Helping Animals With Local Ordinances

It’s a busy time of year in our office. We’ve been holding workshops on helping animals through the legislative process and are preparing for Lobby Day for Animals on April 14th. Since we're at the beginning of a new legislative session in the Mass. state legislature, we’ve been speaking to many groups and our Animal Action Team about the legislative process and providing tips on how to help animals through public policy efforts and also how to best influence elected officials. Much of the content of the presentation is based on lessons learned -- one way or another -- over the years.

When doing our workshops, we mention the option for advocates to work on a local level – in their own cities in towns – to change policies that impact animals. While most of the legislation that the MSPCA focuses on is at the state level, citizens can choose to pursue local action in their communities (there are 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth). The MSPCA Advocacy Department can help by writing letters of support, alerting MSPCA members in the city or town, and sometimes testifying. An ordinance that passed a few nights ago in Pittsfield to protect farm animals has once again demonstrated how local action can work. The new ordinance requires that egg-laying hens, breeeding pigs, and calves raised for veal have enough space to stand up, lie down, turn around, and extend their limbs.

We have analogized taking action at the local level for animals to the process by which the state’s smoking ban in bars, resturants and worksplaces passed in 2004. Prior to the state law, more and more cities and towns passed local smoking bans, which seems to have help make the case for a statewide ban more powerful. We can do the same thing with animal issues. And each time a city or town passes an animal protection measure, more and more people and citizens are understanding the issue – and this includes the legislators representing those municpalities. In fact, advocates are asking the Berkshire legislative delegation to now support a similar state bill, based on Pittsfield's action.

So, what issues have been tackled on a local level? In addition to the above-mentioned farm animal confinement bill (the first of its kind to pass at a local level in the nation), there are others. In Massachusetts, five municipalities have local ordinances that ban the use of wild animals in circuses (Braintree, Revere, Quincy, Provincetown and Weymouth). Somerville residents are currently working to pass one within their borders. At least one town has a law that limits the constant tethering of dogs (East Longmeadow). Years ago, Cambridge enacted an ordinance that governs animals in laboratories and more recently passed a resolution on cage-free eggs. Generally, local laws can be more specific or restrictive than state laws.

One woman I spoke to recently to is working to put a line on dog license applications in her town that would ask people for a voluntary donation to help spay/neuter the animals of residents who can't afford the surgery. Animal advocates have worked consistently to ensure dangerous dogs law aren't breed-specific. And perhaps one of the most important ways to advocate on a local level is to make sure that animal control has adequate funding to help stray and homeless animals.

There may be other things happening for animals in your local city or town hall. Perhaps you have other ideas of what can be done on a local level? If so, drop us a line at advocacy@mspca.org. We'll post some of the ideas here.