Members of the Centex Kennel Club who are fighting the City of Waco's efforts at passing a "intact" pet fee (ie. TAX) have formed the Nation's first "Pet" tea party!
The controversy revolves around the implementation of a fee/permit/TAX for animals who are not spayed or neutered. Waco, like other cities and municipalities around the country has a serious problem with strays and unwanted cats and dogs. In their "infinite" wisdom the Waco City Council thinks that they "must do something" to alleviate the problem. Leave it to a government body to "do something, anything" even if evidence shows that "something" won't work. What they have failed to do is research this type of ordinance, if they had they would have known that other cities, San Antonio for example, have rescinded these policies because they didn't work. The number of animals "put down" and strays increased, costing the city more money.
The questions that have arisen by area residents, such as "Who will enforce this ordinance and how much will that cost?", "Will taxing Fido's "delicate" parts result in lower kill rates at the pounds or just increase the coffers of the City and area organizations?" and "Where does this end, are they going to come on to my property to inspect my dog?" (Can you imagine that job description & title?! And isn't this discrimination on male dogs, it's obvious if they have been fixed, but females not so much!)
Area vets will also be impacted. Some animal owners will not take their pets to Waco Veterinarians, instead they can go outside the city or county, which will hurt local sales tax and business. And what vet wants to be the "tattle tail" on their clients?
Furthermore, what about the other 10 counties that do not have this type of ordinance, yet bring strays to Waco facilities? Does a Waco Pet Tax really solve the problem? Or does the City only want to penalize Wacoans for all the area problems?
The City of Waco needs to WAKE UP to reality and try to find a solution that doesn't penalize our pets and pet owners who are responsible.
The Waco Tail Party will hold their first "protest" this Saturday, July 3rd, at 9:00 AM at the County Courthouse. For more information visit their Facebook fan page by clicking here.
If you would like to comment to the Waco City Council you can attend the meeting on Tuesday, July 6th at 6:00 PM. The Waco Tail Party also asks citizens to email and/or call the City Council and Mayor Jim Bush.
City Hall Information Desk (254) 750-5600
City Hall Fax Number (254) 750-5724
Mayor Jim Bush
Councilman Wilbert Austin
Councilwoman Alice Rodriguez
Councilman Randy Riggs
Councilwoman Toni Herbert (Mayor Pro Tem)
(Councilman Malcolm Duncan does not have a contact page yet)
