Advocates crowded Palmerton’s Borough Hall to contest an animal ordinance during Thursday’s meeting.

More than two dozen citizens, including shelter volunteers and other animal lovers, came out to voice their concerns over Ordinance 728, passed during the March 23 meeting. This document established regulations for the care of dogs, cats and other animals.Donna Crum, Humane Society officer and volunteer with Carbon County Friends of Animals and the Animal Shelter of Carbon, argued that the law was problem-ridden, especially in restriction of feeding stations.“The pulling up of all of the feeding stations would conflict with animal cruelty laws,” Crum said.“I, as a Humane Society police officer, have to make sure that anyone who has outdoor pets has access to food and water 24 hours a day.She added, “If you’re telling people not to put food and water out for their animals, and I get a complaint that there is no food or water out for those animals, I have to do my job and hold them accountable for violating Pennsylvania law, so your solicitor might want to look at that.”Councilman Kris Hoffner said if the ordinance contradicted any state laws, council would want to correct it.Jacquelyn Sylvan, a former veterinary technician and shelter volunteer, said the elimination of feeding stations, among other issues, could be detrimental to feral cats and cat colonies in the area.Sylvan said the key to controlling these colonies was rooted in trap/neuter/release programs, in addition to providing some sort of sheltered area with access to food.“It’s actually a really positive thing. If they have a reliable source of food and shelter, they’re not going to go anywhere. If you take that away from them, they’re going to have to wander a field to find their food. They’re going to start getting people’s garbage. The tomcats are going to start staking out territories, and they’re going to start attacking domestic cats,” she said.The rules within the ordinance have largely been in the Palmerton books for about 30 years, but Crum and several other citizens argued that they were never really enforced.Council president Terry Costenbader said the ordinance was advertised for 30 days before being passed, and that no one at that time commented on it.Another hotly contested issue included a limit of four pets per household within the borough, a part of a zoning ordinance from 1998.Crum said that this portion of the law could put heartbreaking pressure on a family to get rid of beloved pets.“You have people that have probably more than the four animals allotted in Palmerton Borough. Some of them have had their animals seven, eight, nine, ten years,” she said. “So now, because you’re now deciding you’re going to enforce this... How do you decide which ones go? You’re breaking up families... It’s going to be heartbreaking for a lot of families.”Toward the end, Sylvan made a request, echoed by other speakers, to have the community come together with the board to work out the details of the law.“I think what we would like from the council is some clarity in the ordinance,” Sylvan said, questioning enforcement details including the seizure and potential euthanization of animals. “Do you think that you would be willing to make amendments to parts of the ordinance?”Costenbader expressed a willingness to work with the concerned citizens, as long as they could itemize their issues so that they could be best presented to the board and solicitor Michael Ozalas, who is currently on vacation. He did emphasize that there were no guarantees, but that any correspondence would be taken under consideration.“Put something on a piece of paper and get it to us,” Costenbader said. Registration of cats:Cat owners must report to the borough office annually with the name, breed, color and sex of each cat they own, and pay a $1 license fee and registration fee. Owners receive a certificate with a registration number and description of each cat, which is valid up until the first day of the new year.Vaccinations:All dogs and cats over 3 months of age must be vaccinated against rabies. A dog or cat which does not have a current license or current vaccination certificate can be seized for up to five days. The borough has the right the euthanize animals not claimed.Running at large:No animals are permitted to run at large, soil, defile, damage, or commit any nuisance throughout the borough, including public and private areas.Nuisances:Any animals that engage in habitual barking, howling, screeching, yelping or baying that disturbs the peace will be considered to be committing a nuisance. No owners/keepers/handlers of animals may keep animals in conditions that create offensive odors, excessive noise or unsanitary conditions.Feeding stations: Feeding stations, defined as “any area where food is supplied to animals in an open, unrestricted manner, allowing animals to come and go freely,” are prohibited.Animal limits:It is unlawful to keep any more than four dogs or four cats, total, over 6 months of age in one home, regardless of the number of owners in the home. Kennels are exempt from this regulation.