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Neighbors urge council to spare family's kangaroo and deer after exotic-animal ban change
Summary
Residents urged the Corinth City Council to repeal or amend part of Title 9, chapter 91.11, or to grandfather the Olivers, arguing the family responsibly cared for a kangaroo and a small deer; councilmembers later requested a workshop to consider the wild/exotic animal ordinance.
Several Corinth residents urged the City Council to grant leniency to Jeff and Tammy Oliver or amend the city's exotic-animal rules after enforcement letters told the family to remove long-kept animals.
Neighbors described the Olivers as long-time, responsible community members (Jeff is a local police officer, Tammy is a nurse) and said the animals have posed no safety incidents. Paul Morley, Arlene Crocker, Patrick Mooney, Vincent Runyon and others asked council to either repeal the portion of the ban that affects these animals or grant a six-month to one-year extension to allow rehoming if necessary. "They've cared for them responsibly and without incident," Morley said of the family.
A recorded statement from Cassidy Jagger, identified on the recording as global director of the Education and Conservation Society of Macropodidae, said macropods (kangaroos) are prey animals rather than predators and urged council decisions based on facts and husbandry expertise. Tammy Oliver described the animals as part of the family and said forcing the family to move would uproot her 11-year-old son.
Resident Vincent Runyon cited Title 9, chapter 91.11 when urging differentiation between dangerous wild animals and non-dangerous exotic pets. During council comments later in the meeting, a councilmember requested that the wild/exotic animal ordinance be placed on a future workshop agenda for discussion of options including grandfathering, notification radius changes and enforcement.
No formal repeal or ordinance change occurred at the meeting; the council did not take action during the public-comment period but signaled intent to study the issue in a workshop.
Next steps: the item is scheduled for a future workshop for additional discussion and potential policy options, according to a councilmember's comment.
