OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
November 5, 2014
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
At the request of the Executive Director of Animal Care and Control, I transmit herewith an ordinance amending Chapter 7-12 of the Municipal Code.
Your favorable consideration of this ordinance will be appreciated.
Mayor
Very truly yours,
il
.4
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, Through the adoption program administered by Chicago Animal Care and Control ("CACC"), more than 1,000 animals are placed in loving homes each year; and
WHEREAS, To ensure pets are easily identified, CACC routinely offers City residents the opportunity to purchase microchips at low-cost clinics, enabling Chicagoans to reduce the risk that their pet will be impounded as a stray of unknown ownership; and
WHEREAS, CACC holds regular community adoption and vaccination events throughout Chicago, and offers online options to facilitate dog licensing, thereby providing residents with a convenient means of not only complying with legal requirements, but also reducing the risk of their pet's impoundment; and
WHEREAS, Despite these programs, CACC is required to provide humane shelter to more than 12,000 stray animals per year; and
WHEREAS, Notwithstanding CACC's diligent efforts to reunite these stray animals with their owners through various methods, including daily lost pet tours and photographs of lost pets posted online, less than seven percent of stray animals are claimed by owners, including less than one percent of stray cats and less than 15 percent of stray dogs; and
WHEREAS, Currently, the majority ofthe 93 percent of stray animals that go unclaimed are subject to a minimum of five days' "stray hold." Animal welfare experts have found that reducing the time an animal is held in a shelter significantly decreases the likelihood the animal will become ill or stressed, problems that are particularly acute with younger animals; and
WHEREAS,...
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