Lexington pet owners could be fined for leaving animals in extreme weather
Just in time for summer heat, Lexington is taking a step toward punishing pet owners who leave their pets outside during extreme weather conditions.
The Lexington Urban County Council’s social services and public safety committee advanced a new ordinance that would fine pet owners who leave their animals outside and unattended in temperatures over 95 degrees or under 32 degrees. Fines could range anywhere from $100 to $500.
The full council will have an initial vote on the ordinance in its June 16 work session.
Cattle, horses and fowl are excluded from the ordinance.
Emma Curtis, who represents Lexington’s 4th Council District, said her office received many calls last summer reporting animals being left chained up outside during intense heat.
As her office began looking into the issue, they realized there was nothing in city rules preventing pet owners from keeping their pets sheltered during extreme weather.
The new ordinance means owners can’t leave their pets alone outdoors, whether they are loose in a fenced-in yard, in a kennel, tethered or in a tent unattended in such weather conditions.
But Curtis said that it became clear that other parts of the city’s animal-control laws needed updating.
The ordinance passed by the council committee also includes updates to how Lexington-Fayette Animal Control and Care can seize animals from negligent or abusive owners.
Currently, animal control officers have the authority to take temporary custody of animals in unsafe environments and charge the owner with a criminal offense.
But because that authority is not clearly spelled out in state or local laws, negligent owners can simply reclaim their animal after it has been impounded.
Alternatively, animal control can keep the pet while the court case against the owner proceeds. But once the case is settled, the owner can still reclaim the pet — even if they are convicted in court of the alleged crime.
New revisions also adopted by the council committee address those issues.
When animal control impounds a pet, a judge will schedule a hearing to determine if there is probable cause of a crime committed by the owner. If the judge rules there is probable cause, they may require the owner to pay a fee to animal control to cover food and board for the pet while the case proceeds.
If the owner cannot or refuses to pay the fee, they will be forced to forfeit ownership of the pet, which will then be given to the Lexington Humane Society for adoption by a new owner.
