Jackson City Council votes on controversial animal ordinance

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson City Council members met Tuesday for a short time before they went to the polls to campaign. On the agenda: a controversial animal ordinance.

“It requires that all people get their animals spayed or neutered that live in the city, or under one of the nine exemptions that includes paying a $20 unaltered fee every year for the animal,” said Vicki Lake, chair of the Jackson Animal Care Center Committee.

Council member David Cisco said this is a start to getting the pet population under control.

“We don’t have anything. We don’t have anything on the books, we have no guidelines, we have nothing, so we’ve got to start somewhere,” he said after the meeting.

Members of the community were vocal about the ordinance. Some had questions, while others were in opposition.

“This will penalize the people who are taking in strays and trying to help them. It will not penalize the breeders who are paying the $20 a year for their pets and will continue to breed,” Director of West Tennessee Spay Neuter Karen Byers said. 

“It’s hard for me to understand why someone doesn’t want us to get involved and try to help the community. That’s what we’re here for,” Cisco said.

Council members had questions, mainly on enforcement, which would be based on welfare checks.

They eventually passed the ordinance 7-2, with Ernest Brooks II and Charles Rahm in opposition.

“The two councilmen who voted against it have some concerns and reasons, and we talked about those,” Lake said.

The ordinance requires another vote next month. If it passes, it will go into effect September 1.

The City Council also discussed tax write-offs for unpaid expenses, including $276,000 in unpaid City Court fines and an organization not paying for use of the Carl Perkins Civic Center.