It could get much more expensive to have a pet that isn’t spayed or neutered in Columbia
It may soon become much more expensive to have a dog or cat that hasn’t been spayed or neutered in Columbia. A city committee is considering a proposal to dramatically raise the licensing fees for pets that are still intact in an effort the address growing concerns with stray cats and dogs in the city.
Pet dogs and cats in Columbia must be licensed with the city and vaccinated against rabies, according to city ordinance. The current fee is $5 annually for a pet that has been spayed or neutered, and $25 a year if the pet has not been.
The updated fee would be $25 for life if a pet is already spayed or neutered and microchipped, and $100 every year if the pet is not.
The city is also hoping to encourage more residents to take advantage of spay and neuter vouchers provided by The Animal Mission.
The proposal is still in the works, but City Council members have asked city staff to write a draft ordinance that would update the fees.
The city had briefly considered ordinances that mandated spay and neutering, and an ordinance that specifically mandated that action for pit bulls. But legal experts felt they were on shaky ground, explained Victoria Riles, superintendent of Columbia Animal Services.
“The big question is how do you identify the dogs as pit bull breeds?” she told committee members Tuesday, adding that 75% of dog breeds guessed visually are inaccurate.
“We don’t truly know the genetic makeup of our shelter population,” Riles said.
City staff pitched the fee proposal as an alternative, and council members agreed it was a better approach.
At-large Councilwoman Aditi Bussells said she agrees with the broader approach but thinks it will only work if Richland County adopts a similar law, as the majority of animals in Columbia’s shelter come from the county.
The city’s animal shelter is often at capacity. Riles said intake at animal shelters is up 4% nationally. Last week, the Columbia shelter took in 87 animals and released 112, according to a weekly update the shelter recently started providing. The shelter has also created a Facebook page to share photos of animals most at risk of euthanasia, and that has helped save the animals, she added.
