Opinion: Amarillo Globe News 08/09/06

For years, I have raised these and other animal concerns to the public as the face behind Pet Project. I respectfully suggest that it is time to act meaningfully on the problem. While I am pleased that the City Commissioners have convened a special meeting to discuss changes in the current leash laws, this will be both too much and not enough. Applying band-aids does nothing to reduce the problem or its cost to our citizens.

Clearly, there is a better way. Cities such as Austin, Dallas, New York City and Los Angeles have proved that the solution, both humane and cost-effective, can only be found by attacking the problem itself: pet overpopulation. Despite its size, Amarillo euthanized more pets each year than our state capital or the city of Seattle. This is because those cities have adopted license laws that encourage citizens to spay and neuter their pets, and permits animal control to monitor and manage the population of unaltered animals.

Those cities do not permit its citizens to sell unaltered pets on street corners, and they require backyard breeders to operate their businesses like a business by having the same requirement of paying taxes and operating their business on property zoned commercially. They provide spaying and neutering programs for those who cannot afford it. In addition, their citizens spend less money per capita on the problem than we do. Moreover, for every dollar spent on spaying/neutering the taxpayer will save $20.00 in animal control cost.

Of course, we should do likewise. A licensing program can be built from the ground up with none or very little expense to the city; I have provided documentation to our city on how this could be done. Moreover, should ultimately reduce the tax burden placed on all citizens. Amarillo Should spend its tax dollars on education or beautification of our city, rather than killing innocent pets.

Under our present system, each and every citizen pays to euthanized unclaimed animals. Meanwhile, those who harbor and loose unaltered pets on the city are permitted to do so without cost or consequence. A pet license program, properly managed and aggressively enforced would not only improve our animal control problem, but would lay the cost more squarely in the hands of those who have created the problem for our city.

Rather than applying band-aids to our leash laws, it is time for the city to adopt a comprehensive animal licensing program, and to encourage citizens to spay and neuter their pets. It is a matter of simple economics. Moreover, it is a matter of common sense. Amarillo deserves better.