Winding down its work, the Animal Ordinance Revision Committee last week settled on language covering such subjects as equine care, animal ownership, care of strays and spay/neuter requirements for shelter pet adoptions.

The committee also discussed tethering restrictions and will review this provision at the next meeting.

Although their work on revision of the county animal control ordinance is nearing an end, committee members learned that their work may not end after all. Mary Jo Morris, committee chair, and County Commissioner Jimmy Melton, committee liaison with the Moore County Board of Commissioners, said future work will be needed to tweak the ordinance and to educate the public about its provisions.

"We've made an enormous amount of progress in this committee," Morris said. "It's been very productive for all of us."

Morris said committee members have worked well together despite their diversity. She called committee work "ground-breaking" and said several other counties are watching the effort in the expectation of patterning ordinance changes after the Moore County effort.

"This is just the beginning of what we're doing," Melton said.

Melton said the committee may need to meet periodically to tweak the finished product. He also proposed formation of a subcommittee to work on educating the public about the ordinance.

This idea followed a suggestion from committee member Angela Zumwalt, who called attention to the need to publicize the ordinance and its new provisions.

Mandatory Spay, Neuter

For the Tuesday night meeting, the committee concentrated on a review of provisions debated at length at previous meetings.

First tackled was the definition of the word owner when it pertains to animals. What at first seemed a simple subject turned into a complex issue needing guidance from the county attorney's staff, and the Tuesday meeting was the sixth time that the committee reviewed the definition. This time it passed muster with no change other than addition of a comma.

The owner of an animal is defined as "any person, group of persons, firm, partnership, corporation, organization or association that keeps or harbors an animal, or has an animal in their care, or acts as a custodian of an animal unless the animal is being boarded for a fee." It also says that the owner has the right of property and is responsible for the care, actions and behavior of the animal at all times.

"We will not address that again," said Morris as the committee nodded final agreement on the definition of an animal owner.

The provision making it mandatory for animals to be spayed or neutered before adoption by the public earned approval with minimum discussion.

If adopted as proposed, the provision would require the spaying or neutering of any pet offered for adoption to the public in Moore County by an established animal welfare group. It would not apply to individual pet owners.

Most organizations offering pets for adoption already follow this practice. For many years the Moore County Animal Shelter has had all animals spayed or neutered before they are offered for adoption to the public. Most other nonprofit groups, such as the Humane Society, follow a similar practice.

Member Corky O'Connor pointed out the difference between requiring this procedure for groups operating in Moore County and those offering animals for adoption here. She said the requirement should apply to any group offering animals for adoption in Moore County, since some groups come here from other counties with adoptive animals.

The committee agreed to change the wording to apply to all groups offering animals for adoption in Moore County, including those based in the county and those from other places.

A question was asked about making an exception when an interested person spots an especially nice animal at the shelter and wants to adopt it and allow it to breed. The answer was no, because shelter operators are in no position to make distinction between animals.

Liz Garner, an animal adoption officer and committee member, said that if it is a really nice animal, someone else will want to adopt it and will not care whether it is sterilized or not.

The committee agreed to change definitions pertaining to vicious dogs and vicious animals. Instead of two separate definitions, the two will be combined into one that refers to a vicious dog or other animal. This was recommended by Deputy County Attorney Brenda White.

Carter advised that 99 percent of the complaints about vicious animals refer to dogs.

Equine Care Provisions

Approval, with minor changes, went to an entire section devoted to equine care and welfare, most of which was written by Dr. Tom Daniel, a veterinarian member of the committee.

These provisions cover housing and other forms of shelter, fencing, food, preventive care (covering hoof care, deworming, vaccinations and care of weak or ill animals).

Under this provision, equine owners are required to provide veterinary care for animals in a debilitated condition and to make sure the animal is euthanized in a humane manner if it is determined it can no longer live a productive pain-free life.

If the euthanization takes place on the owner's property, the owner is responsible for burial within 24 hours of death, at least 100 feet from any water source and the carcass covered with at least three feet of soil. If the owner is not physically or financially able to dispose of the carcass, then Moore County Animal Control may make these arrangements and will bill the owner for the costs.

Touchy Subjects

Among the touchy subjects receiving final committee approval Tuesday was the matter of handling stray animals.

The issue is of special interest because it affects many kindly people who befriend stray animals that wander onto their property. Many residents simply assume ownership of these animals which have frequently been abandoned by their owners.

What many of these residents do not realize is that they are legally required to notify Animal Control within 72 hours after they come into possession of such an animal.

The provision is needed because some stray animals are lost and their owners would like them back but have no way of knowing their whereabouts. It is also needed to make sure that these temporary "owners" do not themselves become abusive by refusing to provide satisfactory care, such as rabies vaccinations and food. On occasion these temporary owners later decide they do not want to keep the animal and turn it in to Animal Control, which may find it necessary to euthanize the animal if unclaimed by the rightful owner within the legal time limit.

Tethering procedures were discussed at length, and the committee decided to make changes in the language of this provision. The subject will be reviewed at the next meeting on June 24.

Morris and Melton proposed that at least one swivel be provided on the tethering equipment to prevent the dog from becoming tangled in the line. Length and weight of the chain or rope and provision of a pinch or choke collar are subjects to be ironed out for committee consideration later.

Other subjects that may be added to the ordinance include treatment of feral cats, the tethering of birds used for show or demonstration purposes, and a requirement that declawed cats be kept indoors. The issue of people leaving animals in foreclosed houses was also mentioned.

Melton said that further work will be done on a feral cat provision at the next meeting. A special committee is working on the details.

County Manager Cary McSwain, who also serves on the committee, commended Morris and Melton for their leadership in tackling a subject that "could have been a hot potato." Members concurred and applauded.

The committee appointed by Melton has been meeting every other week since February. It started with the original ordinance, working through each sentence from beginning to end.

Once the committee completes its revision work, the amended version will be turned over to the Board of Commissioners for final approval. The commissioners must first conduct a public hearing before officially adopting the new ordinance.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.