SALEM–City Council approved updates to the city’s animal ordinance Monday.

The city’s animal ordinance has been discussed extensively since last year, with proposals to implement a permitting process to keep any animals “not universally recognized as a pet or companion animal,” among several other changes. Those discussions were briefly stymied by resistance from the city health department in April, which would have been responsible for administrating the new program under the proposed change, citing concerns of overwhelming the department’s staff and with a lack of clarity in how enforcement would be conducted.

However, the proposed updates were revived in a June 24 rules and ordinances committee meeting in response to recent calls from residents to address the city’s growing feral cat population and for the city council to support a formalized volunteer trap neuter and return (TNR) program.

Discussed extensively in that meeting, the new ordinance originally carried forward a revised version of the proposed licensing change which would requires a permit to keep any animals “not universally recognized as a pet or companion animal.” However, council amended the ordinance to instead specify that “all other animals must have a permit to be kept or harbored in the city of Salem” meaning that a permit will be required to keep any animal other than a dog, which the ordinance already explicitly required be licensed. Councilman Jeff Stockman, who chairs the rules and ordinance committee, said that the intention of the ordinance is to ensure city officials can know who owns any given animal and is responsible for it.

The ordinance also specifies this permit would be administered by either the health department or city hall, and that the permit fee would be set as part of the city’s annual fee schedule. It also specifies that any livestock can only be kept “pursuant to the requirements for raising or harboring such animals as determined by 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA) requirements and such other conditions or restrictions as set out by the city of Salem Health Department” and that those animals may not be kept on a lot smaller than one acre without special authorization.

The update also creates two new sections of the ordinance, 505.00 which creates a new “Animal Control Officer” position which is similar to the city’s vacant Humane Officer position, and 505.15 which replaces the ordinance’s former section prohibiting the keeping of bees and replaces it with one outlining a formal TNR policy.

The ordinance defines the Animal Control Officer as “any individual employed, contracted, or appointed by the city to enforce ordinances and laws regulation the care and control of animal issues.” This officer would be the primary person responsible for enforcement of the animal ordinance, though “police officers, humane agents, or any other entity with the proper authority” can enforce the ordinance. The ordinance also specifies that “all fees for licensing of animals in the city of Salem will be put towards the budget of the Animal Control Officer and his/her role.

Section 505.15 states that the TNR Project Coordinator “shall have the authority to designate persons as Community Cat Caregivers” which are defined as “a person who is approved by and in accordance with the policy of Salem TNR Project, provides care, including food, shelter, or medical care to a community cat while not being considered the owner, harborer, controller, or keeper of a community cat.” A community cat is defined as “a cat that is abandoned, stray, lost, or feral and that may be cared for by a Community Cat Caregiver…or their approved representatives.”

Under the updated ordinance members of the TNR project will be permitted to trap community cats “for the sole purpose of sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, and eartipping community cats…under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, where applicable,” and when performing their duties as a caregiver or TNR representative on private property must have written permission from the landowner. They would also be “empowered to reclaim impounded community cats without proof of ownership solely for the purpose of the implementation” of the TNR process. The health department and Animal Control Officer will be provided with an up-to-date list of all approved trappers and caregivers, and any cat received by local shelters or trapped with a tipped ear will be released and returned to the location where they were trapped.

The updated ordinance also retains several of the previously discussed changes including sweeping language changes throughout the ordinance which update any section referring specifically to restrictions on keeping specific animals, like those which reference a limit to the number of dogs and cats which can be kept, and prohibitions against barking and howling dogs to all non-aquatic animals, and all animals respectively. Stockman clarified that the exemption of aquatic animals from the number of animals which may be kept was so that fish do not count towards the limit of five animals per household. The first violation of the ordinance constitutes a minor misdemeanor with subsequent violations being fourth-degree misdemeanors, which carry mandatory court appearances.

Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance; however, they did so without the emergency clause, meaning it will have a 30-day waiting period before taking effect.

Council will meet next 7 p.m. July 15.