AKC ALERT: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Please contact the city council members listed below and tell them that this ordinance is too vague and obviously anti-pet in tone. It should not be adopted as it is currently written.

You can read the proposed new ordinance here. The section on urban chickens has already been shot down by the city council.

In case you're wondering, the old ordinance is now essentially invalid because of a lawsuit with a pet store that was raided by McKamey Animal Control. The old ordinance had no provision for an appeals process. The city had to re-write it before someone else sued them for more millions of dollars.


AKC Chattanooga, TN The ordinance would outlaw all breeding of pets in your house in the city. Read more

The Chattanooga City Council may hold a second vote on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 on a proposed animal ordinance that would redefine “kennel” under city code, require $300 annual permits and unlimited inspections of kennels, and establish problematic provisions for any person who sells or gives away a cat or dog. The vague definitions contained in this ordinance have the potential to outlaw all breeding of companion animals on residential properties in the city. The ordinance has already passed first reading.

Provisions of concern include, but are not limited to:

● “Kennel” would be defined as any building, structure or property wherein any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding, grooming, training for a fee, or hunting with a companion animal, maintaining an animal daycare, or providing any similar service for or with a companion animal. (The definition excludes those who rescue a limited number of animals per year.) Companion animals include dogs, cats, small domesticated mammals, pet rabbits, miniature and potbellied pigs, aquatic animals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. It is unclear if a person who breeds and sells a single companion animal or who accepts a fee for a stud service would be consider to be engaged in the business of breeding.

● A “dealer” would be defined as any person who engages in the business of selling, buying, brokering the sale of, or bartering animals in any manner, including through the Internet. It is unclear if a person who sell a single animal would be considered to be engaged in the business of selling animals or how this would impact a person who purchased, and later sold, an animal.

● Both “kennels” and “dealers” would be required to apply for and obtain a permit at a fee of $300 per year, comply with relevant regulations, and agree to submit to random inspections of all premises where animal are kept. Permits would be granted at discretion of the Animal Control Board.

● Under existing city code, a kennel may only be approved in certain commercially zoned areas, therefore, no residential property could be issued a kennel permit. Consequently, only commercial kennels would be able to comply with the provisions of the ordinance.

● Any dog sold, exchanged, or given away would be required to have documentation of having received vaccinations and anthelmintics against a list of specified diseases and internal parasites. No exceptions are provided for dog owners who, on the advice of a veterinarian, have been advised to decline such treatments. With the exception of state-mandate rabies vaccinations, the American Kennel Club believes that animal health care decisions should be made by an animal owner in consultation with a veterinarian and not dictated by city code.

● All dogs and cats sold in the city would be required to be microchipped and registered with The Animal Center prior to sale, and the seller would be required to provide the new owner’s personal information to the city within 48 hours of the sale.

What You Can Do:

Immediately contact city council members to express your opposition to this ordinance.
Contact your city council member and ask to be allowed to state your opposition to the ordinance at the council meeting prior to any vote.

Chattanooga City Council Meeting

Tuesday, July 23, 2013, 6:00 p.m., 1000 Lindsay Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (map)

Contact Information for City Council Members

Chip Henderson, Phone: (423) 425-7858, Fax: (423) 757-4857, E-mail: henderson_chip@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between henderson and chip.

Jerry Mitchell, Phone: (423) 757-5334, Fax: (423) 757-4857, E-Mail: mitchell_jerry@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between mitchell and jerry.

Ken Mitchell, Phone: (423) 757-5344, Fax: (423) 757-4857, E-Mail: smith_ken@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between smith and ken.

Larry Grohn, Phone: (423) 757-5346, Fax: (423) 757-4857, Email: grohn_larry@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between grohn and larry.

Russell Gilbert, Phone: (423) 757-5332, Fax : (423) 757-4857, Email: gilbert_r@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between gilbert and r.

Carol B. Berz, Phone: (423) 425-7852, Fax: (423) 757-4857, E-Mail: berz_c@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between berz and c.

Chris Anderson, Phone: (423) 425-7856, Fax:(423) 757-4857, E-Mail: anderson_c@chattanooga.gov, - note: there is an underscore between anderson and c.

Moses Freeman, Phone: (423) 757-5364, Fax: (423) 757-4857, E-Mail: freeman_m@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between freeman and m.

Yusef Hakeem, Phone: (423) 757-5367, Fax:(423) 757-4857, E-Mail: hakeem_y@chattanooga.gov - note: there is an underscore between hakeem and y.

For talking points: The Value of Responsible Dog Breeders

For questions or more information, please contact AKC Government Relations at (919) 816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.