San Antonio council approves ordinance banning animal abandonment after debate over wording and enforcement

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council approved an ordinance on Sept. 11 adding an abandonment prohibition to Chapter 5 of the city code, a change City Hall officials said will give local authorities an additional tool to deter people who dump animals in neighborhoods.

The measure, pulled for individual consideration by Councilwoman Melissa Aldrete Gavito (who represents District 7) and advanced after debate, adds language that makes it a violation to “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly abandon or release any animal anywhere in the city that has been trapped and within a person's control and possession.” Council members voted to approve the ordinance; the meeting transcript records the motion as carried but does not include a roll-call tally.

City officials said the ordinance is designed to complement existing state law and to target deliberate relocations and dumping inside city limits. “Our recommendation, our staff recommendation is to approve, the ordinances for you today,” John Gary, director of Animal Care Services, told the council during the Sept. 11 discussion. The proposed city code change would treat the municipal violation as a class C offense under city code while the comparable state statute, Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.092, makes certain abandonment…