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Animal-control ordinance withdrawn after extensive public comment; board asks staff for revisions
Summary
The board pulled a proposed revision of county animal-control code following broad public comment about livestock guardian dogs, feral cats, kennel permits and enforcement resources. County counsel and staff will redraft the measure and return after further review.
A proposed update to Mariposa County’s animal-control ordinances drew a prolonged public response and was withdrawn for further revision on Tuesday.
The draft amendments — which would have revised sections of the county code covering barking dogs, kennel permits and procedures for impoundment, adoption and potentially dangerous or vicious animals — prompted more than a dozen public speakers. Concerns included the interaction of barking-dog rules with agricultural protections for livestock guardian dogs, the availability and timing of spay/neuter services, the impact on volunteers who trap and care for community cats, and the capacity of county animal-control staff to enforce a broader ordinance.
Sheriff Jeremy Breeze and Animal Control officers briefed the board on operational needs and said the proposed changes were intended to give officers clearer tools in cases of public-safety threats and chronic nuisance problems, such as large numbers of uncontrolled animals at a single property. ‘‘It’s not to be a scare tactic,’’ Sheriff Breeze told the board. He explained staff-recommended edits grew from repeated calls about dangerous or roaming dogs and from several challenging incidents in which residents and livestock were attacked.
Public commenters urged the board to protect working and livestock-guardian dogs, to preserve carve-outs for foster and volunteer caretakers who assist with trapping and spay/neuter programs, and to ensure the county has resources to implement any new enforcement measures. Several asked that the draft explicitly protect animals that are ear-tipped and managed as part of trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs.
After hearing public comment the board reached consensus to withdraw the draft and asked county counsel and animal-control staff to rewrite portions of the proposal to clarify definitions (including the distinction between pets, working dogs and livestock guardian dogs), to align barking-dog rules with the county’s right-to-farm code and to refine adoption and kennel-permit language. There was no formal vote; the item will return when staff present a revised draft.
Ending: County counsel will work with the sheriff’s office and animal-control staff to revise the draft ordinance and bring it back for further public review and board consideration.
