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warren, MI-proposed exotic ban, spiders too
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by tigers9 on April 27, 2008
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Mail this to a friend!
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http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/042808/loc_local02.shtml
Measure would ban 'exotic' animals
Warren also looks to limit dogs, cats
By Norb Franz
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Snakes, monkeys, alligators, cougars and other "exotic" animals could no longer be kept as pets under a proposed law being studied in Warren.
The recommended regulations would make it a misdemeanor for anyone harboring such animals.
In addition to a ban on such non-traditional pets, the dog days of summer could include new rules in Warren that limit how many canines a person may have.
And if the family dog has puppies, selling them would be prohibited.
Currently, residents can have no more than five dogs or cats in any combination, although the total cannot include more than three adult dogs. Some officials consider that confusing.
"We have to have a reasonable limit. What that limit is, I don't know," Mayor James Fouts said.
The Warren City Council has not yet taken action on the proposed regulations.
A member of the Warren Animal Welfare Commission said any changes should be up for debate before the measure goes to the council for action.
Hawke Fracassa criticized wording that would allow residents to have up to three dogs and two cats, or three cats and two dogs. He said an equal number of canines and domestic felines should be permitted in each household, up to a total maximum of six.
He criticized the regulations requested by the Police Department's animal control division and considered it "insulting" that the commission has not been consulted.
"How many ferrets can we have? How many guinea pigs? At what point do we stop being so specific?" Fracassa added.
"If the mayor puts this (ordinance) in front of council without review by the Animal Welfare Commission, then the Animal Welfare Commission should be disbanded as not being of value."
The ordinance also would prohibit kennels in residential areas.
Assistant City Attorney William Hackel III said police have had reports about ongoing breeding of dogs at homes. That amounts to an unlicensed, illegal business, he said.
Identifying specific animals in the ordinances eliminates any ambiguity if the city winds up in court to prove which species are prohibited, he said.
Warren attorneys who drafted the proposed regulations reviewed similar ordinances in nearby communities.
If approved, the measure would require anyone in the city with exotic animals - including piranha and poisonous spiders - to get rid of them in 30 days or faces up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both.
Still, officials insist police and building inspectors won't be on the prowl for violators. But complaints will be investigated, they said.
"Apparently alligators are more common (in the city) than I thought," Fouts said.
The new recommendations come a year after city officials considered, but postponed, an ordinance that limited the number of dogs and cats residents could keep, in response to concerns about "puppy mills" in neighborhoods.
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