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CITY OF LAS CRUCES

Public Opportunity to Provide Input on Proposed Updates to the City's Animal Control Ordinance

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Las Cruces community members have more opportunity to provide public input on proposed, draft changes to the City’s Animal Control Ordinance (Chapter 7: Animals, to the Las Cruces Municipal Code, 1997, as amended). The Animal control ordinance was last adopted in 2014. The public can go online to view a presentation on the proposed ordinance changes and also have an opportunity to provide any comments or ask questions related to the presentation. The presentation and the draft ordinance with changes are posted on the City’s website at www.las-cruces.org/animalcontrolordinance.

The City of Las Cruces is asking members of the public for any comments or concerns they may have regarding the draft ordinance changes. Please send your comments or concerns by email to clcengage@las-cruces.org. If you have questions about any part of the PowerPoint presentation, please email those questions to the same email address and we will email you to discuss your individual and specific question. Further, any member of the public that wishes to be provided with updates or the schedule of future actions, should also indicate that in an email to the same address above. This Public Input period will be open from November 9, 2020 through November 23, 2020.

“The draft ordinance covers three major changes specific to: licensing requirement removals, updates to the microchipping requirements and additional reporting requirements, and major amendments to the feral or community cat requirements related to establishment of a trap-neuter-return program,” explained Assistant City Manager David Dollahon, who is also the Animal Care Task Force Co-chair along with City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Kasandra Gandara. “The Animal Care Task Force has worked since early 2017 to provide both major updates to the ordinance, along with other minor changes from as simple as to fixing typographical and formatting issues in the current ordinance, as well as proposing to allowing drakes (male ducks) in the city limits, along with female ducks and chickens and hens. Roosters would continue to be prohibited under the draft ordinance changes, unless the property is zoned for the keeping of other livestock,” he said.

The draft ordinance changes and any public comments will be reviewed by the City’s Animal Care Task Force; the task force has been in existence since early 2017 and was charged with reviewing the ordinance for potential updates. From there, the draft changes will be presented to the City Council, at a future public meeting date, either as a work session or through the formal ordinance adoption process. Currently, due to the COVID19 pandemic and in compliance with the existing State Public Health Orders, City Council meetings are currently be conducted via Zoom virtual meetings. To access the future meetings, go to the City website at http://www.las-cruces.org, scroll down the page and click on the City Council Meetings to specific meeting access information.

City of Las Cruces, Animal Ordinance

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