Animal control changes proposed in Yakima could help address roaming cats

The town of Yakima might update its code to superior tackle feral and roaming cats, according to city staff.

A draft ordinance sets out distinct responsibilities for cat house owners, updates the definition for perilous dogs, will increase puppy licensing costs and extra.

The Yakima Town Council will talk about the improvements at a research session Tuesday. The city’s code enforcement division, animal control officers and authorized department proposed the updates.

The laws would offer applications to enable minimize the feral and roaming cat inhabitants in Yakima, holding cat caretakers accountable for nuisance circumstances and allowing citizens to assist cats in need, employees said in a memo. Yakima residents elevated concerns about nuisance cats at a community discussion board led by council member Patricia Byers in December.

The draft coverage permits lure-change-return, the act of humanely trapping roaming or feral cats to have them altered or vaccinated by a accredited veterinarian. The observe is also at times referred to as trap-neuter-launch.

The proposal also involves variations to policies for puppies and poultry.

It gets rid of the “potentially perilous dog” classification and updates the definition for a unsafe doggy.

It also decreases a poultry at big violation from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Homeowners of ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens or other poultry are prohibited from permitting the birds to operate at significant, for each town code.

Canine license expenditures

And, the proposal restructures and boosts puppy licensing expenses.

The draft ordinance sets the price tag of a a single-12 months license at $25 for altered and $75 for unaltered dogs. A a few-yr license would expense $60 for altered and $180 for unaltered dogs. The charge for substitution tags would be $10. The present-day annual value is $15 for altered and $12 for every renewal. For unaltered dogs, the price tag is $40 per year, and $30 for a renewal.

The city options to supply an on the net licensing portal in the potential, according to the memo from employees.

An additional proposed change is the inclusion of local community support officers and code compliance officers in the language for animal control enforcement.

People can comment on the alterations at the Tuesday assembly, which commences at 5 p.m. at Town Corridor, 129 N. Second St. To remark, visit little bit.ly/YHRcomment and fill out the comment request variety. Folks also can email [email protected] or call 509-575-6060.

Distant look at selections will be out there at the city web page.