The Evansville Common Council on Monday adopted Ordinance G 20 25-13 amended to shorten stray-hold periods and to provide a reclaim-fee waiver tied to a spay/neuter voucher program.

City officials and animal-shelter representatives described the changes at the council meeting. A staffer said the amended code would set stray holds at four days for dogs, three days for cats and 24 hours for community cats. The ordinance also authorizes waiving daily reclaim fees for owners who purchase and redeem a spay/neuter voucher when reclaiming an animal.

Missy (first name not provided) and Kendall Paul of the Evansville Humane Society and the Animal Care and Control Commission spoke in support. Paul, chief executive officer of Vanderburgh Humane Society, told the council that reducing hold times and giving animal control the flexibility to move animals quicker would help address overcrowding at the shelter and allow rescues to pull animals sooner. “By giving animal control the flexibility to move these animals into rescues or make them available faster, it will certainly help the overcrowding issue to some extent,” Paul said. He also noted that other Indiana cities use shorter holds and the proposal is a compromise to a four-day dog hold.

Councilman Green asked whether the ordinance addresses handling of animals when an owner dies and a pet needs rehoming; the presenter said a standard operating procedure is being developed with animal-control leadership and that the procedure will be available at Animal Control for staff to follow.

The clerk’s roll call recorded eight ayes and no nays; the ordinance was declared adopted. City staff said the change gives Animal Control more discretion in managing kennel space and does not require automatic action on the final day of a hold.