to the regulation state. “It will be illegal for anyone to offer, exchange, trade, barter, lease or display screen for an industrial function or benefit any dog, cat or domestic bunny on or in any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, average, park or other leisure location, flea market or other outside market, industrial or retail car park…”
Holloway explained the product as a needed action to make sure animals are secured as Hall County continues to grow.
“As the human population grows, the (animal) population is likewise going to grow,” he said. “…we’re gotten ready for that sort of thing, certainly, however we do not wish to offer an environment where a dishonest breeder can can be found in and produce more animals than the regional neighborhood has the ability to house.”
