Henderson County, North Carolina

Henderson County has proposed an addition to their animal ordinance making it mandatory to spay/neuter at 4 months or purchase an Unaltered Animal Permit for $100 per animal per year. Animal Control does NOT record the reasons that animals are surrendered; they record only the numbers of strays picked up vs. owner turn-ins.

Public meeting to be held September 19th at 9:00 a.m. at the County Building, 100 North King Street. If you cannot attend, CALL or email the county commissioners with your objections. Contact information below.  

PROPOSED ORDINANCE:

§ 66A-25 Spaying and neutering requirements. Unaltered animals permit required. No person shall own or harbor any dog or cat over the age of 4 months that has not been spayed or neutered unless such person holds an unaltered animal permit issued for such animal by the Animal Services Center, or any successor agency authorized by law to issue such a permit, except: (a) persons who own or harbor service dogs or police work dogs; (b) individuals who are non-residents of Henderson County and reside temporarily therein for a period not to exceed thirty days; (c) animal shelters and veterinary hospitals; and (d) Exemptions. Upon a written report from a licensed veterinarian stating that the life or health of the animal may be jeopardized by surgery, the Animal Services Center shall grant a written 30-day extension of the period within the altering would otherwise be required. Further extensions may be granted upon additional veterinary reports establishing the necessity for such extensions.

A. Adopted Animals. No dog or cat may be released for adoption from the Animal Services Center unless such animal has been surgically spayed or neutered. People who choose to adopt animals that are under 2 months or under 2 pounds must pay a $100 refundable deposit insuring they will spay or neuter the animal when it is old enough or weighs more than 2 pounds.

B. Obtaining an Unaltered animal permit. Owners of unaltered animals must register their animal with Animal Services and pay the fee. The form may be mailed or dropped off at the Animal Services Center along with the fee. Each year after the initial registration, Animal Services will send out registration renewals which owners must send back with the accompanying fee. Owners must provide proof if they no longer need to pay the fee because 1) their animal has been altered; 2) the animal is deceased; 3) the owner no longer owns the animal.

C. Fee. The fee for an unaltered animal permit shall be $100.00 per year per animal.

TALKING POINTS:

1. Licensing has experienced a dramatic decrease in licensing compliance when MSN and differential licensing has been implemented in other areas. Across the nation, licensing compliance is approximately 35% for dogs and half that for cats.

7. The emphasis must be placed on pet retention, trap/neuter/release for feral cats, pet ownership education and availability of low cost spay/neuter clinics or a voucher system if animal control and shelter intake is to be lowered.

 
COMMISSIONER CONTACT INFO:

Henderson County Board of Commissioners
100 N. King Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Phone: (828)697-4808
Fax: (828)692-9855

William Moyer, Chairman wmoyer@hendersoncountync.org
Charlie Messer, Vice Chairman cmesser@hendersoncountync.org

Larry Young young@hendersoncountync.org

Mark Williams mwilliams@hendersoncountync.org

Chuck McGrady cmcgrady@hendersoncountync.org

Enforcement Officer: Toby Linville Tlinville@hendersoncountync.org

Chair, Legislative Committee