Guest Editorial: Patricia Feeser, DVM
Chair of the Rio Rancho Animal Welfare Task Force

In October 2008, the City Council approved the formation of the Rio Rancho Animal Welfare Task Force. Our commission was to review and offer proposed changes to ordinances with the goal of improving animal welfare. At our initial meeting, Mayor Tom Swisstack challenged us to look into where the city needs to be in regard to protecting animals years from now, not just where it should be today. 

We’ve spent hours taking public input and researching ordinances to find the ones best suited for the unique environment and culture of Rio Rancho. Issues we’ve researched, discussed, argued and anguished over include chaining, spay/neuter, licensing, micro-chipping, dangerous dog restrictions, animal cruelty, animal fighting, exotic animals, public safety, public health, rabies vaccinations, quarantine, animal biting, animal quarantine, numbers of animals per household, selling of animals, transportation requirements, barking ordinances, animals assisting the disabled, injury of animals by vehicles, deceased animals, impounding procedures, management of strays, disposition of animals, adoption of animals, fees and penalties, and even a chicken ordinance. An example of the complexity of the issues the task force is grappling with is chaining. As the writer of the letter to the editor (“Time to change the ordinances,” Rio Rancho Observer, Sept. 27) noted, continuous fixed-point chaining is no longer legal in some of our neighboring cities and counties. This may seem to be a clear-cut issue, but here are just a few of the questions to answer before proposing a ban: is the ordinance enforceable?; Is a complete ban fair in all circumstances?; Are there other options available to the owner?; Are these other options more humane or not?; will a ban result in the abandonment of animals?; Are we exchanging one problem for another? Tethering, which is seen as a solution by many, can have its own set of problems. The devil is always in the details.

Other issues the task force are tackling include standards for pet stores, animal shelters, boarding kennels, grooming parlors and hobby breeders. We are creating standards for animal day care centers, animal rescue groups and animal foster homes. Far from being a “terrorist group,” as offered in a letter to the editor (“Breeder’s Choice,” Rio Rancho Observer Oct. 18) we seek to ensure the welfare of the animals bred and sheltered within Rio Rancho.

In conclusion, the task force has been wrestling with updating Rio Rancho’s animal ordinances for almost a year. This may seem too long for those who are anxious about animal welfare issues in our city, but it has been time well spent. The task force is doing its absolute best to consider all views and balance the needs of our citizens with the welfare of our animals. Gandhi said “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” I believe that this is just as true for a city.

This has been a long and often rocky road, but one well worth traveling because, in the end, the Task Force will present to the mayor and City Council proposed changes that we believe best serve both the animals and citizens of Rio Rancho.

[The public is welcome to attend any of the Rio Rancho Animal Welfare Task Force meetings which are held on the first, third and fifth Mondays of the month. Each meeting has time set aside for public comment. Anyone may also contact the city staff member assigned to the task force, Barbara Bayer, at the Meadowlark Senior Center (891-5018) or the chair of the task force, Patricia Feeser, DVM, at her office High Desert Animal Hospital, 892-4412.

Patricia Feeser, DVM

Chair of the Rio Rancho Animal Welfare Task Force