CITY TO BOLSTER ANIMAL CONTROL; NEW ORDINANCE BEFORE COUNCIL

A new animal-control ordinance would make it tougher for Fido and Fluffy to roam the streets.

The updated ordinance, approved on first reading Monday night by the Cape Girardeau City Council, adds a number of clauses aimed at curbing animal nuisances and increasing safety for people and pets.

The existing ordinance was approved in 1967, and city officials say it is outdated.

The new ordinance brings the city's standards in line with state and federal law, said Charles Stucker, a nuisance-abatement officer with the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

The existing ordinance also applies mainly to dogs. The new ordinance specifies that cats also would be liable as four-legged offenders.

"Cats cause as many problems in the city as dogs," Stucker said. "We felt that it was jut time that we brought them under the umbrella of the ordinance."

The current ordinance specifies that no animal -- canine, feline, fowl or otherwise -- can run loose.

The new ordinance, which has to be read two more times for final approval, includes that provision and also specifies that cats must be confined while they are in heat, can be declared nuisance animals and are subject to a new "pooper-scooper" provision, which requires pet owners to clean up after their animals defecate on other people's or public property.

The new ordinance may eventually include a clause requiring cats to be licensed and specifying that unlicensed cats impounded by the city be disposed of after a five-day holding period.

The current licensing requirement only applies to dogs and calls for unlicensed dogs impounded by the city to be disposed of immediately.

In April, city voters will be asked to approve a licensing fee increase that would apply to both dogs and cats and would differentiate between those animals that have been spayed or neutered and those that haven't.

The licensing requirement for cats would help return more impounded felines to their owners, Stucker said.

"We get calls from people all the time that have lost their cats," he said. "Occasionally, we'll put together a color or a type of cat and find out it's theirs. But rarely does that happen."

In 1997, the city impounded 467 animals, including 350 dogs and 108 cats. The other nine animals included raccoons, squirrels and other critters.

Of the 108 cats that were impounded, only four went home to their owners, Stucker said. Eighty-three were euthanized.

"That doesn't reference the cats that we pick up on the street that are feral, that are just as wild as can be," he said.

The city euthanized 40 feral cats that were caught in traps.

Feral cats are unadoptable, and can be dangerous, Stucker said.

The new ordinance includes provisions for designating dogs as "vicious" and outlining how such animals must be kept confined. Such animals can only be transported while muzzled and leashed, and owners of vicious dogs must post warnings on their property.

Two new clauses also make people liable for mistreatment of animals.

One new clauses stipulates that owners are guilty of animal neglect if they fail to provide adequate food, shelter or care for their animals.

The current ordinance's animal-abuse clause is also included in the new ordinance, but Stucker said some cases prosecuted as abuse were being dismissed because they actually constituted neglect.

A second clause makes it illegal to taunt, torment, injure, kill or otherwise harm any dog assigned to law enforcement personnel.

Dogs and cats can be declared nuisances for "loud and frequent" barking or howling or threatening or causing property damage, and their people can be cited for maintaining nuisance animals.

The new nuisance clause better defines animal nuisances, Stucker said. It gives officers "an opportunity to work with the owners of the animal" to try to correct any behavioral problem before a summons has to be issued.

The new ordinance would also require dogs and cats to be kept confined while they are in heat, Stucker said.

"If you have a female dog or cat in heat, naturally, it's going to attract males," he said, and packs of dogs might pose a danger.

Dogs would still have to be kept on a leash while they are off their owner's property. The new ordinance does not stipulate a similar requirement for cats.

The new ordinance also would limit to four the number of unaltered cats or dogs an individual may keep. Anyone with five or more unaltered animals would have to apply for zoning and licensing as a commercial kennel.

Another clause would require animal owners to make sure the pens, houses or kennels for their animals are at least 20 feet away from another property owner's home or business.

Anyone adopting a dog or cat from the Humane Society or other such shelter would have to have the animal spayed or neutered, in keeping with the state's Animal Care Facilities Act.

Stucker and the city's other two nuisance-abatement officers spend a good portion of their time responding to complaints about animals. Last year the three handled 6,289 nuisance complaints, including 4,276 complaints about animals.

ANIMAL CONTROL PROPOSAL

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved on first reading an updated animal-control ordinance. New provisions include:

-- Adding and defining animal neglect as a prosecutable offense.

-- Adding guidelines for the disposition of unlicensed dogs, as required by the state's Animal Care Facilities Act.

-- Requiring dogs and cats to be confined while they are in heat, defining which dogs and cats may be declared nuisances and making it illegal to maintain nuisance dogs or cats.

-- Incorporating a "vicious dog" clause, including definitions and guidelines for housing animals declared vicious.

-- Limiting the number of animals that may be kept at a residence to four unspayed or unneutered dogs or cats. Households with five or more unspayed or unneutered animals would have to apply for licensing and zoning as a commercial kennel.

-- Requiring dog or cat pens, kennels or houses to be at least 20 feet from another property owner's home, church, school or business.

-- Prohibiting pet owners from allowing their dogs or cats to defecate on public or private property unless fecal matter is immediately cleaned up.