Trouble In Nashville

It had to happen. With animal rights groups spending the last few months crying “Hoarder!” every time someone had a problem with animal control, and Animal Planet exploiting (or perhaps staging) people in their series about hoarding, it was only a matter of time before some not very bright people decided their town needed to pass a law to restrict the number of animals people could own in order to “prevent animal hoarding.” Who knew that unfortunate town would be Nashville, TN?

According to WSMV-TV, a proposal by Nashville Animal Control and the city Health Department would limit the number of pets a resident can own in an effort to prevent hoarding cases. Insiders say that a number of rescue groups unofficially banded together and have been attending meetings with these organizations for the last few months so it’s a good bet that this idea came from them.

WSMV reports that residents would be limited to the following:

The proposal would limit the number of cats and dogs a person can have based on the size of a resident’s property.

* There could be no more than five cats or dogs on an acre of land, according to the proposal.

* There could be no more than 10 cats and dogs on 1.5 to 2.5 acres of land.

* No more than 20 dogs and cats would be allowed to live on five acres.

* Land more than 5 acres would be allowed to have up to 21 dogs and cats.

“Vets, kennels, boarding facilities and licensed pet breeders and dealers would be exempt from the proposed ordinance.

“Metro officials said Animal Control officers would have discretion and could give an exemption to animal owners who have well-cared, vaccinated animals.”

(Gee, that’s not very fair for the large majority of the population, is it? Somebody has a buddy who's with Animal Control so he can give an exemption to his friends?)

Now let’s think about some of the things that are so obviously WRONG with this idea. First of all, what do you do if you live in an apartment or condo? I guess you just can’t own a pet.

Secondly, what happens if you move to a smaller piece of property? Are you just supposed to dump your pets? Get rid of them? You can’t have all of your beloved animals anymore because you moved from a place that was 1.1 acres to a place that was .9 acres?

Obviously, someone who has five chihuahuas is not using their land in the same way as someone who has five Newfoundland dogs. How is any of this ordinance fair to a pet owner?

And cats often don’t even live outside! Many cat owners keep their pets indoors so the size of their owner’s acreage is irrelevant.

Besides all of these points, nothing in this plan would “prevent” hoarding. There are already very good laws against animal abuse and neglect. The number of animals a person has is really no one’s business as long as those animals are cared for properly. There are plenty of people who keep large numbers of animals and do a superb job. And there are some people with just one pet who are bad pet owners. Numbers have absolutely NOTHING to do with how well animals are treated.

This is a misguided and, yes, ignorant attempt to prevent a problem that is, in fact, very rare. Real animal hoarders make up just a tiny fraction of a percent of the population. They barely register on the radar. It’s a shame that animal rights groups and television series trying to grab ratings have exploited them and sensationalized them to the point that people now imagine them to exist in every neighborhood.

If you doubt what I’m saying, check out Steve Dale’s blog on this subject. He sends a plea to Nashville not to follow through on this horrible idea.

Nashville Suggesting Pet Limit Laws Based on Size of the Yard

According to printed reports, around Nashville - in Davidson County,

pet owners will have to do a head count.

Other communities have set "pet limit laws" with totally random

numbers, 3 dogs and 4 cats, or whatever it is. Police don't go door

to door counting pets, this is complaint driven...complaints about

barking or inhumane conditions. My point is that there are already

laws and ordinances about disturbing the peace or treating animals

(or people) living in poor conditions.

Community members in Davidson County have apparently suggested Metro

Animal Control to set a limit on the number of dogs and/or cats a

person can have depending how big their yard is. This is NOT in any

pets' best interest and makes no sense. The animals shouldn't be in

the yard all day in the first place, and therefore yard space is

irrelevant. What about people with no yards (condo owners or renters

in apartments), are they to have no pets?

Dale also brings out the point that pet limits prevent many people from fostering pets and helping with rescue — something which you would think that the rescue groups which may be behind this idea for an ordinance would realize. If people can't foster pets and help with rescue, more pets die in shelters.

There’s one more interesting thing about this push for a new “anti-hoarding” law in Nashville. Seems it may have been prompted by a) neighbors with a grudge; and b) people who have a problem with bully breed dogs.

From the August 8, 2010 Jenny Upchurch Action Line column in The Tennessean:

Metro Considers Pet Limit

QUESTION: A neighboring property owner and the Highland Heights Neighborhood Association are frustrated by a Meridian Avenue property where the resident keeps several pit bull dogs.

Neighbors say they hear dogs barking, sometimes all night long. Waste from the kennels sometimes flows into yards when they are hosed out. And there is frequently a bad smell.

Neighbors ask why the problems aren't being addressed.

ANSWER: Metro's Animal Care and Control has visited the home on more than a half dozen occasions, the latest last Tuesday. There have been as many as 12 dogs there, says Billy Biggs, head of the animal control officers. There were five on the most recent visit.

But the owner is not violating any ordinances, because all the dogs have the required shots and licenses, Biggs said.

Metro Codes also has inspected the property and reinspected it Friday. The inspector and her supervisor determined that the dogs are pets and well cared for and that it is not a business.

Upchurch goes on to write that Nashville’s current ordinance doesn’t limit the number of animals a resident can keep...but the Metro Health Department is drafting changes in their ordinance. Doesn’t that strike you as a little suspicious? There is nothing at all wrong with the way these dogs are being kept but the ordinance needs to be re-written? Kind of makes you wonder if the neighbors would be complaining if there were five Poodles living next door, doesn't it? Or if the ordinance would need to be re-written if the neighbors had five Lhasa Apsos.

Upchurch confidently writes:

"The board of health probably will get the proposal and vote on it early in 2011. It will require Metro Council approval."

We’ll see. A local television station in Nashville conducted a poll recently asking if the number of pets a resident can own should be limited. 1162 people voted. 73 percent (854 votes) said No, the number of pets a resident can own should not be limited. Only 25 percent (287 votes) said that the number should be limited. 2 percent (21 votes) said “I don’t know.”

For the sake of all pet owners in Nashville I certainly hope they will get rid of this idea of limiting the number of pets that residents can own.