Residents raise concerns over animal control
County residents were invited to a public forum Monday to ask questions about the city of Conway's new animal control ordinance and to discuss other unresolved animal control issues.
"We're all trying to solve animal issues in this county," said Humane Society of Faulkner County Chairperson Camille LaGrossa. "If we're going to solve the problems, one facet we're going to have to have is the community. It's going to take all of us to work together."
The forum featured a panel of city and county officials, along with local veterinarians and other animal control experts. Conway Mayor Tab Townsell explained that the city council had been very ambitious in setting out to establish a new animal control ordinance and that it was still somewhat of a work in progress.
"Those of us in the city of Conway have bitten off a pretty massive project," he said. "We haven't really tweaked the animal ordinance since the 1970s. We found we were well behind other similar cities. I don't think there was anyone involved who was totally satisfied with what we ended up with. It's still a moving target and I think it's moving in the right direction."
Conway Animal Control Coordinator Jeanette Daniel said she was also optimistic about the city's new ordinance because it called for helping animals as well as controlling them.
"I won some and I lost some in what I presented," she said. "But as far as human issues go we took a big step. We've come a long way toward the humane treatment of animals in Conway."
The new animal control ordinance, passed by the city council April 9, creates stricter enforcement of leash and license laws and raises fines on impounded animals that are not spayed or neutered. In response to a question about how to better inform the public about the new laws, Conway Sanitation Department Director Steve Martin said the city will be working in conjunction with the Log Cabin Democrat to create a weekly feature devoted to animal control issues as well as trash and recycling information.
Another member of the crowd was concerned about the new higher impound fees, which she feared might cause people to abandon their pets rather than pay. Daniel responded by explaining that an animal that has all its required shots and is altered will minimize the impound cost.
"This $100 is not the fine for your dog running loose," she said. "It's the fine for your unaltered dog running loose. The bottom line is common sense. The fee structure is up to you and how you take care of your pet. It's controlled by the public how much your fines and fees are."
Another main focus of the meeting was the increasingly prevalent issue of feral cat colonies throughout Conway and the county. Daniel said animal control receives 20 to 30 calls per day from people in nearly 65 locations reporting colonies of wild cats near their property. The members of the crowd and the panelists differed on nearly every possible aspect of the feral cat issue, from how to spay and neuter them to whether or not to release them back into the wild. One audience member suggested the establishment of a sanctuary where altered feral cats could be released, a suggestion that was disputed by another resident who feared the cats would decimate the songbird population of wherever they were released.
Widespread animal control problems beyond Conway sparked discussion of a countywide animal control ordinance and shelter. Justice of the Peace Buryl York encouraged the humane society and others to be persistent and vowed to support their efforts.
"It takes money for something like that to take effect," he said. "There will have to be a contingency of people letting them know. Eventually you will be heard. Eventually money will be set aside. Continue to come before the quorum court and keep asking. We have to deal with this in a positive way and get something done. I want to make a commitment to you that I will work with you to get something done."
(Staff writer Justin Petruccelli can be reached by phone at 505-1266 or e-mail at justinp@thecabin.net.)