June 6, 2022
https://www.akc.org/legislative-alerts/nashville-davidson-co-tn-pet-limits-overreaching-requirements-2nd-vote-tomorrow/
Please share this information with animal owners in Nashville/Davidson County,
Tennessee.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) learned today that an ordinance that seeks to
significantly amend Metro Nashville/Davidson County (TN) animal law will
receive a second vote tomorrow, June 7, 2022.
What you can do: Animal owners are urged to contact their council
membersIMMEDIATELY to express concerns and ask them to not approve the
ordinance as currently written. Scroll down to view contact information.
You can also state concerns at the council meeting on June 7, 2022, 6:30pm, at
the Historic Metro Courthouse, 1 Public Square, 2nd Floor, Nashville, TN 37201.
Summary:
The proposed ordinance has been cited as updating dangerous dog laws; however,
among other unclear and problematic provisions, it would enact pet limits and
make the use of certain humane and accepted shelters for animals illegal.
To view the ordinance and additional amendments, click here, click on “Agenda”
for the 6/7/22 Metropolitan Council meeting, and scroll to Item 107. Then click
on BL2022-1252. When you get to the ordinance page, scroll down and select
click here for full text.
Primary Concerns and Talking Points for Local Dog Owners:
Pet ownership limits. The proposed ordinance seeks to establish limits on the
number of dogs and cats over the age of 4 months that may be kept on a
property. AKC opposes laws that limit the number of dogs a responsible owner
may keep, as well as unreasonable limitations on pet ownership.
Owners would be allowed to have 1-5 dogs and cats on less than 1.0 acre, up to
10 on 1.5 acres or more, up to 20 on 2.5 acres or more, and 21+ on 5 acres or
more. Pet owners would have 15 days to come into compliance. Veterinary
clinics, kennels, boarding facilities, licensed pet shops and pet dealers are
exempted.
While responsible owners would be limited on the number of pets they could own
and keep confined on their property, “community cat” caregivers would be
allowed to maintain an unlimited number of feral and at-large cats, and to
redeem community cats from the shelter without proof of ownership or payment of
charges and fees.
Visit AKC’s key issue page at www.akcgr.org/limit for more talking points on
why limit laws are ineffective.
Problematic definition of extreme weather conditions. An overly broad
definition seeks to define “extreme weather conditions” as temperatures below
32 degrees, temperatures above 95 degrees, or when the National Weather Service
issues a weather advisory for a tornado warning or severe thunderstorm warning.
AKC opposes arbitrary and one-size-fits-all requirements for dogs. Although the
ordinance, as currently written, does not impose temperature restrictions for
dogs, legislatively defining 32 degrees or a weather advisory as
“life-threatening” for animals could prove problematic. Visit the
Tethering/Dogs Outdoors key issue page in the AKC Legislative Action Center for
more talking points on effectively protecting dogs outdoors.
Overreaching doghouse/shelter requirements. A barn, doghouse, or other shelter
for an animal would be required to have a solid level floor raised at least two
inches from the ground. This would outlaw sheltering animals in stables and
other humane and accepted structures with earthen, concrete, brick, and other
ground-level surfaces. AKC recognizes that responsible dog owners utilize a
variety of indoor and outdoor solutions to provide safe housing and exercise
areas for their dogs.
Dog tag requirements/Microchipping. Similar to current law, the proposed
ordinance would require a dog to wear a collar with both a license tag and a
rabies tag attached. Also, the proposed ordinance does not require animal
control to scan a lost or impounded animal for a microchip. Further, animal
control is authorized to insert an identifying microchip in an impounded animal
at owner expense without first determining if the animal is already
microchipped.
Animal owners are encouraged to ask their council members to amend the proposed
ordinance to require that impounded animals shall be scanned for a microchip
upon intake and again prior to adoption, transfer, sterilization, or
euthanasia. The time, date, name, and employee ID of the person who performed
the scan should be documented in the animal’s record.
Contradictory holding and redemption periods. Both current law and the proposed
ordinance include inconsistent minimum holding periods for impounded animals,
with different requirements for “animals” versus for “any dog.” This should be
clarified to provide owners the maximum amount of time to redeem lost animals.
Council Member Contact Information:
Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, 615-880-3357, 615-584-1082, jim.shulman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
At-Large 1 Bob Mendes, 615-432-1341, 615-756-3533, bob.mendes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
At-Large 2 Sharon Hurt, 615-432-1342, 615-804-9852, sharon.hurt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
At-Large 3 Burkley Allen, 615-432-1343, 615-383-6604,
burkley.allen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
At-Large 5 Zulfat Suara, 615-432-1345, 615-585-2558, zulfat.suara@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 1 Jonathan Hall, 615-432-1301, 615-586-3046, jonathan.hall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 2 Kyonzte Toombs, 615-432-1302, 615-601-5127,
kyonzte.toombs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 3 Jennifer Gamble, 615-432-1303, 615-860-2602,
jennifer.gamble@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 4 Robert Swope, 615-432-1304, 615-308-0577, robert.swope@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 5 Sean Parker, 615-432-1305, 615-339-6946, sean.parker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 6 Brett Withers, 615-432-1306, 615-427-5946, brett.withers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 7 Emily Benedict, 615-432-1307, emily.benedict@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 8 Nancy VanReece, 615-432-1308, 931-297-4148, nancy.vanreece@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 9 Tonya Hancock, 615-432-1309, tonya.hancock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 10 Zach Young, 615-432-1310, 615-390-6840, zachary.young@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 11 Larry Hagar, 615-432-1311, 615-972-4335, larry.hagar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 12 Erin Evans, 615-432-1312, erin.evans@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 13 Russ Bradford, 615-432-1313, russ.bradford@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 14 Kevin Rhoten, 615-432-1314, 615-483-9535, kevin.rhoten@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 15 Jeff Syracuse, 615-432-1315, jeff.syracuse@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 16 Ginny Welsch, 615-432-1316, 615-293-3365, ginny.welsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 17 Colby Sledge, 615-432-1317, 615-442-3727, colby.sledge@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 18 Tom Cash, 615-432-1318, thomas.cash@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 19 Freddie O'Connell, 615-432-1319, freddie.oconnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 20 Mary Carolyn Roberts, 615-432-1320, 615-977-262,
marycarolyn.roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 21 Brandon Taylor, 615-432-1321, 615-946-9700,
brandon.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 22 Gloria Hausser, 615-432-1322, 615-307-0823,
gloria.hausser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 23 Thom Druffel, 615-432-1323, 615-767-6458, thom.druffel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 24 Kathleen Murphy, 615-432-1324, 615-422-7109,
kathleen.murphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 25 Russ Pulley, 615-432-1325, russ.pulley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 26 Courtney Johnston, 615-432-1326, courtney.johnston@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 27 Bob Nash, 615-423-1327, bob.nash@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 28 Tanaka Vercher, 615-432-1328, tanaka.vercher@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 29 Delishia Porterfield, 615-432-1329, 615-208-3068,
delishia.porterfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 30 Sandra Sepulveda, 615-432-1330, 615-389-2795,
sandra.sepulveda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 31 John Rutherford, 615-432-1331, 615-829-6004,
john.rutherford@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 32 Joy Styles, 615-432-1332, 615-717-4017, joy.styles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 33 Antoinette Lee, 615-432-1333, 615-755-5482,
antoinette.lee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 34 Angie Henderson, 615-432-1334, 615-260-5530,
angie.henderson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dist. 35 Dave Rosenberg, 615-432-1335, 615-208-7129,
dave.rosenberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional information, please contact American Kennel Club Government
Relations at doglaw@xxxxxxx.
Stormy Hope
NAIATrust, Trustee
NAIATrust-CA on Facebook!
GSDCA Legislative Liaison to AKC
California Responsible Pet Owners
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