NEW RULES COULD SAVE ANIMALS, GROUP SAYS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 5, 1993                   TAG: 9301050225
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
NEW RULES COULD SAVE ANIMALS, GROUP SAYS
Pet lovers say there is a better way to reduce Roanoke's overpopulation of cats and dogs than putting them to death.
Up to 6,000 abandoned or stray cats and dogs are put to death each year by the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
That number disturbs Walker Nelms and other animal lovers.
"Euthanasia is not a cost-effective, acceptable or ethical solution" to the threat caused by the overpopulation of cats and dogs, Nelms said.
He told City Council on Monday that a better registration and permit system would be a reasonable and effective means for reducing the population of cats and dogs.
Nelms said a task force, which was composed of SPCA members, veterinarians and others, has developed recommendations for easing the overpopulation problems.
The group wants the city to require the licensing of cats, just as dogs are now. It says the city also should require the vaccination of cats for rabies, similar to dogs.
Nelms, a member of SPCA's board of directors, said the task force also wants the city to adopt license fees that would encourage cat and dog owners to have their animals spayed or neutered.
The license fee for unsexed cats and dogs would be $3, while the fee for sexed animals would be $10.
Similarly, the fee for recovering a cat or dog picked up by the animal control officer would be lower if the animal had been spayed or neutered.
The recovery fee for the first time an unsexed cat or dog is picked up the animal control officer would be $10. The fee for a sexed animal would be $25.
The group wants the city to require that the rabies registration for cats be attached to a collar that would be worn at all times when The group wants the city to require the licensing of cats, just as dogs are now. It says the city also should require the vaccination of cats for rabies, similar to dogs. the cat is outdoors.
Mark Finkler, a veterinarian, said a requirement for rabies vaccination for cats would help reduce the spread of rabies. A rabid cat recently was found in the city.
Raccoons and skunks usually are the biggest threat for rabies, but cats and dogs can become rabid, too, Finkler said.
Nelms said Don Stern, the city's health director, had endorsed the task force's proposals.
"It is time for the governments to step in and help reduce the overpopulation," Nelms said.
Council referred the group's proposals to City Manager Bob Herbert and City Attorney Wilburn Dibling for a recommendation.
Dibling said the city has enacted more stringent controls on cats and dogs in recent years, but he will review the group's suggestions see if they are needed.
The city imposed a limit on the number of cats that can be kept im residential areas. If the cats have been spayed or neutered, six can be kept. Otherwise, four cats are allowed.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB