Our four-legged citizens deserve more – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

A little bit over a yr in the past, Natchez tremendously improved our Animal Management Ordinance. In doing so, we outlawed inhumane tethering, leaving animals unsheltered, and promoting of animals by unlicensed breeders.

We additionally strengthened our legal guidelines towards different inhumane therapy of animals, resembling breeding canine for preventing, leaving animals unattended in automobiles, and limiting the variety of canine and cats people can personal within the metropolis.

We additionally supplied particular penalties for people who enable their animals to be an endangerment to others or enable their canine to disturb the peace of their environment. A significant change additionally included a requirement that pet homeowners spay and neuter their pets.

All of that is good. Town obtained many accolades for passing such sturdy reforms. It will be good if the excellent news ended right here, and lets say that every thing is nice. However enforcement has been one other story – and whereas our targets have been admirable, town has fallen brief.

I’m inspired when folks remind me that “Rome wasn’t in-built a day.” Nevertheless it saddens me when animals proceed to endure in our metropolis, and residents proceed to take care of neighbors who’re removed from neighborly in the best way they deal with their animals and different householders who reside round them.

Day-after-day that passes with out our doing our easiest isn’t a great day for individuals who are most susceptible round us. Our four-legged residents deserve extra, as do the remainder of us.

Over the previous few months, we now have been working with numerous group companions to develop a greater technique for implementing our animal management ordinance. Sure points preserve being raised, primarily the dearth of house for animals that should be faraway from improper environments, the dearth of individuals standing in line to undertake homeless animals, and the continued prevalence of animals that haven’t been spayed and neutered.

I’ve excellent news: town’s major animal management companion, the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society, has helped us to discover a resolution. They’ve bought a big constructing adjoining to their present facility, and town is working now on a plan to lease it from the NACHS and retrofit it to accommodate the numerous pets that want rescuing in Natchez.

To make this occur, we at the moment are pricing a punch checklist of wanted enhancements, and we are going to quickly have a proposal prepared for implementation.

As well as, we at the moment are promoting for a second animal management officer – two are wanted to maintain up with the calls, to incorporate after-hours. We additionally want this extra officer to assist take care of animals that might be saved within the new facility, and we now have assigned a rating police officer to supervise animal management and to assist information our implementation of different methods: higher enforcement of spay and neuter laws, and transport of unadopted animals to different areas of the nation the place new houses is likely to be discovered.

Throughout this course of, we proceed to ask for endurance. And we proceed to precise our gratitude for volunteers who sacrifice a lot to maintain our Humane Society going. It has been a pleasure working with them! And we’re so grateful for this weekend’s “Poocha-Palooza” on the Natchez Bluff, elevating cash to assist with the acquisition of their new constructing!

We additionally don’t know what we might do with out different group service organizations like Hoofbeats and Pawprints Rescue and Spay Neuter Natchez. Kathy and Jay Fitch and their crew have helped relocate and rescue hundreds of Natchez pets through the years, and Ginna Holyoak and her small military of volunteers have seen to the spaying and neutering of numerous canine and cats. These are really one of the best preventive measures for the long term. And so they want and deserve our assist!

To donate to any of those worthy organizations, click on on these hyperlinks:

Natchez Adams Humane Society

Hoofbeats & Pawprints Rescue

Spay Neuter Natchez, mail donations to SNN, 96 Dunbar Street, Natchez MS 39120.

I ask everybody to assist us in these essential steps ahead, not only for our furry mates, however as a result of Natchez Deserves Extra.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.