By Mark Waite
For the second time, members of the Nye County Animal Advisory Committee will present changes to Title 6, the animal control section of the county’s code.
The proposal is expected to be made during next Tuesday’s meeting.
During the first rewrite, county commissioners rejected the changes in March 2010, after Deputy District Attorney Marla Zlotek said the ordinance wouldn’t apply to the town of Pahrump, which has its own animal control ordinance. That came after a year and a half of meetings by the animal advisory committee.
Since then, the Pahrump town board repealed its animal control ordinance.
Scott Shoemaker, a member of the animal advisory committee, said the district attorney had 235 changes to this revised version, much of it minor style changes, there were also changes in state statutes.
There was a tangled web of jurisdiction when the animal advisory committee began their work, Shoemaker said. Animal control in the northern part of Nye County was under the sheriff’s office, the southern county was under the supervision of Nye County Emergency Medical Services. The town of Pahrump had its own animal control ordinance and the animal shelter was operated by the county Buildings and Grounds Department. Now the whole county is under EMS animal control, he said.
Nye County Animal Control Officer Tim McCarty wanted revisions to the existing ordinance, which are more than 20 years old. The advisory committee labored over minutiae in the changes.
“There’s so much gray area in there that requires us to take action on an interpretation and that’s a personal interpretation. I want it in black and white,” McCarty said.
The previous animal control ordinance only governed the Pahrump Regional Planning District. The new version would take effect countywide.
Instead of a ban on dogs in the parks, like the first rewrite, the latest version requires dogs be on a leash, with exceptions for dog shows. Owners have to clean up after their animals, as well.
Dogs are already licensed, so committee members thought cats should be licensed too. That applies to dogs and cats over six months old, proof of rabies vaccination must be provided, the term of the license will be for one to three years, depending on the vaccination. Farm dogs will be exempt.
Another hot topic was whether to require shade for horses. Shoemaker said the committee chose not to require it.
“There’s never been a heat-related death of a horse caused by overexposure to the sun,” Shoemaker said. “The horse may be uncomfortable, but it’s not cruel.”
Committee members went to great lengths to define special conditions animals, which includes everything from baboons to cheetahs to wolf hybrids. Owners need a special permit for those animals. They must be at least 18 years old; have experience in caring for those animals; not be convicted of any violation of state or federal wildlife regulations within three years or of animal cruelty; and have a facility that complies with local zoning. Inventories of the animals, plans for the facilities and copies of state and federal agency permits must be provided. There must be a plan for quick and safe recapture of the animals, or destruction if that isn’t possible.
The ordinance prohibits a person from keeping more than five dogs or cats over three months at any one residence. No more than two unspayed or unneutered dogs or cats over six months old may be kept. But a pet fancier may keep up to five dogs or cats unspayed or unneutered, with a special permit and annual inspection. Then there’s a new definition for a hobby breeder, one who sells, trades or gives away 24 or less cats or dogs in one year.
Residential kennel permits allow keeping six to 10 dogs or cats; then there are commercial kennels used as a rescue, sanctuary or commercial purposes, which require a conditional use permit from the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission.
Animal fighting will be banned, along with torture and cruelty. Horse tripping will be illegal. That section includes depriving animals of necessary food and drink. Pet owners can’t abandon an animal to die. If an animal control officer finds an animal is without proper care, they may take the animal in.
Some provisions in the ordinance are common sense, like one that requires indoor enclosures for animals to protect against heat and cold, have adequate ventilation and protect from the sun. Dogs or cats should be protected from direct sunlight outdoors. Clean, potable water must be accessible.
There are requirements for veterinarian examinations for cats or dogs sold for resale or adoption by dealers. It will be illegal for retailers or dealers to sell a dog or cat knowing they have an illness or other condition requiring hospitalization. Retailers and dealers are required to keep business licenses and submit to annual inspections.
Dogs which constantly bark or disturb the peace can be declared a public nuisance and their owners subject to court action.
People cited by the animal control officer for violations of the ordinance may appeal their case to the animal advisory committee. Penalties for violations of the ordinance, a misdemanor, can be levied up to $1,000 or up to six months in jail.
“There’s never been a heat-related death of a horse caused by overexposure to the sun,” Shoemaker said. “The horse may be uncomfortable, but it’s not cruel.”
Shoemaker should be forced to stand in 115 sun tethered to a post for 10 hours and decide if it’s not cruel !!! MAYBE it’s not reported because there is NO LAW !!!
FOOL……
Scary isn’t it! It would probably help if the Animal Advisory Committee was made up of more folks that actually CARED about animals!!
“We’re from the government. We’re here to help.”
This shows the fallacy of government control.
Include dogs? Yes! Cats? Ah, sure, why not?
Parrots? Ah . . . No.
What about dogs on a farm? Gee, this is getting tough now. No.
How old? 1 year? Ah . . . no, 6 months, sure, why not?
Shade for horses? Shade for turtles? Shade for salamanders? How much? During which hours? Which temps? What about blankets in the winter?
There’s nothing like bureaucracy for a good laugh.
Re: Shoemaker’s comment regarding horses. I have to ask him if he has a horse. He needs to read up or ask a vet or the humane society what is good or not good for a horse. Horses can and do get sunburned. If you see a horse out in the sun without shelter, you can bet they don’t have a good supply of drinking water. Go outside in the heat of the day from June to September and see how many living creatures are in the direct sun. Every living thing will seek shelter. If I have a pet that passes away, I don’t call and report it. How would anybody know how many horses die from the heat? The people who let their animals die from neglect, including over exposure to the sun, are not going to call and tell anybody.
Those of you whining here, why didn’t you attend animal advisory hearings where this ordinance was being written??? There were horse people on the animal advisory board.
Owners are free to provide a shelter for their horses, it is just not a mandatory requirement. The reason the shelter requirement was not put in the Title 6 ordinance draft was that it would put many owners in a position to spend more money, …many don’t have extra money, and it would result in more horses being homeless if the owners had to give them up due to non compliance. Also requiring a mandatory shelter is like requiring a new structure/building, which would likely had to go thru zoning/building department. The shelter would have to be defined size and strength wise, obviously in our windy weather, poorly constructed shelter would not last long and create a flying debris hazard, or a hazard to the horse if it fell on the animal itself. Also, who provides shelter to the wild horses or burros? Horses are like humans, (unlike dogs) they perspire all over their body and like humans, if given enough water, can be outdoors under the sun.
You make some valid point especially because of the hard times. I know that some people have horses that they got in better times. I was not suggesting that people construct a stable size barn. We humans have carports, day shades, blinds on our windows, etc. There are some very simple remedies to constucting a shade for animals. Humans have a choice to stay ouside in 100+ weather or not. Most humans choose the ” or not”. I could not drink enough water to want to stay out in the blazing sun. Wild animals will go to the coolest spot available to them. If the horse is out in the sun, so is it’s water. I wonder how hot that is.
I drive a lot thru Pahrump, and usually I see the horses in the sun, even if the shade is available to them. Maybe they don’t go to the shade because that is where the annoying flies are? In any case, we need to be realistic about what can be enforced in Nye county, as opposed to wishful thinking in a perfect world, our animal control is understuffed.
That’s interesting that you see horses in the sun in Pahrump even when shade is available because I see just the opposite. I see horses in the shade when it is provided not only here in Pahrump but all over Vegas. I’ve actually never heard the argument that animals shouldn’t receive a certain standard of care because animal control is overburdened – that’s a new one on me and pretty lame. I don’t know what type of “horse people” are on the Animal Advisory Committee because everything I read from equine protection groups, equine sanctuaries, equine vets whose positions are on the internet, humane societies, and equine publications state that horses must be provided with an open shelter, like a 3-sided shelter with a roof so they can come and go as they please. Is it possible these “horse people” are going by what was done 30 years ago but not considered acceptable care now?? This isn’t just about horses though. It’s about every animal that has an owner being given a certain acceptable standard of care. If this issue comes up again, I will be at the meeting. Didn’t even know about this Committee but now that I do, I will try to attend.
Angel are you a horse person yourself, or just an Internet horse ‘expert? Folks on animal advisory are real life horse owners and rescuers, aka real hands on experts. Here is animal advisory info:http://www.nyecounty.net/index.aspx?NID=582
Yes, I am a horse person and am sorry to say that the “horse people” here, if what is being said is accurate, are not on par with most others in terms of what is considered to be acceptable care. I’m going to sign off now. Had enough of this for one day. Thanks for the link.
I have heard the “horses don’t use shade” argument before, it is simply not true. All animals should have a CHOICE to stay in shade or be in the sun.
Most of the comments made here about horses and shade are anecdotal evidence. One person sees horses standing under a shade, another sees them standing out in the sun. The only way to quantify this is to do a survey of a random sample of locations. Certainly one could go by every property that has a horse but that wouldn’t really gain anything more than a statistical survey.
Horses don’t always stand in the sun and nor do they always stand in the shade if it is available.
As for dogs and cats, it’s not unreasonable to limit the number of them if only for aesthetic reasons. For practical reasons, allowing anyone to have any number of dogs or cats opens the possibility of a puppy mill and something like it.
The problem is there are very vocal groups for and/or against anything having to do with animals.
Good luck.
Once again, this ordinance does not prevent horse owners from providing any shade, it just doesn’t mandate it for the reason explained above.