TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-- A proposed City Ordinance could put an end to the holding period required for Animal Services when free roaming, not micro-chipped cats are impounded.
This ordinance would allow animal services to immediately release the animals for adoption, transfer, or foster care.
As of now, the law requires that stray impounded animals be held for six days before they become the property of the City of Tallahassee and may be adopted, fostered, transferred or euthanized.
The six day hold gives animal owners the opportunity to recover their missing pets. However, according to the city, most impounded cats are in fact not owned but are apart of the estimated 20,000 free-roaming cats in the community.
According to the proposed ordinance, the change to policy will save more cat lives, as a majority of cats that are impounded eventually become sick as a result of diminished immune response brought on by stress.
The ordinance will not reduce the current holding period for euthanizing stray cats or any other animals.
The ordinance will also update codes and clarify current policy. That includes adding ear tipped community cats to the list of exceptions for animals at large and providing ear tipped cats an exception to the requirement for wearing a rabies tag. Ear tipping is the universal sign for a neutered feral cat, Ear tipped cats have a quarter- inch of the tip of their left year cut.
The first and only public hearing on this proposed ordinance will be held before the City Commission on April 27th, 2016.
