Orange County NC Website
The ASAB and Animal Services staff agree that the approach taken in creating the I.JAO is sound and that <br /> amending the ordinance would be ill-advised. They hold this view for the following reasons: <br /> • Public health and safety:At-large cats do not pose as great a risk to public health and safety as do at- <br /> large dogs or larger animals.This is not to downplay the unwanted impacts that free-roaming cats may <br /> have on wildlife, but it is doubtful that more restrictive rules and stricter enforcement are the solution <br /> given our experience over the recent decades. <br /> • Enforcement: As suggested above,there is a concern with making it a code violation and a crime for a <br /> cat with a registered microchip to be off of the owner's property. (Prior experience with violations of <br /> this kind in the criminal justice system underscores this concern.) In addition, there is concern with <br /> whether addressing microchipped cats off the property of their owner or keeper as a legal violation is a <br /> good use of the limited public resources available for animal control and protection. <br /> • Scale: During the month of June 2018, for instance, ,Animal Control and Protection staff tracked the <br /> complaints they received from one person about a cat belonging to another person that was on their <br /> property. Only one complaint of this kind was made even though June is one of the busier months of <br /> the year for field services as well as animal admissions.Thus, it appears that this issue is not of <br /> widespread concern in Orange County. <br /> Furthermore,the ASAB believes that there are remedies available to Ms. McCanna other than amendment of <br /> the current Animal Ordinance. One is her Homeowner's Association,which apparently has Covenants in place <br /> that restrict dogs as well as cats from being at large and adversely impacting members of the HOA. Another is to <br /> trap the cat of concern to her on her own property(using a humane trap)and bringing the cat to Orange County <br /> Animal Services,from which it would need to be recovered by its owner for standard fees. <br /> I very much hope that you find this information to be of value, as we very much wish for the BOCC to be aware <br /> of the discussions the ASAB has with residents and stakeholders about policy and programmatic matters. Please <br /> don't hesitate to contact me if there is any other information you would find helpful. <br /> Cc: Maureane Hoffman, MD, Ph.D.,Chair,Animal Services Advisory Board <br /> Molly Mullins, Ph.D.,Vice Chair,Animal Services Advisory Board <br /> Anne Marie Tosco,Staff Attorney,Orange County <br /> Andi Morgan,Animal Services Assistant Director <br /> Irene Phipps,Animal Control Manager,Orange County Animal Services <br />