Proposed Changes to the City of San Antonio's Animal Ordinance

San Antonio Proposal Bad for All Dog Owners

The American Kennel Club and its Texas federation of dog owners, the Responsible Pet Owners Alliance, are deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the City of San Antonio's animal ordinance. These changes, as will be proposed by the city's Animal Care Services Advisory Board, unfairly target responsible dog breeders and owners, have no chance of improving the quality of life for animals, and will have a significant negative impact on San Antonio's economy. It is imperative that breeders and concerned dog owners in San Antonio contact the Mayor and the members of the City Council to vehemently express their opposition.

The American Kennel Club supports reasonable and enforceable laws that govern dog ownership. We believe that the proposed animal ordinance is unreasonable, unenforceable, and a risk to the public welfare. Among its many onerous provisions, the current version of the proposal would require compliance with these most burdensome policies:

Mandate the spay/neuter of all dogs. In the alternative, owners would be required to annually purchase both a license ($75) and an intact permit ($50) for each unsterilized dog. Totaling $125, this is twelve-and-one-half times more expensive than the annual fees owners of a sterilized dog will be required to pay ($10). Egregiously high fees, like those that would be imposed by this proposal, make spaying and neutering de facto mandatory because only a small number of people could afford to pay such high fees.

Classify most kennels as a "commercial kennel" and impose considerable regulations upon such facilities. As currently defined by the proposal, most places where dogs are kept could reasonably qualify as commercial kennels, including homes of many hobby breeders and rescue groups. Such facilities will be subsequently subject to currently undefined license fees for such establishments, unreasonable building standards that will be impossible for smaller breeders and dog owners who maintain dogs in their own residential premises to comply with, and unproven animal husbandry standards that risk transfer of infectious and contagious diseases.

Require any person who breeds a female dog to obtain a $50 litter permit prior to, or within ten days of, a litter's birth. Such permit is limited to one litter per female dog per year. AKC wholeheartedly opposes this provision. Breeders are already regulated under existing ordinances for pet limits, animal nuisance laws, and cruelty laws. As such, additionally burdens on responsible breeders are unnecessary.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact the Mayor and the members of the San Antonio City Council who will consider this proposal. Tell them that you are against the proposed changes to San Antonio's animal ordinance. Mail all letters to:

[Recipient]
City of San Antonio
P.O. Box 839966San Antonio, TX 78283

For a sample letter, click here.

Mayor Phil Hardberger
Phone: (210) 207-7060
Fax: (210) 207-4168
E-mail: phardberger@sanantonio.gov

City Manager Sheryl Sculley
Phone: (210) 207-7080
Fax: (210) 207-4217
E-mail: citymanager@sanantonio.gov

Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros
Phone: (210) 207-7279
Fax: (210) 207- 6931
E-mail: maryalice.cisneros@sanantonio.gov

Councilwoman Sheila McNeil
Phone: (210) 207-7278
Fax: (210) 207-4496
E-mail: district2@sanantonio.gov

Councilman Roland Gutierrez
Phone: (210) 207-7064
Fax: (210) 534-1931
E-mail: district3@sanantonio.gov

Councilman Philip Cortez
Phone: (210) 207-7281
Fax: (210) 678-0099
E-mail: district4@sanantonio.gov

Councilwoman Lourdes Galvan
Phone: (210) 207-7043
Fax: (210) 212-4860
E-mail: district5@sanantonio.gov

Councilwoman Delicia Herrera
Phone: (210) 207-7065
Fax: (210) 207-8760
E-mail: district6@sanantonio.gov

Councilman Justin Rodriguez
Phone: (210) 207-7044
Fax: (210) 207-8181
E-mail: district7@sanantonio.gov

Councilwoman Diane Cibrian
Phone: (210) 207-708
Fax: (210) 949-0439
E-mail: diane.cibrian@sanantonio.gov

Councilman Kevin Wolff
Phone: (210) 207-7325
Fax: (210) 207-7027
E-mail: kwolff@sanantonio.gov

Councilman John Clamp
Phone: (210) 207-7276
Fax: (210) 207-8777
E-mail: john.clamp@sanantonio.gov

For more information, contact the Responsible Pet Owners Alliance at rpoa@texas.net; or contact the AKC's Canine Legislation Department at (919) 816-3720, or e-mail doglaw@akc.org.