Panel Backs Pet Overpopulation Plan

After more than two hours of testimony from animal activists and pleas by a group of fifth-graders, a Los Angeles City Council committee on Monday pushed ahead a controversial proposal to hike fees aimed at reducing the number of unaltered and stray dogs and cats.

If adopted by the full City Council, the rules could give Los Angeles what is believed to be the toughest spay/neuter ordinance of any major city in America.

These proposed rules aimed at reducing the number of stray animals on the streets and euthanized at the city’s shelters are expected to be heard before the full City Council within two to three weeks.

The proposal has the strong backing of animal rights and rescue groups but is opposed by hobbyist breeders. While the issue has been debated for decades, proponents have only recently gained the political clout to further their cause. Among their backers Monday was Katherine Riordan, the mayor’s daughter and an animal regulation commissioner.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who called for tough new rules a year ago, urged the Public Safety Committee to quickly forward the issue, saying the city needs a “rigorous, aggressive education program” to combat a pet overpopulation crisis.

“This is a significant public safety and public health matter,” Ridley-Thomas said. “It is imperative that we move forward as soon as possible.”

The proposal, passed along Monday at the direction of committee chairwoman Cindy Miscikowski, would increase the current license fee of $30 for an unaltered dog to $100, and require anyone who owns a dog or cat that has a litter to pay an additional $100 for an annual breeding license. All cats would have to be kept indoors unless they are spayed or neutered. Violators could face a $500 fine.

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Breeders have mounted widespread opposition to the proposals, which would limit them to only one litter per household per year and double the current $50 breeding permit fee. Breeders say the measures would punish only responsible owners and do little to curb the pet overpopulation crisis. They also fear the action in Los Angeles could trigger stiff rules nationally that could severely curtail or even prohibit all breeding.

“There are already at least six copycat proposals,” Mary Di Blasi of Perris said in an interview. A legislative advocate for the California Federation of Dog Clubs and other organizations, she cited examples in San Diego, Kern County, Berkeley and Contra Costa County. “It goes on and on and on. This is a national move. This is not a move just here in Los Angeles.”

The debate is particularly bitter here because zoning laws in existence for decades virtually prohibit pet breeding in residential areas. As a result, few people take out a breeding permit in the city because they would be operating illegally if in a residential area and fear they would be quickly shut down by zoning officials.

However, several backers of the proposal said Monday that hundreds of ads appear weekly in newspapers and on bulletin boards offering homebred puppies and kittens.

While city officials concede that more workable zoning laws are needed, they say that is not likely to happen before new rules, including a crackdown on breeders, go into effect, possibly within six months. The proposed crackdown includes a requirement that breeders publish their permit number in ads offering puppies and kittens for sale.

The City Council last year authorized hiring a five-member task force to enforce the rules and tens of thousands of dollars in additional funds and resources have been pledged by the mayor, volunteer groups and rescue organizations.

Community programs are planned to make sterilization services affordable and convenient. Extensive education programs are planned, particularly in communities with the most severe pet overpopulation problems: Pacoima, South-Central and the Harbor area, said Dan Knapp, general manager of the Department of Animal Services.

Enforcement will include concerted efforts to cite owners of unlicensed or loose dogs, monitor newspaper ads and pet stores and respond to complaints, Knapp said during a news conference Monday after the committee hearing. “Schoolchildren will not have to walk in fear,” Knapp said, as about 30 youngsters from Albion Street School in Los Angeles crowded around him.

Several of those youngsters from the Lincoln Heights neighborhood spoke at the hearing, urging the safety committee to pass the issue on to the council. Many told of being threatened by stray dogs.

“My teacher tells me to write something nice, but I can’t because I’m mad,” said Elea Hernandez, who described her fear of dogs on the trek to and from school. “We punish the dogs by killing them, but it’s not their fault.”

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Representatives of a variety of rescue and animal support groups pledged to work with the city to encourage residents to license and sterilize their pets.

One group, the Coalition for Pets and Public Safety, has raised $260,000 to provide two mobile spay/neuter vans that will offer free sterilization services in low-income neighborhoods, said Erika Brunson, a coalition member.

“We’ve seen this problem for 30 years,” Brunson told the safety committee, urging immediate action. She said the coalition, alone, is prepared to shoulder the cost of sterilizing 45,000 pets a year.

Sue Taylor of Actors and Others for Animals also pledged support, saying the group in the last year provided free sterilization for 1,000 pit bulls, the breed most commonly involved in attacks on people. “Spay and neuter is the only solution to this problem,” Taylor said.