Published: May 06, 2008 11:07 pm         

Ordinance

Policing number of pets could be doggone difficult

A proposed pet ordinance is more likely to land Beckley city officials in the doghouse than solve an animal control problem.

The issue scheduled for discussion during a public hearing at 4 p.m. May 20 in city council chambers involves amending the current pet ownership ordinance. Under the proposed ordinance, Beckley residents would be allowed to keep only three dogs and three cats — period.

According to Bob Cannon, the city’s chief zoning officer, and Mayor Emmett Pugh, the proposal comes in response to numerous complaints about residents who have large numbers of pets. Some of these pet owners, they say, have caused grief for their neighbors with noise from barking dogs and the smell of feces coming from their properties. Cannon said he receives about five complaints about dogs per day.

Granted, those are real issues, and they need to be addressed.

The proposal, however, raises several questions. Just how would this ordinance be enforced? Will it come down to neighbors turning in neighbors? Can law enforcement officers barge into homes to check out a pet complaint without a search warrant? That would call for a lot of legal red tape, not to mention the manpower involved in processing that red tape.

We can support an ordinance that would protect animals, promote public health and cut down on nuisance calls. However, that ordinance needs to be developed without compromising a resident’s constitutional right to privacy. It also needs to be cost-effective, especially in light of the fact Raleigh County has a limited number of animal control officers who have to cover a wide area and deal with a plethora of animal abuse, neglect and nuisance problems.

Pet owners need to attend the hearing and make their voices heard. City leaders need to think this through carefully before they wind up tugging a tiger by the tail.