Last week, the McAllen City Commission approved an ordinance to limit the number of pets a resident may own to a maximum of 8 adult dogs and cats plus one litter of puppies or kittens. An owner can own more than 8 animals if they apply for a permit from the city.
The Commission originally considered an ordinance to limit pet ownership to 4 adult dogs and cats combined, but opposition from the community increased the limit to 8. AKC sent out an alert last week to local dog owners and contacted members of the Commission urging them to consider alternatives to the 4-dog limit.
The American Kennel Club and its affiliated clubs understand the challenges of creating effective animal control ordinances for a community. We support laws that target irresponsible dog owners and substandard animal care; however, limit laws do not address these issues. Limit laws are ineffective, difficult to enforce, and unfair to responsible dog owners. Laws should instead focus on targeting irresponsible owners regardless of the number of dogs owned.
AKC Government Relations (GR) will continue to monitor Texas local ordinances. For more information on this or other legislative issues in Texas, contact AKC GR at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.