Council to Review Animal Advisory Board Proposals

 

Grand Island, Neb. — On Wednesday, January 24, the City of Grand Island’s Animal Advisory Board approved a handful of proposed changes to Chapter 5 of City Code, which will now be reviewed by the City Council.The proposed changes would alter Sections §5-1, §5-30 and §5-46 of the Grand Island City Code. Of note, the Animal Advisory Board is hoping to expand the description of what qualifies a resident as a ‘Nuisance Owner’ in §5-46.

As written, a resident is considered a Nuisance Owner if they are convicted of one or more violations of Chapter 5 on four separate occasions in a two-year period or if an owner doesn’t keep a potentially dangerous or dangerous pet properly confined.

The Animal Advisory Board has since proposed four more qualifications for a resident to be considered a Nuisance Owner. They are:

1. If an owner of a potentially dangerous or dangerous animal has violated §5-37
2. If an owner of an animal has been convicted of cruelty to animals
3. If an owner of an animal has been convicted of animal abandonment
4. If an owner of an animal has been convicted of a violation of any equivalent State Statute of this or any other State.

The Council will also weigh the decision of if a Nuisance Owner shall remain banned from owning a pet within city limits for a period of two years, or to accept the AAB’s proposal of increasing the ban to five years. The proposals are currently under Council review, and if advanced would be placed on an upcoming agenda.