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Education Through Entertainment In The News |
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Auburn Hills considers limiting number of pets Current animals wouldn't be affected; hearing is Monday Joe Menard / The Detroit News |
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AUBURN HILLS -- For a while, Hannah Stephens worried the city might force her to give up some of the 14 animals she considers part of her family. But city leaders said Stephens will be able to keep her foxes, coatimundi, chinchilla, wallaby and other creatures under regulations being considered by the City Council. The city is looking to limit the types and number of animals residents may keep, but those with existing pets wouldn't be limited. "If you are keeping exotic animals today, you can keep them," said Community Development Director Brian McBroom. The proposed changes would make it illegal to keep pets other than cats, dogs or other commonly domesticated animals, such as ferrets. It also would limit the number of dogs or cats a person may keep to five. People who already exceed the regulations would be able to keep current pets but could not get any new ones without approval from the city manager. Residents may appeal to the City Council. The council will hold a public hearing and vote on the changes Monday. The move isn't intended to address any specific problem, but rather to give the city a mechanism to deal with complaints residents raise about other people's animals. "We started looking back over the past year over the complaints we were getting, and we just found we needed to update some things," McBroom said. Other communities such as Rochester Hills and Bloomfield Township limit the number of cats residents can have to three and two, respectively. "Most communities do have a limit, so it seemed like a reasonable thing to update," McBroom said. The limits are opposed by the Michigan Humane Society, which notes that pet hoarders make up a small segment of the animal-owning population. Stephens agrees that exotic animals should be regulated, and doesn't have a problem with limiting the number of dogs or cats. But she said a blanket ban on exotics goes too far. "You want to make sure they don't end up in the wrong hands, (but) outlawing them is not right for everybody," said Stephens, who runs My Zoo 2 U in her spare time, taking some of her exotic animals to birthday parties, schools and events for a fee. She rescued many of the animals from owners who did not know how to care for them or mistreated them. She fears the ban would make it harder for people who know how to handle the animals to care for them. "There are people out there like me who have the time, resources and knowledge to take in the rescues," said Stephens, who is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to care for the animals. "I'd hate for animals to be put down because people like me are not allowed to take them in. Mine are my children." Mayor Mari Harvey-Edwards said she is concerned about an outright ban and wants to make sure it won't harm residents. Stephens said she moved into her home last year because the city didn't have any ordinances that would prevent her from keeping her animals. She said she would have moved elsewhere if the laws had already been in place. In addition to the animal restrictions, the city also is considering limiting the times of day garbage trucks can collect trash to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., outlaw "for sale" signs on cars on city streets, and require all garbage cans to be behind homes unless they can't be seen from the street. McBroom said the changes are a tool for the city to take action on complaints and that code enforcement officers won't be out looking for violations. "In reality, it's only going to come up if we get complaints," he said. You can reach Joe Menard at (248) 647-7429 or jmenard@detnews.com. |
