Drafting the Chapter 5 Code Revision*

The Animal Care Strategic Plan charges the ACS Advisory Board with leading the development of a revision of San Antonio's animal-related code, titled Chapter 5 - Animals and Fowl. The Advisory Board in turn appointed a Chapter 5 Ad Hoc Committee to prepare a draft for the Board's consideration.

The Chapter 5 Ad Hoc Committee was chaired by Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni and composed of ACSAB Vice President Mary Abbott (also San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition) and members Ellen Lockwood (also Diamond Dachshund Rescue) and Laura McKieran (also CPR), along with Mary Beth Duerler (RPOA), Michelle Molina (SCAT), and Joel Hailey (Voice for Animals). We were supported in our work by Krystal Strong in the Deputy City Manager's office and incredibly patient and knowledgeable representatives of ACS, the City Attorney's Office, Neighborhood Services, and Metro Health.

Committee membership was selected to represent the diversity of viewpoints. No outside interests - no lobbying or activist organizations or such - were involved in our work, although committee members were free to (and did) consult any outside source for information we felt would support our effort. In the hopes of not politicizing the process any more than it already was, we agreed as a group not to lobby or advocate publicly to privately to Councilmembers until the revisions had had a chance to go before you, the members of the community who live every day with the effects of our current laws and behaviors.

Committee members and city staff researched other current and proposed codes from other cities in Texas and across the nation. We worked very, very hard to craft a progressive but reasonable set of laws that would achieve our community's goals - not just No Kill, but also:

• fight neglect and cruelty to animals;
• support pet owners in properly and responsibly caring for their pets;
• protect the public from aggressive dogs and threat of animal-carried diseases like rabies;
• balance breeders' interests with the interests of the taxpayers who must foot the bill for overpopulation; and
• make room for evidence-based practices like Trap-Neuter-Return to deal with the problem of unowned animals.

The proposed revised Chapter 5 was prepared over 10 meetings held in spring and summer 2007. The draft accounts for changes in Texas law that go into effect September 1, 2007. The Committee's draft was presented to the Advisory Board at its regular meeting of July 11.

*Note: this description of the code development process is provided by ACS Advisory Board and Chapter 5 Ad Hoc Committee member Laura McKieran. Although every attempt has been made to provide accurate information, this account does not necessarily represent the views of all committee members or city staff.