News Alert: January 14, 2011

Good news, Big Apple animal lovers! The New York City Council appears poised to pass several pet-friendly bills in 2011. Two bills making progress are Intro. 328, related to dog licensing, and Intro. 425, related to dog tethering. The New York City Council Health Committee, chaired by Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, held a hearing on the two bills on December 17, at which a five-member ASPCA panel gave testimony and answered questions posed by committee members.

Intro. 425, introduced by Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., would ban the outdoor tethering of a pet for longer than three hours in any continuous 12-hour period. New York City currently has no restrictions on tethering. The ASPCA’s testimony included photographs illustrating the dangers of long-term and irresponsible tethering, and as the hearing drew to a close, Chairwoman Arroyo pledged her support to passing a tethering bill in the near future.

Sponsored by Council Member Jessica Lappin, Intro. 328 would increase NYC’s annual dog licensing fee for unaltered pet dogs. It currently costs $8.50 to license a dog who is spayed or neutered, and $11.50 to license one who is not. If this measure passes, the $8.50 fee will remain, but the annual fee to license an unaltered dog would become $34.00—out of which $25.50 would go to the city’s new Animal Population Control Fund. In addition to fighting pet overpopulation, it is hoped that the higher fee will encourage more NYC pet parents to spay/neuter their dogs.

The ASPCA was represented at the hearing by Ed Sayres, President & CEO; Dr. Robert Reisman, Medical Coordinator of Animal Cruelty Cases; Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, Science Advisor; Dr. Katherine Miller, Director of Applied Science and Research; and Michelle Villagomez, Senior Manager for NYC Advocacy.

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