Commissioners set public hearing on revised animal-control rules after months of committee work

St. Mary's County commissioners voted Sept. 9, 2008 to schedule a public hearing on proposed amendments to the county's animal-control regulations following committee work that included animal-welfare organizations, health department staff and veterinarians.

Why it matters: The changes propose to reshape licensing, quarantine, cruelty and kennel standards, adjust enforcement duties for animal-control officers and create new penalties and insurance requirements for animals declared dangerous or vicious.

What the board did: The board voted to take the committee’s recommended revisions to public hearing, with staff directed to advertise and hold the hearing (target Sept. 30, 2008, at 6:30 p.m.). The motion passed by voice vote.

Key proposals discussed in the meeting (committee redline provided to commissioners): - Remove or substantially change the county dog-licensing requirement due to enforcement difficulties and low revenue; emphasize required rabies vaccination instead. - Strengthen quarantine language: animal-control officers and the health department would jointly enforce 10-day quarantine after a biting incident and approve approved confinement locations. - Expand animal-control officer authority to humanely impound, transport and seek qualified medical assistance for injured or diseased animals; authorize officers to approve alternative impound locations when appropriate. - Clarify and expand cruelty provisions (including holding funders and arrangers of cruelty accountable) and explicitly reference Transportation Article quarantine language for animals left in vehicles. - Create or tighten public-nuisance language (excrement cleanup, barking standards), add minimum kennel and run measurements in table form for outdoor dog kennels (with exemptions for commercial veterinary facilities), and set standards for tethering (length, swivels, anti-entanglement measures). - Add requirement for owners of animals declared ‘dangerous or vicious’ to obtain public-liability insurance for bodily injury/death and property damage (single-incident coverage cited at $50,000 in the draft), along with signage and containment conditions for continued ownership.

What speakers said: Department of Public Safety representative Dave Zylak summarized the committee’s work and asked the board to approve a public hearing: “We are here to seek the board's approval to move forward on a public hearing, for comments regarding repeals altering or amending the provisions of the animal control regulations for Saint Mary's County,” he said. Animal-control supervisor Tony (Malaspina) and committee members described operational issues: officers sometimes cannot reach veterinarians after hours and need authority to determine disposition for injured animals; committee members argued licensing enforcement yields little revenue but vaccination enforcement remains essential.

What happens next: Staff will publish a formal public-hearing notice and present the redlined regulations to the public. The hearing will collect public comment; recommendations and any amended draft will return to the Board for final action. The draft regulations preserved many enforcement tools and added fines and standards; board members requested clarity about enforcement and consistent language about which county body (Board of Health versus Board of County Commissioners) receives annual reports.

Limitations and open questions: The draft ties some provisions to Transportation Article language (as cited in the committee draft) and proposes insurance and containment requirements for dangerous animals; those details and the monetary fines will be considered at public hearing and could be revised.