Advocates urge council to reject ordinance banning animals on medians, warn it would criminalize homelessness

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness and for street-based companion animals urged the Santa Fe governing body to oppose proposed amendments to the municipal animal code that would ban animals on medians and impose fines for unattended or abandoned animals.

The proposed legislation (Bill 2025-22) would amend SFCC 19-87 to define "abandonment" and "unattended animal," ban keeping animals on medians, and increase fines (including raising the fine for abandoning an animal from $200 to $500 and imposing a $200 fine for keeping animals on medians). Public commenters at the meeting described the measure as punitive toward people who rely on companion animals for emotional support and survival on the street.

"Please vote no on these proposed amendments," Judith Gabriel, a volunteer and board member with the Street Homeless Animal Project (SHAP), told the council, saying the ordinance would cause "more challenges and suffering" for people already dealing with hardship. Karen Kane, SHAP's founder and executive director, said the ordinance would "disrupt, displace, and perpetuate the cycle of poverty" and noted that in her 26 years working with street animals she has not observed animals walking off medians or being struck in traffic; she warned that enforcement could repeatedly separate animals from their human companions.

Other speakers, including residents who identified themselves as homeless or as advocates, described medians as one of the few visible places where people with companion animals can remain with their pets and seek aid. Several urged the council and administration to invest in shelter, services and humane alternatives rather than criminal penalties. The first public-comment period on the bill was informational only; no council action was taken at this meeting.