Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Nashville appears poised for stronger animal control and outdoor pet regulations through a pair of bills that advanced in the Metro Council on Tuesday.

One would require access to shelter during temperatures above 95 degrees, freezing temperatures, thunderstorms or tornadoes for animal, including dogs, that are pregnant, nursing or less than six months old. Confined animals are to receive “a sufficient quantity of good, wholesome food and water,” the bill also reads.

A separate bill would extend several existing animal control rules that are limited to the city’s Urban Services District to all of Davidson County. These include a rule that no person shall remove the license tag from a dog’s neck, required treatment of persons bitten by rabid dogs and a prohibition on cattle, sheep, horse, goat, mule or hogs being allowed to run at-large in any street or public space.

Councilwoman Sheri Weiner, who represents parts of Bellevue, is the lead sponsor of both pieces of legislation, which require a final vote next month after advancing unanimously on a second of three votes Tuesday. Final approval is expected.

“They have feelings. They are the least among us. They deserve to have the protections,” Weiner said of the shelter protections for nursing, pregnant and newborn animals.

Under Metro’s current code, the requirement of shelter during inclement weather only applies to dogs that are fastened by a tether outside.

Weiner had originally proposed a broader bill, one backed by animal rights advocates, that would have required access to shelter for all domesticated animals — not just those that are nursing, pregnant or 6 months or younger.

But she scaled back her proposal after the Metro Health Department produced a fiscal note that said the policy would require $567,000 in additional capital and operational funding.

Weiner said she would be willing to pursue the broader proposal again if funding is available but said that “under the circumstances” the limited version is preferable.

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Shelter is defined in the bill as any structure or enclosure that provides an animal with protection from the elements. The enclosure must have a roof, floor and three sides, and be of sufficient size as to allow each animal to stand up, lie down and turn around in a natural position.

The second ordinance does not add any new requirements, but rather applies existing animal control rules to all of Davidson County, not just the USD, which includes only neighborhoods closest to downtown.

In addition to the provisions on rabies treatment and dog tags, other rules to be extended to all of Davidson County include a prohibition on the killing of birds and squirrels. It also prohibits chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys or other domestic fowl to run at large in any street.

“We shouldn’t have two different levels of protection,” Weiner said. “It levels the playing field.”

Weiner’s bill had originally extended a USD rule that requires a permit to keep livestock such as cattle, cows, sheep, horses, mules or goats, but she removed that provision via amendment.

Pets and animals have been a frequent subject of legislation in the council of late.

Councilwoman Mary Carolyn Roberts filed a bill this past winter that would have increased the minimum size of outdoor dog enclosures and extended existing regulations over dog pens to dogs in fenced-in yards. She shelved the legislation amid pushback.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.