Feline fight: Jackson County city may fine pet owners if cats enter others’ yards
Pet owners in Independence may soon face new rules as the city weighs stricter animal control policies in response to neighborhood tiffs.
The city council is considering an ordinance that would classify any pet repeatedly off-leash and off-property as a “nuisance animal,” leaving its owners liable for fines and other penalties.
The expanded ordinance would apply to any animal that is “repeatedly and without permission loose on property other than that of the owner of the animal.” Currently, other qualifications for a “nuisance animal” include any animal that causes offensive odors or scattered waste, harasses or harms passerby, causes excessive noise and destroys others’ property.
Rebecca Gannon, a spokesperson for the city of Independence, said that the change was initiated in response to issues with a house cat repeatedly venturing onto a neighboring property.
“While the City does say dogs should not be wandering around, it says nothing about a cat,” Gannon told The Star. “So when a resident brought this situation to our attention, our City Prosecutor didn’t have much recourse. This language broadens it to any loose nuisance animal in general.”
Independence does not currently have a specific penalty associated with nuisance animal issues, and the proposed ordinance does not suggest one. Gannon said that a $500 fine or a 6-month jail sentence would be standard, but that further penalties for animal control issues would be up to the discretion of a municipal judge.
City councilperson Bridget McCandless said that she frequently receives complaints from constituents regarding loose dogs in residential areas. Gannon emphasized that the ordinance would only be applied in “extreme, repeated circumstances” of habitual complaints regarding residents’ pets.
“This was not prompted by herds of monkeys escorted by a goat,” Gannon said. “There’s nothing exotic about this ordinance.”
Similar ordinances in other parts of the metro have also been prompted recently by specific incidents involving misbehaving pets. The city of Prairie Village recently cracked down on the keeping of monkeys as pets after a spider monkey named Oakley Reign reportedly scratched a child at a public playground while off-leash.
In response, Prairie Village reclassified monkeys as dangerous wild animals, issuing Oakley Reign’s owner Toni Skelton a conditional license and a new set of rules for the petite primate.
The Independence council first discussed its expanded nuisance animal ordinance at a Feb. 4 meeting. The body will vote on the proposal at its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 16.
The Independence animal control department did not respond to requests for comment on the proposed new pet restrictions.
