Riverside, California is set to have a new spay, neuter, and pet limit law go into effect July 23, 2010.
This law has passed the city council and will have a 2nd reading on June 22, 2010 where it is expected to pass without any problems.
The new law will require pet owners to spay or neuter their cat and dogs by 7 months of age. If an owner chooses not to have the animal altered they will have to pay a higher licensing fee.
The city says it is not going to go out looking for unaltered animals but, it will give them legal stance if needed.
Cats and dogs must also be microchiped by 7 months. I’m sure this is to help ID the owners of lost, abused, abandoned animals.
The city as of now has no limit on the number of cats and/or dogs a person can have. That has made Riverside a place where hoarders and puppy mills have gone without restrictions. They are changing that with this new law!
People with more than 4 dogs or 9 cats will be required to to get a Kennel or Cattery permit.
In the last few months I have seen so many news stories where hoarding of animals is a huge problem. They are even finding so called rescue groups that are collecting animals but, not rehoming. Guess I didn’t ever live near anyone that did this.
I am sure there will be people on both sides of this law speaking up.
It is just a shame that there needs to be laws so, people take care of their pets. It is the Irresponsible people that are forcing cities and counties to go to such measures as making laws to deal with them.
Pet Limit Laws Unconstitutional:
In October, 2010, I was ordered by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control to reduce my cat population to 5. I currently have 28 cats. They never go outside, are all spayed/neutered and current with their vaccinations. My cats are not a nuisance or a risk to the public health, safety and welfare. I do not consider myself a horarder. Hoarders may start out with good intentions, by the time the authorities intervene often the dogs or cats are suffering from severe neglect. The problem with this justification for pet limit laws is that most animal care and mental health professionals agree hoarding is a mental disorder. People who suffer from mental disorders generally don’t curb their compulsions based on what the law allows. I have tried for 6 months to find homes for my cats with no success. The majority of my cats are over 12 and I’ve had them since they were kittens. I am working with a group arranged by the Baldwin Park Shelter Manger. We had pictures taken of 15 of our cats to be circulated throughout the internet. The next step I will be given a citation and have to appear before a judge. In researching I have found some cases in other states where a judge has ruled the pet limit law to be unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court and many State Courts have ruled pet limits to be a violation of the United States Constituion. In Louisiana, a judge ruled that “the ordinance violates residents’ property right”. District Court Judge Thomas P. Knapp in Minnesota ruled, “The court finds that owndership of dogs and other pets is a property right wich is protected by the Constitution. All this law does is hurt the responsible caregivers, who love and care for their pets. Please write your County Supervisor and/or City Council Representative to try and change this law. Quality of Care not Quantity of Pets. E-mail me @ kstates@earthlink.net with your opinion on this matter, I would love to hear from you