The Sportsmen’s Alliance has reported on the now infamous “Animal Control Ordinance” (ACO) proposal of St. Landry Parish, and we kindly remind Parish residents that the Parish Council will take the measure up for final approval at their December 21 meeting at 6 p.m. at the Old City Market, 131 W. Bellevue St. in Opelousas.
This is truly among the most outrageous animal ordinances we’ve ever seen, but what is even more disturbing is how the Parish leadership won’t even answer questions about it from Council members themselves.
During the Dec. 7 Finance Committee meeting (page 21, Item 6), several council members asked important questions about the ACO to Councilman Wayne Ardoin, sponsor of the proposal, and Legal Counsel, Garett Duplechain. What ensued was nothing more than a word fest that was nonresponsive to the obvious concerns that were raised.
So as a St. Landry resident, don’t feel bad if nobody is giving you answers on the ACO, council members aren’t getting them either. Unfortunately, the only issue discussed at the Dec. 7 meeting was the 10-minute barking rule, but this short discussion tells us everything we need to know about the entire proposal – they can’t defend it and don’t even try.
As an example, Councilman Coby Clavier asked the simple question, “How will you keep a dog from barking more than 10 minutes?” Legal Counsel Duplechain then provided a non-answer by stating, “As long as there is no tension between the person who owns the dog and they don’t want to be overly regulated and the person who can’t sleep because of the dog…”
No tension? What does that mean? Overly regulated? Why not answer the question – how to keep a dog from barking?
But Duplechain does get to the point, and this is the problem with the entire ACO, when he adds later, “This ordinance tries to regulate dogs that are barking all night long.” Well, as with everything else in the ACO, then why doesn’t it say that? 10 minutes is not “all night long.”
Instead, the ACO picks the arbitrary 10-minute rule because that will make it extremely easy for St. Landry Parish animal control officers to start writing violations, and right now. If you want to stop dogs barking all night, why not make it during hours most people are sleeping instead of 24-hours a day? Or for an extended period of time that clearly illustrates the behavior is actually a nuisance, and not so short as to be used by a vengeful neighbor or overzealous enforcement officer? Well, that would make things too hard, when at the end of the day, this is about finding violations, not stopping dogs barking “all night long.”
Then Public Works Chairman Dexter Brown added his own experiences with his black lab who might bark if he sees an animal at night, obviously among the reasons people own dogs is to watch out for the safety of their owners. But Duplechain was having none of this real-world chatter, when he simply responded, “Well, I would keep my dog inside my house.”
What Duplechain is ignoring is the simple reality that a great number of people don’t keep their dog inside their house, and he knows better than most that the ACO noise restrictions don’t care one whit if your dog is inside or outside. He knows this to be the case, or he should. So, in addition to being nonresponsive, he’s not informing Chairman Brown of what the ACO actually requires. Well, the Sportsmen’s Alliance will warn everyone that under the ACO, a barking dog is a barking dog, no matter where it is. Your dog barking for 10 minutes in your home will be as much a violation as one standing in your yard, or in a kennel out back.
But most instructive was how Parish President Jessie Bellard characterized the 10-minute rule and all the problems that were raised by council members during this brief discussion when he closed out the discussion with, “If that is what the ordinance calls for, then we will have to follow the rules.”
Excuse us Mr. Parish President, the council should write rules for the betterment of parish residents, not whoever is pushing so hard to get this ACO passed without taking into account all the problems raised by this illegitimate policy. The ACO is not automatic, it is a choice that you and others are making for all residents. Your comment suggests this is a case where the ACO has become the goal instead of helping your constituents. This is the very definition of bad government.
Please use our TAKE ACTION button below to email the Parish Council to urge them to oppose the Animal Control Ordinance currently under consideration. Don’t forget to pass this message to your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen and women urging them to do the same.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.