Hamilton Ohio City Pet Owners Could Potentially Face Legal Problems Under New Pet Limit Law

It is a frustrating time in the Butler County city of Hamilton, Ohio for many dog and cat owners whose love for their pets exceed the new Hamilton, Ohio city pet limit law that has been voted on by city council and approved to go into effect on October 22 2010. This new law will take away residents of Hamilton’s ability and right to decide how many pets is enough in their own house. Under the new law the maximum number of pets a family may own is 5 adult dogs and/or adult cats or any combination of adult dogs and cats.

There is no grandfather clause written into the new law, so if you had more than 5 total animals in your home before this all came about, then sadly you have the option to choose between your pet family members and see who to boot out the door to a new home (even if you have had them all for years, there are currently no exceptions), or you can sit in silence and just hope that one of your neighbors doesn’t get irritated with you, possibly over something unrelated to pets, and report you for having over the limit of pets. Because by law the city of Hamilton can take action against you if you are over the limit.

So what kind of actions can they take against you if you are in violation of the pet limit law? Fines and possible jail time for exceeding the limit.

Sure, people go to jail (occasionally) over neglecting animals, but now the tables turn and you could go to jail if you take care of what city council has decided to be the maximum amount per home, even if those cats and or dogs are well taken care of.

I do recognize there are extreme cases of animal hoarding that is currently being highlighted on various television shows, and also we did have a case of animal hoarding right here in the city of Hamilton recently. Animal hoarding is a mental illness. Because of the actions of a select few others in the community, everyone else must suffer? How about the city council who made this new law tell everyone who has children and more than the limit of pets personally that they have to get rid of Fluffy or Tiger they have had since childhood.

The new law also does not sit well for those with roommates and pets. The law goes on a “premises” basis, so it also does not take into account how many adults may live in a home. It does not take into account how large or small of a house the animals are living in. In the eyes of this new law it does not take into account there difference between having 5 cats in a home or 5 Great Danes. The only exception is if you are licensed as a kennel.

I think this is a law that steps on the toes of many pet owners in Hamilton City. It is saddening to think about the possible psychological effects of giving up a pet member of the family, because someone says you can no longer have that many pets (of course you wont be reimbursed for any vet care or bills that you have paid for many years with this pet either).

The bottom line is I truly believe that a person should have the right to have as many cats or dogs that he or she can reasonably take care of, that he or she can provide vet care for, keep them licensed, fed and happy. The hoarding cases should be dealt with on a case by case basis, as those are concerns of mental health issues as well as sanitary issues, possibly issues of animal cruelty in some cases.

Also keep in mind, there are no laws (yet) for how many birds you can have or any other pets (excluding exotics that are banned), so how exactly is this a fair law?

So, unless we ban together as a community (and yes, some communities have been able to ban together and get pet limit laws overturned) and get a petition started we have two other choices here in Butler County’s city of Hamilton Ohio:

1. Abide by the law and downsize to the stated 5 cats/dogs per premises.

2. Break the law by having more than the 5 and risk fines and or imprisonment.

Please Join the Facebook page “Against The Pet Limit Law In Hamilton Ohio” to show your support regardless of where you live! Lets spread the word!