SAN CLEMENTE : Council May Amend Vicious Animals Law
The City Council is expected to add teeth tonight to an existing law defining vicious animals and the responsibilities of their owners.
A proposed update to a 1983 ordinance would create an appeal process for the owner of a pet declared vicious by city animal control officers, said Capt. Tom Dailey of the San Clemente Fire Department, which oversees animal control.
The proposed wording also says that an animal owner can be found negligent if the pet attacks someone while in the owner’s control. In the last three months, 32 animal bites have been reported in the city, Dailey said, although many of them occurred in the city animal shelter.
“When we started the animal control program, we borrowed a lot of laws from other areas,” Dailey said. “Now we’re developing more of a San Clemente law.”
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Dailey said further updates to the law are expected in the next six months.
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