LONGVIEW, Texas — A committee tasked with improving Longview’s animal welfare ordinances has recommended that the city enact an ordinance promoting the spaying and neutering of animals, a measure designed to combat pet overpopulation and a rise in violent dog encounters.
The Longview Animal Shelter Advisory Committee this week voted in favor of proposed ordinances drafted by animal welfare attorney Kelly Heitkamp. The ordinances will not go into effect until, and unless, the City Council votes to adopt them, said city spokesman Richard Yeakley. City staff members are reviewing the proposals, and the council could consider them in the coming months.
The meeting was the latest chapter in the city’s months-long endeavor to address pet overpopulation as well as an increase in stray and vicious animals. City officials have discussed public safety concerns heavily since the February death of 46-year-old Kenneth Pierson, who was attacked by dogs while riding his bicycle along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Read more from our news partners, the Longview News-Journal.